I draw in a shaky breath. “It was hard.”
There’s a moment’s pause and then his grin is back at the same time I realise what I’ve just said, and we both crack up laughing.
By the time we pull ourselves together, the tension between us has ebbed enough that I’m not in danger of backing him up against the wall and kissing him.
I still really fucking want to, but somewhere deep down, I know he needs a friend more, and despite my cock disagreeing with me at this moment, I want that too.
And I want to be in his life long after he moves out and finds his own place, hopefully not too far away. And maybe we can revisit this when he’s settled and happy in his new house and job. For now, I’ll be Reed’s friend and housemate.
Everything else can wait.
It might take a little getting used to—I’ve lived on my own for a long time now—but we’re both adults.
As long as we keep our hands to ourselves, sharing a house with Reed will be easy.
REED
“You sure about this?”Paul asks as he walks over to my car.
I laugh, because we’ve just pulled up onto the drive outside Jerry’s house. “Bit late now.”
“Nope. I reckon Chris would give you your job back in a heartbeat, and your house isn’t sold yet, so it’s absolutely not too late.” He’s staring at the ground and not looking at me, and guilt floods me.
Not for the first time.
“Hey.” I grab his shoulder and give it a squeeze. “I’m going to miss you too, but it’s only like two and a half hours to get here when there’s no traffic.”
“Exactly!” He looks up then and raises an eyebrow. “You could commute for the one or two days you’re needed in the office. Or stay over at a hotel. I get you wanting a new job, what with the team merger and everything, but there’s no need to move halfway across the country.”
“Two and a half hours,” I repeat with an eye roll. Then I shrug. “I know I could’ve stayed at my old place. But this felt... right. I guess. A proper new start.”
We both glance over at the front door as it opens and watch Jerry walk out. It’s a mild day for November, and he’s wearingfaded jeans and a black long-sleeved T-shirt with the sleeves pushed up a bit. His dark hair looks a little windswept, the grey peeking out when he runs a hand through it.
“M-hmm...” Paul leans in close to whisper. “I think I’m beginning to see the appeal.”
I elbow him and ignore the way my pulse races. It’s been a few weeks since I last saw Jerry, it’s bound to be a bit weird until we get used to each other again.
That’s all this is.
I smile as he walks over, Jen trotting next to him. Before I can get a word out, Paul steps in front of me, hand outstretched.
“Hey, you must be Jerry. I’m Paul.”
“Ahh.” Jerry’s smile widens, and I’m horrified to feel a twinge of jealousy because it’s not directed at me. “You must be the best friend.”
“Yep. That’s me.” Paul steps back and makes a show of looking around, and I’m sure it’s not my imagination when his gaze returns to Jerry andlingers. “Wow. I can see why Reed’s so eager to move out here.”
I’m gonna kill him.
Either Jerry’s oblivious to the wink Paul shoots me or he’s ignoring it all, because he just smiles and says, “It’s a beautiful part of the country.” Finally, he turns to me, his expression softening into something warm and inviting, and I really should be ashamed of the smugness I feel about that. “Hey.”
I smile back. “Hey.” I’d forgotten how dark his eyes are or how nicely his sooty lashes frame them, and I get lost in them for a beat too long. Then I catch Paul grinning like an idiot in my periphery, so I make a show of crouching down to stroke Jen. “Hey to you too.”
“Do you need a hand with anything?” Jerry asks, and I make the mistake of glancing up.
His groin isright there, and oh my god, his jeans are snug in all the right places. I straighten so fast I’m surprised I’m not dizzy. “Yeah, please.” Hopefully we can all ignore how rough my voice sounds as I say that, and I’m definitely not imagining saying those two words in totally different circumstances. “Frank is on the back seat if you want to grab him,” I manage, thankfully sounding normal this time.
“Yep. I’ll take him and his stuff and get him settled in your bedroom for now.” He turns quickly, collects Frank from the back of my car, and disappears back inside.
