I cut him with a look. “A very thorough back and neck massage, which got me hard, because she was moaning and shit. And then she accidentally touched it when she shifted positions, and he thought it was time to come out and play.”
“Yeah?” Chris crosses his arms over his chest. “Did she like it?”
I growl as I drop down to the closest bench and rake a hand through my hair, thinking about how she just stared at me before she fled in a panic.
“She completely freaked out. Happy now?”
My friends go silent. Four pairs of wide eyes stare at me, like I’ve grown a second head.
“When you say ‘freaked out’ . . .?” Chris starts.
“She locked herself inside the bathroom and wouldn’t come out for a good twenty minutes.”
“Oof.” Jace winces.
“Damn,” West mutters.
“Did she sayanything?” Damon asks, looking almost as upset as I feel. “How did you get her to come back out?”
“I apologized, told her I was sorry, and when she finally emerged, I didn’t know what to fucking do, so I just gave her some bullshit excuse about it being my body’s natural reaction or some shit.”
Chris grunts, and I know I’m screwed. “Dude, that was your chance, man. You should’ve just laid it all out there.”
I throw my hands up. “What was I supposed to say?Sorry I got a boner because you were moaning, and all I could do was picture what it would be like with me on top and you writhing beneath me?”
“Yeah,” Chris drawls like I’m stupid.
“What happened to backing off and being a friend and supporting her through this thing with Ethan?”
“I never supported that plan,” Chris points out. “That plan is bullshit.”
Fuck. Maybe Chris is right. Maybe that planisbullshit.
“No. You’re doing the right thing,” West reassures me. “Just stick with the plan. Let Tatum figure it all out on her own.”
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose, because I’m more fucking confused than ever and have no idea what the hell I’m doing.
“Hold up,” Jace says, waving a hand in the air as if to clear it. “Let’s dissect this a bit more.Howexactly did she look at you before the freak-out?”
“I don’t know . . . she looked . . .” I think back to her expression—eyes wide with shock, parted lips, the hitch in her breath. “Thrown off guard? Surprised, I guess.”
“Or was she impressed?” Jace suggests, and I give him props because it makes me feel a little less like an asshole.
Chris rubs his jaw as if thinking, and his expression is so serious, I’d laugh if we weren’t talking about my dick. “He might be onto something.” He wags a finger at Jace. “I mean, she’s used to seeing you as her best friend, right?”
I nod, hanging onto his every word, because if there’s any glimmer of hope in this situation, I’m all ears.
“But maybe once she felt your massive schlong, it made her view you in a new light? Maybe instead of just seeing you as her buddy, she saw you as a man? A man with needs. A man whocouldgive her everything she never knew she wanted but is starting to realize she does.”
Damon snorts. “What?”
“Shhh,” Chris continues. “All I’m saying is that kind of realization with someone as sweet as Tatum can fuck a girl up. She probably panicked because for the first time, she wasn’t thinking about Ethan. She was thinking aboutyou.”
My stomach twists. As ridiculous as it sounds, I desperately want to believe what he’s saying. That maybe her freaking out wasn’t her rejecting me—maybe it was her realizing something she wasn’t ready to admit.
“Or,” Damon cuts in, “she freaked out because she has a boyfriend, and she felt weird about it.”
I slump back on the bench because he’s likely right. “Wow. Thanks, bro. Way to kick a man when he’s down. You just couldn’t let me have a win, could you?”
