Lily felt like crap, but her growling stomach roused her out of bed. She didn't even bother changing; she just took care of business in the bathroom and washed her face. Lily headed to the cafeteria dressed in her favorite penguin pajama pants and an old AC/DC t-shirt. Stifling a yawn, she grabbed a bowl of fresh fruit and yogurt covered in granola, along with a glass of OJ. She plopped down at the first table she came to and rubbed her eyes. They were blurry and gritty from lack of sleep. Her only plans for today were to eat, then go back to bed for a couple more hours, and then possibly she'd deal with Nikoli.
Just thinking about last night twisted her stomach into knots. She still couldn't believe Adam had said those awful, hurtful things to her. Never would she have thought him capable of being so cruel. She tried to tell herself it showed he cared enough to be jealous, that she might have a shot at winning him from Sue, but it hurt too much. Lily didn't know how long it would take her to forgive him, but it wasn't going to be soon. It might actually help, too, if Nikoli's plan worked. If she stayed away from Adam and spent her time with Nikoli, then it might drive him crazy enough to realize she was more than just his best friend.
If Nikoli's plan worked, and that was a big if.
Her phone buzzed, and she looked down to see Adam's face on the screen. She hit ignore. Too early to even try to deal with him.
"You look like hell, Lils."
Lily let her head fall on the table. Mikey. Of course. Adam probably sent him to get a feel for how mad she was.
"Well, thank you, Michelangelo," she grumbled. "Make me feel all awesome, why don't you?"
He plopped down across from her, and his plate of steaming eggs and waffles made her grimace. How anyone could eat something that heavy first thing in the morning was beyond her. Just gross.
"Soooo..."
Lily grimaced, and he laughed, but then his face got serious. "Adam got so drunk last night, I thought he might have alcohol poisoning. I thought about taking him to the hospital a few times, but he refused to go."
"Is he all right?" She sat up, alarmed. She might be furious with him, but she didn't want him hurt. Well, not much.
"He's fine. Sleeping it off, but he told me some things before he passed out," Mike said. "I'm sorry for what he said, Lils, and so is he."
"Sorry doesn't cut it this time, Mikey."
"I know, but you realize he only said those things because he was jealous, right?" Mike shoveled eggs in his mouth and swallowed. Man didn't even chew. Lily screwed up her face, disgusted. "All he could go on about was you and Nikoli. He wants to beat the shit out of him."
"Yeah, well, it's none of his business, especially after what he said to me."
"Janet said you left with Nik last night." Mike put his fork down and focused all his attention on her. "Lily, he..."
"Is none of your business either," she told him bluntly.
"I just don't want you to do something stupid out of spite. You're like a sister to me, Lily, so I have to put my two cents in. Your eyes are bruised and hurt, so I don't know if you're thinking straight. Nikoli is, he's..."
"I know all about him. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Adam. Stay out of it. I'm a big girl. I know what I'm getting into."
Mike stared at her for a long moment. "Lily..."
"I mean it, Mikey. Leave it alone."
"Leave what alone?"
Lily groaned at the sound of Nikoli's voice. She groaned again when he sat down right beside her. He scooted until only an inch separated them. Her palms started to sweat, but she forced herself to sit still.
"Nothing," she said and sat up. Nikoli was dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a Metallica t-shirt. His hair looked rumpled, and his eyes twinkled with mischief. Those full lips of his were turned up in a half smile.
"Dushka..."
"What does that mean?" she asked suspiciously.
He grinned wolfishly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"I know what it means in English." Her eyes narrowed.
"But it doesn't mean that in Russian." Nikoli popped a grape in his mouth.
"Why is your English so good?" Mike asked curiously. "Didn't you grow up in Russia?"
Nikoli nodded. "Yes, but my father spoke English. I speak it as well as I do Russian. Now, dushka..."
"No," Lily interrupted. "Stop right there. Do not call me dushka. Ever."
"You don't even know what it means." Nikoli laughed.
"I know what everyone else will think it means, and that's more than enough for me. No dushka. Promise!"
"No more dushka. Katyonak instead."
"Note to self, pick up a Russian-to-English dictionary."
Mike shook his head, barely containing his laughter. Lily shot him an annoyed look, which only caused him to cough to try to hide his choked laugh.
"What's up, guys?"
Lily closed her eyes as no fewer than three of Adam's football buddies took a seat at their table. They leveled a look that promised pain at Nikoli, which he ignored completely. Instead, he focused on Lily, and she tried to scoot farther away from him. He only followed. She frowned at him, and he simply smiled in response. He did warn her he was going to push her, but she thought he'd give her at least a day to come to grips with it. She should have known better.
"Breakfast?" She made sure they all heard her sarcasm.
Nikoli laughed. "Milka, you are going to fall off the bench if you scoot any farther."
"Maybe you should back off, then, Nik." Menace laced every one of Brian Greggory's words.
"No, it's fine." Lily waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Brian."
"If he's bothering you..."
Nikoli lazily popped another grape into his mouth. "I'm not bothering her. The fact is, she and I are going to be spending a lot of time together, so get used to it."
Brian narrowed his eyes, and Lily could see they'd never believe she'd willingly go out with Nikoli. "He's right," she said. "You see, we have a bet." She felt Nikoli go completely still. He had no idea what she was up to, but a plan was forming, and she rubbed her hands together gleefully. This could turn out in her favor after all.
"A bet?" Mike asked curiously, still shoveling food. She caught a glimpse of waffle and made a face.
"He wants in my pants, and I want his car."
Six pairs of shocked eyes gazed at her.
"Never going to happen, Lily Bells." His car? She'd lost her damn mind!
"Never say never, Kincaid." Lily grinned impishly at him, and Nikoli almost laughed with her. Almost. His baby was going nowhere. She could get that out of her pretty little head right now.
"You want the 'Cuda." Luther sat down next to Nikoli, rubbing his eyes.
Lily nodded, and Nikoli resisted the urge to throttle her. No way in hell was she getting his car!
"He looks worried," Mike observed.
"He does," Luther agreed. "I have a hundred bucks that says she gets the car."
Nikoli sent Luther a glare hot enough to singe what little hair was left on his head. They were betting on his car? His baby?
"So, what does this bet entail?" Mike asked.
"I personally don't think our manwhore here can go without sex," Lily said casually. "If he slips up during the next three months, he forfeits his car."
Nikoli focused on the woman next to him. He zoned out all the people around him and looked directly into her laughing blue eyes. She was going to pay for that. "And as I said last night, Milaya, I won't need to slip up with you in my bed."
Mike growled something unintelligible, and the other guys got pissed-off looks. Nikoli ignored them. "That's the second half of our bet. She has to keep out of my bed for three months, or I win."
"I want the car more than I want you," Lily told him.
"We'll see, Lily Bells." Nikoli grinned. "Speaking of our bet...are you ready to go?"
"Go?" She frowned. "Go where?"
"You'll see." He stood and waited for her.
"I'm not dressed." Her eyes were wide and slightly fearful when they looked up at him.
"You look fine for what I have planned." He couldn't keep the evil grin off his face. Time for a little payback. "You won't be keeping those clothes on for long, anyway."
She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "I want medical reports. Who knows what you might have?"
She did not. He narrowed his own eyes. "We discussed this yesterday, dushka."
"And I told you not to call me that!" she yelled. The guys sitting across from her were chuckling, and she turned her furious gaze on them. "The next person who laughs will not get tutored this year."
That wiped the smirks off their faces.
The girl had more fight in her than she realized. It was what he was banking on. She just needed to keep her fingers off his car. Seriously, where had that even come from?
"Ready?" He kept his expression as mild as he could, but from the look of irritation on her face, he knew he'd failed and let the smirk out.
She stood and grabbed her bowl to dump off at the bins. "I really need to change..."
He shook his head. "Nope, no time. I might even let you drive my car if you get your butt in gear."
Mike snorted milk through his nose at the look of excitement on Lily's face. "What's with you and his car?"
"Ohmygosh...it's a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda!" Her face lit up like Christmas. "Do you even know how rare that car is?"
"When did you become a car buff?" Mike frowned.
"She's been a car buff since before she could talk."
Lily's entire body froze, and she flinched at the sound of Adam's voice. Nikoli moved closer, and for once, she didn't move away from him. He didn't think she was even aware of how close he was, but Adam noticed. His eyes narrowed.
"Seriously?" Mike asked. "Why did I not know this?"
"Who do you think fixes my car?" Adam set his tray down. "Lily, can we talk?"
"She was just leaving." Nikoli's voice was cold.
"Lily?" Adam stared directly into her eyes, and she flinched again.
"No," she said after a moment. "We're leaving."
"Lily, please..."
"No, Adam, not today." She turned to the other guys sitting at the table. "You guys seem all concerned about Nikoli, but he's not the one you need to worry about. You want to do something for me? Then keep Adam the hell away from me and leave Nikoli alone."
Nikoli smirked at Boy Wonder, who looked pissed beyond belief. Good. He needed to be beaten for the mess he'd left Lily in last night, and from the looks around him, Adam had some explaining to do. He might just get that beating too.
"So, where are we going that I don't have time to change my clothes and put a bra on?"
Nikoli's attention snapped back to Lily, and he zeroed in on her chest. His eyes widened when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra... Why had he not noticed this before?
"And stop staring at my boobs." Her laughter bubbled up and spilled out as she started walking toward the door.
"How about I stare at your ass instead?" he called, and she shook her head. He didn't have to look back to know the low growl came from Boy Wonder. "It's a damn fine ass."
Luther caught up to him. "Do you have a death wish?"
"They'll get over it."
"Where are you guys heading?" Luther asked, following them outside.
"To pick up the Mach 1."
"You're taking Lily? In her pajamas?"
Nikoli grinned. "She wants to drive, so I'm letting her drive...just not my baby."
"She's driving the Mach 1 back?" Luther asked, eyes wide. "What if she wrecks? Totals it?"
"Then she does. It's just a car."
"Just a car?" Luther shouted. "It's a Mach 1!"
Nikoli stopped walking, seeing Lily staring at them curiously. He couldn't afford to screw this up. "Lily's not going to total the car. Her dad was Martin Holmes. She probably drives better than either of us."
"That's not the point," Luther argued.
"Look, man. I get that you usually drive them back, but just this once, trust me, okay? You can drive it all day tomorrow. Hell, once the race is over, you can have it for your own baby. Don't think I didn't see the way you were salivating over the online images yesterday."
"Yeah, whatever," Luther grumbled, but Nikoli caught the gleam in his eye. Luther wanted that Mach 1 in a bad, bad way.
"Where are we going?" Lily yawned when Nikoli reached her. She looked cute. Strange that he'd think of this woman as cute, but he did. To him, women were hot or sexy, but never cute. He snorted. It sounded cliché, even to him.
"You up for some driving?"
"You're going to let me drive your car?" Lily asked, her eyes wide and excited.
"No, you're not driving Ellie, but you can drive the Mach 1 we're going to pick up."
"Really?" she asked, squealing like a girl.
"Really. We just need to swing by your dorm and pick up your license."
"I can change my clothes..." She trailed off when he started shaking his head. "Why not?"
"Because I want you comfortable with me, Lily," he told her. "We're going to be spending all day in the car, so I want you relaxed. Those penguin pajama bottoms of yours should do the trick."
She made a face at him but didn't argue as they piled into his car. Her fingers started gently running over the leather seats the minute she got in. He stared at them, imagining her running them over his skin. Maybe being in the car with her all day wasn't such a good idea.
No, he decided a few minutes later when she hopped out and flew up the front stairs of her dorm, his eyes following her ass. It wasn't such a good idea at all.