11
EVER
The rental is empty when I get home. Gage is staying overnight at José’s place in Montgomery. The guys will be celebrating until dawn, and with how uptight Gage has been lately, I encouraged him to party like there’s no tomorrow.
He grumbled, then changed his mind when I started coughing like I was hacking up a lung. “Wouldn’t want you getting sick,” I said, knowing full well that Gage has asthma, and he sees using his inhaler as a sign of weakness. Gage is about manly strength, not having a woman at his side to prove his worth, and not showing vulnerabilities that have him coming off as a pussy, his words.
It’s rare to have the two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath house to myself, and I resist the urge to run around the coffee table with my arms waving above my head in a goofy celebratory dance.
Liking the privacy that comes with the emptiness of not having a moody roommate, I sit on the couch and bask in the silence before showering and getting in bed.
Before I call it a night, or morning—it’s one—I keep my promise to Bobby and text him that I’m home. I’m surprised when he texts me back right away rather than leaving me on read.
B: TY Ever
B: Best news
How can two words make me feel like I’m soaring above the clouds? I beam in the darkness and text him back, not ready to fall asleep. My nerves are heightened, and I’d rather text Bobby than lie awake, overthinking.
Me: WYD
I groan. That’s what a frat boy would text when putting out feelers for a late-night booty call.
B: Office. Crimson.
Me: Y R U inside Crimson’s office
B: I know the owner. He lets me sleep off my hangovers
I narrow my eyes.
Me: U weren’t wasted inside your truck
Did he throw back a few shots and have more of his “usual” with other women after I drove away and watched him in the rearview mirror until he disappeared?
Me: R U alone?
I’m not sure why I asked, other than there’s a pit in my stomach. Is there a drop-dead gorgeous woman with him, someone closer to his age? Or maybe it’s women. My time with Bobby was unforgettable, but I still can’t shake the image of the women salivating over him when I caught them checking him out.
B: You?
Me: Depends
Is he jealous?
Me: Can I see you
I’d like to see his face. He said I’m an open book, but Bobby is a different story, no pun intended. I want a better read on him, away from the heat wrapping around us, that drew us closer until I was straddling his thick thighs inside his lifted pickup truck parked in an empty back lot.
My cell rings.
A fluttering starts in my belly. My body heats. I answer on the second ring, turn on the bedside light, and put the call on speaker.
Bobby’s sexy face takes up the screen. His eyes light up when he sees me. And his dimpled smile . . . A twinge starts in my chest and travels to my stomach, where hundreds of butterflies awaken. I haven’t experienced this fluttering in my stomach since Carlos.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
“Happy Saturday to you too.”
