Jack turned toward me.
“Text Erica.” And then he turned toward Max. “Text Alexa. Tell them to convince Lilly that it’s a good idea to get out of the house tomorrow, to come to the club and look for a date.”
“Alexa won’t go for that.”
“Erica would probably help.”
My response and Max’s clashed together.
“Whose side are you on?” Max raised his voice and I leaned forward.
“The one where we actually get Lily and Greg together.” I hissed at him.
“And how is this helping?”
“Jack’s right and you know it. For some fucking reason, this whole scenario fits them perfectly. They need this little push to be together. Greg wants to play. Well, then let’s convince Lilly that she wants to also. Pin them against each other, they’ll both implode.”
I leaned back into the booth and grabbed for Jack’s drink, downing the rest of it and slamming it onto the table.
“What has your panties all in a bunch?” Jack appeared concerned as he looked into his glass, disappointment lining his face, knowing that his alcohol was completely gone.
“Nothing.” I reached for my phone, shooting a message off to Erica, hoping she would find a way to get Lilly in on this without it all getting too crazy.
“Is it a girl?” Jack’s sing-song voice had me seizing up. He nudged me with his shoulder to try to get more out of me. “Who is she? Do we know her?”
I looked over at Max, begging him to make Jack stop, somehow.
“I’ll text Alexa and have her let the girls know to meet us at Trend tomorrow night. She went over to Erica’s anyway with Lilly, so they are all together.”
“And I have a date!” Greg shouted in excitement as he plopped back down into the booth, another drink in hand. His words slurred together, making it hard to understand what he was saying, but we all got the gist of it. “Now to just make Lilly mine.”
“Pretty sure she’s already yours,” I chimed in. Over the years of Greg and Lilly being friends, you could see their chemistry, even though they never showed anything more than just being friends. It felt almost like Erica and mine’s situation, but yet it didn’t. Lilly and Greg were in court ordered marriage counseling and I was calling Erica my wife behind our friends’ backs.
Totally not the same.
“Not how I want her.” Greg’s face looked solemn and I knew what he meant. He wanted to parade her around, just like I wanted to do with Erica, but there was so much stopping both of us. “I want to be her husband. Not just the guy she married.”
My eyes met Greg’s and I understood completely. Even though I could tell he was still tipsy, the sincerity in his eyes showed the truth of his words.
“Then we’ll help you.” I reached across the table and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“We’re here for you, man.” Jack lifted his empty glass and we all toasted and headed our separate directions, with plans to go to one of the local clubs tomorrow night. But something still didn’t feel like it was complete for the night.
Instead of having my Uber driver head straight to my apartment, I had him stop in front of Erica’s house. I texted her, praying she would still be awake and was granted with a saving grace when the porch light turned on.
I watched Erica slip quietly out of the house and pad down the steps toward me, where I waited halfway up the driveway, just out of the bright lights.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered, looking adorable in her little robe and messy hair, with half open eyes. I leaned down and kissed her, grabbing her waist with my hand and pulling her body to be as close to me as I could get it. Her hands ran up my chest to my neck, where she pulled me down closer to her.
There was something in this moment of secrecy, where Alexa and Lilly were in her house and I had just left the guys that made this kiss that much more meaningful. We knew where we stood with helping our friends, but we weren’t going to let it keep us apart.
I pulled away slightly, hearing a whimper escape from her lips as she rubbed against me.
“Go back to sleep, peaches.” I kissed her forehead.
“I wish you could stay with me.”
“Tomorrow night. I promise.” I kissed her lips quickly this time and pulled away from her, walking backward toward the car waiting by the curb. Erica placed her fingers to her lips and watched as I walked away from her.
But we both knew it wasn’t going to be for long. We just had to get Lilly and Greg together. Then we could get back to our love story.
