Read Conflicted (Secrets and Lies) for Free Online

advice?"
    She shrugged. "I hired a cleaning service. After seeing the mess, I couldn't stomach it."
    I laughed at the guilty look on her face and glanced up to see Trey hunched over the railing of the porch in his own fit of hysterics. "I hope they got the whole house. You might as well get your money's worth by bringing them in."
    Bri flashed a sly smile and we laughed even harder. "They did and I would never use my own money. I used the profits from our parties. I figured it was fine to make the executive decision since it was a step away from a chemical hazard zone."
    "You know I don't care and obviously Trey doesn't either. Good luck with the other two. I'm not sure they will see it that way. I think Jackson had high hopes for that money."
    She gave a dismissive wave of the hand following me up the stairs. "Ah, who cares about Jackson? If Shane crosses me, I'll give him a titty twister. That shuts him up every time."
    "True. Why don't we see what those two are up to? I'm foreseeing a house night in the man cave. What do you think Trey?" I asked.
    "Shit yea!" Trey shouted, pushing off the railing.
    "Yea, I could do a night in the cave," Bri agreed.
    On our way into the house, we laughed hearing Jackson and Shane shouting at each other over a video game that they were playing in the cave. Those two continued towards the cave while I swerved into the living room to get rid of my heels and purse. I contemplated heading upstairs to change but decided against it and continued on past the flight of stairs down the hallway to the cave.
    The sizable den branching off our kitchen was affectionately coined the cave. Once you walked in the door, you could turn left or right and find yourself in every man's dream play area. An eighty-inch flat screen covered the wall off to the left. They circled off that side with leather couches and chairs. The entire room had built in shelves that lined the bottom portion of the walls throughout the room. We filled them with hundreds upon hundreds of DVDS and video games. Mounted below the flat screen was a separate shelf with every video game console on the market along with a top of the line sound system. The wall off to the right had a wet bar that had more liquor than we ever needed in this house. We sectioned off that area with a pool table, foosball table, and a poker table tucked into the corner. The sidewalls each contained different dartboards. The boys finished off the room giving it the man cave touch by hanging the appropriate neon beer signs, posters of naked girls and sports dynasties.
    When I got to the cave, Bri and Trey had settled themselves into one of the couches shamelessly making out. Jackson and Shane stood in the middle of the room hollering at each other over who was cheating more. I paused to watch them playfully push each other back and forth trying to knock the other off balance to get that extra edge to win the game. I was jealous of them because they were in athletic shorts and gray T-shirts from Eckman. I hated that the real world required one to dress up versus the halls of the university that allowed you to show up in your pajamas. I lingered in the doorway watching my favorite guys interact.
    Jackson had his cap cocked to the side of his head as he did a ridiculous dance after ousting Shane in the game. He didn't hold back his taunting in the least. I caught Shane rolling his eyes and bit my cheek not to laugh because he was kicking Jackson's ass. Shane was a brawny guy with a handsomely round face and soft brown eyes. His cheeks got me every time because I had to fight the urge to pinch them. He was very similar to Trey in many ways. Those two became best friends around the same time as Bri and me. His body had more definition after years of endless conditioning for sports. Trey kept up with him in that department but Shane worked himself to the bone to maintain his physique. He kept his brown hair in a trimmed cut with an occasional goatee. I noticed his chin was