“I found this cutie lingering outside,” Miller said. “What’s your name again?”
“Kit,” the blond guy said.Kit? Short for Kit Kat? Would Miller be his Knight Rider?“I work at Wright Creations. Gray invited me because he wanted to introduce me to his friend.”
Just fucking great. Was I supposed to just sit back and watch Miller seduce this guy? Since Gray and Chase were in the kitchen refilling drinks, Miller went around the room and introduced everyone to the newcomer.
“Oh,” Kit said when Miller got to me. “Hi.” He gave me a little finger wave, which I returned in kind. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Bruce Wayne?”
“Nope.”
Kit smiled and I had to admit he was pretty. “Do you happen to be the friend Gray invited me to meet?” he asked.
Miller threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, sweetie. This is the kind of guy your mama has warned you about. Pretty sure you’re here to meet me.”
I quirked a brow at Miller because he was no better than I was.
Kit laughed and raked his eyes over Miller. “My boss has excellent taste.”
What the hell had Gray been thinking with this setup? If I didn’t know better, I’d think he did it on purpose to… What? Make me jealous? That was preposterous, yet an unfamiliar emotion stirred in my gut and grew stronger each time the kid laughed at one of Miller’s stupid jokes.
My phone beeped in my pocket midway through the first quarter, and I knew it was probably a text from Ava. They didn’t need to know that, and I needed an excuse to get out of there. “There’s the bat signal now. I’m needed elsewhere.”
“I hope you’re able to stop whatever villain is wreaking havoc all over our fair city,” Kit said playfully.
I rose from the couch and turned to face the two men who remained seated. My eyes remained on Miller’s when I replied to Kit’s remark. “It’s not that kind of emergency, kid.” I took immense pleasure in watching the smug smile slip from Miller’s face. “Night all.”
“Night, J.” Chase was the only one to reply as I made a hasty retreat.
It was ten degrees outside, but I didn’t bother putting on my coat. I needed the frigid air to cool the fury I had building inside me. I started my car and retrieved the message I had received in the house. As I suspected, it was from Ava.
Thank you for your support today! You’re going to be an uncle later this year. <3
I was excited for her and Brandon, and I was glad she’d spoken to him.
You’re going to be an amazing mom! <3
I pulled up the internet on my phone and did a search for River’s Crossing Pet Shelter. I could’ve gone out and hooked up with a random stranger to fuck Miller out of my system, but my house would still be lonely afterward. According to their website, the shelter was open for another two hours, so I aimed my car that direction. It felt like I was knocking over another barrier in my attempt to find a bit of happiness for myself. Hopefully, this would turn out better than the barrier I’d knocked down for Miller.
Miller
“Bruce Wayne?” The irritation I heard in Gray’s voice through the phone made me smile. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing as I pictured the look of disgust on his face as I repeated the parts of the conversation he missed while they were filling drinks. “He’s the villain, not the hero.”
His outrage made me laugh harder than I had in ages. “Only Chase could date both Batman and Superman,” I teased.
“Oh, shut the fuck up, dickhead. I don’t even know why I love you.”
“Oh my God, Gray, you need help.”
But he wasn’t the only one. I waited a month for Jag to call or text me. I had stupidly read more into us exchanging numbers or the tender kiss we’d shared before he left me alone in my office. He was the one who’d wanted to exchange numbers, so he should’ve been the one to initiate our next arrangement.My dick perked up at the thought of a convenient arrangement with Jag, one where we both got what we needed without any entanglements or complications.
My best friend sighed heavily. “JJ’s happiness means a lot to Chase, and I have to accept the guy in my life whether I like it or not. You need to be my ally, not the person who stirs shit up because you think it’s funny. Okay?”
“No problem.” Truthfully, I found nothing funny about JJ and Chase being former lovers. It gnawed on my nerves and irritated me in a way I didn’t understand. It felt a lot like the jealousy I experienced when I realized Jag and Senator Thompson had been lovers. It was something that didn’t make any sense to me at all. In my mind, you had to be in love with someone to feel jealous. I wasn’t in love with Jag, but my body craved the things he did to me. I was smart enough to know the difference, so why did I care about his past so much?
I chatted with Gray for several more minutes, and we made tentative plans to play racquetball sometime the following week. My mind was stuck on the situation with Jag long after I disconnected the call. It was as if I couldn’t move on once I’d thought about what a casual arrangement with Jag might look like. My heart sped up as I rolled the possibilities through my brain—a lot of sex that didn’t require disastrous dates or explanations about my position on love and romance. I wanted to see how far I could push Jag and how far he could push me in return. It would be simple and uncomplicated.
I sat staring at my phone for a long time before I worked up the nerve to send him a simple text with three innocuous words.Are you busy?There, I’d taken the first step and sat back, trying to relax as I waited to see how long it would take him to respond if he did at all.
No.
