Miss Pen

Chapter Twenty-One

My face felt numb from all the smiling I did, trying to make it seem like nothing was the matter when I was really screaming on the inside. Even my right eye started to twitch - something that had rarely happened before, no matter how angry I became.

Gage nudged my arm, quietly hissing for me to introduce him when Carlita was still a fair amount of space away. I needed to tell him to stay away from her, and I needed to do it now, but it was too late as the wide-eyed devil skipped over to us from across the lobby. She tackled me in to a hug, squeezing a little harder than necessary and causing me to stumble back a bit. My arms remained pinned to my sides as she embraced me. Pulling away, her bright red lips formed into a pout, like that was supposed to make me feel bad.

I didn't.

"Aren't you excited to see me?"

I tested the words delusional and demented in my head, demented seeming like a better fit for her.

"I guess I am now." It wasn't a good kind of excitement, either. "What are you doing here?"

Carlita clapped her hands, bouncing on her feet. "My boss told me that Monty was assembling a team for the trip and asked if I wanted to go. How could I have said no to that, Aubrey? Plus, I knew you were going to be here!"

Oh, really? That's funny because I never told your crazy ass!

"Is that so?" I squinted, challenging her. For a brief moment, I saw a flicker of panic in her brown eyes, but it vanished as she most likely tried to come up with a lie to back up her story. "Weird, I don't remember telling you that I was coming here." The last part was a mumble, yet still loud enough for her to hear.

Though already failing, I didn't want to get Gage involved in our little 'situation' any more than he needed to be. We would all be working together on the trip, and their contact needed to remain at a minimum. If she found out who he was, she would no doubt use that to her advantage, and he wouldn't even know what hit him.

"It doesn't matter now." She waved her hand in a shooing motion, focusing her eyes on a practically drooling Gage. The bile in my throat was ready to surface at any second if those two kept it up. "And aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Carlita, this is Gage. Gage, this is Carlita who designs for the magazine."

I keep it short and simple, moving closer to Gage in a protecting manner as Carlita batted her eyelashes at him. Looking up at him, I knew that my plans of getting him away from her were useless as he smiled right back, completely oblivious to my stance and the evil that was beneath her exterior.

"Are you two here together?"

Technically, Gage and I did come together, but with the matching attraction in her eyes that mirrored his, I knew she meant it in another way.

"Yes," I replied at the same time he said, "No."

Her eyebrow rose while looking between the two of us. Oddly, I felt hurt as he took a step away from me and closer to her, laughing as he did so.

"No, we're definitely not together in that way, if that's what you mean. I've just recently met Aubrey, and we're friends. That's it - nothing more."

Thanks, man. I feel the same way too, especially after that kiss that got me all hot and bothered the other night.

"Good to know." Biting her bottom lip, Carlita peeked up at Gage, an innocent look on her face. "In that case, would you mind helping me bring my bags up to my room? They're just too heavy for me to carry all by myself."

Bullshit, how did she get them there in the first place? And she would only be there for a weekend, not the whole week. The amount of luggage she had was ridiculous. She was good, and I needed to start writing down tips from her and Serene on how to have a guy tripping over his own feet to do things for me.