He grinned when Tash’s face scrunched in offense.
“Well, I suppose she may not be the brightest bulb,” Tash grumbled. “But she’s nice. So there’s that.”
“You’re so full of shit.” Chuckling, he shook his head, knocking his shoulder into hers. “But seriously, it’s no big deal. Freya needed a ride. I have the morning off and am free to take her.”
“And you say I’m the one who’s full of shit? Please.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” And he didn’t. Not really.
He didn’t know why the thought of picking up Freya in—he glanced at his watch—forty-five minutes had him on edge. Not “on edge” in a bad way. However, he wouldn’t exactly say it was in a good way either. It was more unfamiliar than anything. Whatever the feeling coursing through him was, it leaned more toward nervous and restless than warm and fuzzy.
The thought had him nearly halting mid stride.Nervous?Restless?He sure as hell couldn’t remember the last time he’d been either over a woman. But he undoubtedly was.
From the moment he’d left her doorstep last night, he hadn’t been able to get Freya out of his mind. The way she’d run her fingers through his hair at the salon. How strong she’d been with the chaos of her car getting vandalized. Their dinner together. Holding her hand when he’d walked her home. And yeah, that mind-blowing kiss that was still on repeat in his mind. It had beenthatgood. Hell, the entire time he’d spent with her had been that good.
At least it had been for him. Would she have second thoughts when she saw him this morning? Holy shit, what if that kiss they’d shared had done nothing for her? What if?—
“Sure you do. You were actually normal for once.”
Tash’s words pulled him back to their conversation, and he frowned, glancing at her. “What are you talking about? I’m always normal.”
“Oh God, you don’t even know, do you?” She let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh.
Trepidation stirred in his gut, and his worry about what Freya had thought of their date was momentarily shelved. “Apparently not, but I’m sure you’ll enlighten me.”
She stopped and faced him.
The trepidation grew. Tash was one of his best friends, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what she had to say.
“You’re an absolute great guy, Xan.”
He cringed. “Shit. I hear abutcoming.”
The look she gave him was one you’d give to an old, arthritic dog—a look full of sympathy, sadness, and a touch of pity. “We’ve known each other forever, and I’ve seen firsthand how you go into pick-up-a-chick-to-bang mode. I’ll give it to you that it’s been highly effective for you. I mean, whenever I’ve seen you morph intothat guy”—Xander’s eyes narrowed when she air-quoted the last two words—“you’ve never failed. However, as someone who knows you and cares about you and has zero interest in you getting into my pants, seeing you act like that when I know you’re a stand-up guy is gross and sleezy.”
Surprise had him rearing back. “What the hell, Tash? I don’t have a pick-up-a-chick-to-bang mode.”
Wait, did he?
She scoffed. “You do. Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve witnessed you deploy it, but seriously, when was the last time you took a woman out to dinner and stuck around the next day?”
He glanced around the crowded gym, leaned closer to Tash, and dropped his voice. “Not that it’s your business, but I didnotsleep with Freya last night.” They’d only shared the hottest kiss of his damn life.
Tash patted his chest. “That’s exactly my point. If you take a woman out, you’re banging her. Then you’re done. Am I wrong?”
Christ, when she put it that way, he sounded exactly like she’d described: gross and sleezy.
“Look, I’m not judging, Xan. You know I’m a big fan of casual relationships and mutually agreed upon hookups. My point is that you weren’t like that with Freya last night. You were... you. You weren’t doing that”—her nose scrunched, and she waved her hand at his face—“schtick you guys all do.”
He shook his head. Did he really act like that when he went out to pick up a woman for the night? He internally winced. The fact that he’d mentally phrased it aspick up a woman for the nightprobably said it all.
“I mean, Carmichael’s the same,” Tash said. “He’s like the younger version of you.”
Xander groaned. “Holy shit, please don’t compare me to him.”
“Wilson...” Tash shook her head and chuckled, continuing as if he hadn’t spoken. “Well, Wilson just avoids people in general, so I don’t have to witness him picking up women or anything. Trust me on this one. Being yourself is a good thing. When you weren’t being all douchebaggy last night, it was surprising for sure, but it was also really nice to see. From what I saw, Freya wasn’t running away screaming or kneeing you in the balls. Want my advice?”
He winced. “Pretty sure you’re going to give it to me whether I want it or not.”
