Without Scars by Ayla Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

now, but he didn’t look anything like the guy from earlier today. Well, he was still hot, tall and muscular, but he’d cleaned up his facial hair and buzz cut. He was in a black V-neck shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows on both sides. On his left forearm in dark cursive tattoo script was the line, “I leave my heart here and feel even more alive. ”
    Damn.
    He’d unknowingly checked every box on the “How to Get Nikki Out of Her Panties” list. Unfortunately for both of us, though, I was staying in mine tonight.  I was just here to learn more about the two guys who had gone out of their way for me today.
    “Am I late? Were you guys waiting on me?” I asked, after we had a quick round of introductions.
    His brow furrowed for a moment. “Wow. You look amazing.”
    I didn’t have a doubt but it was always nice to hear. “Thank you.” My midi skirt was so tight my ass looked like a shelf, my crop top was showing just a sliver of my hard-earned abs, and I was in stacked black heels. I’d even curled my hair. Too much for Coco’s, but dressing up was usually the best part of going out, anyway. “So…what’s up? Why are you out here?” Charlie blinked rapidly and smiled, but didn’t say anything. “What are you doing out here?”
    “Jesus.” A woman, who had just been talking to Ghost while he was finishing up his cigarette, approached us and smacked Charlie on the chest. “I guess I have to take over because he’s having a ‘Me Can’t Think, Girl Too Pretty’ brain fart.”
    “Whatever, Mira…” Charlie said, but he couldn’t keep a straight face as he looked at me.
    “Hi, I’m Samira,” the woman said, shaking all our hands.
    “Right. From How to Fuck up a Friendship. Nice to meet you.” She had a deep brown skin tone and dark brown eyes. I was amazed by how much of a bombshell she was in real life, compared to the toned down, laidback chick she played on the few episodes I’d watched while getting dressed. She was all centerfold hair and pushed-up boobs now. Hot either way.
    “Would you two like to join us? Everyone else is stopping by the comedy show after-party first, apparently, so it’s fine,” she said to Denise and John, and they agreed. “Right now there’s nowhere to sit inside and wait.” Then she turned to me. “Anyway, how are you? I heard someone broke into your car. That sucks.”
    “Yeah, but the car’s fine now, so I’m fine. Really.”
    “ Yes, yes you are .” Samira grinned and gestured at Charlie. “Hence the absolute breakdown of brain function over here.”
    “Whatever, Mira,” Charlie repeated. It was funny to watch him fiddle with his phone and pretend he didn’t want to look at me some more.
    “We should go check on the wait time again,” Samira suggested. “Maybe sigh passive-aggressively near the hostess a while until she’s so annoyed she has to seat us somewhere.” It worked because even though the hostess couldn’t put us at a regular table, she led us to two bar tables within a few minutes. Or when Charlie slipped her two twenties.
    His hand brushed across my lower back after he pulled out a chair for me. Heat spooled up my insides. “Whosever turn it is to pick the restaurant usually covers the first round of drinks. Since you’re a guest, you’re off the hook for that, but you get to do the honors tonight by picking what we’re all drinking,” Ghost explained. “Pick your favorite. If it’s fruity girlie shit, we’ll make fun of you, but we’ll drink it.”
    Oh boy. I guess they were going to find out anyway when I was nursing a club soda later. “I don’t mind picking but I don’t drink, guys…” I said.
    “How the fuck do you manage this place sober?” Charlie asked. They were right about Coco’s. Miami wasn’t the easiest city to party in when you were under twenty-one. So this place had become a haven for eighteen-year-olds. When you’d made it past your late teens, it was not worth spending nights out