She reared back. “Backfired on you? Like how?”
“We actually got along. It was nice. Odd but nice. Then I suggested we kiss to get over the awkwardness of when we kissed on Saturday.”
“Why would you have to kiss?” The crease in her brow deepened. “You aren’t the bride and groom. Just maybe hang on him a little if you want people to think you’re dating, but kissing isn’t completely necessary, right?”
I clenched my eyes shut. She needed to stop with the logic.
“I thought PDA would make it more believable, and maybe part of me still wanted to get a rise out of him, to see if he’d back down. He didn’t.”
Her hand flew to her gaping mouth.
“So all those years of blistering sexual tension finally came to a head!”
“Morgan, please stop,” I pleaded as she folded in laughter.
“I can’t believe you finally kissed Tyler. So now this little game you offered to play got a bit too real. Do I follow?”
“Yes.” I sighed, draping my hand over my eyes. The smooth glide of Tyler’s tongue against mine as he moaned into my mouth played on a continuous and torturous loop, my imagination adding parts at the end with every repeat. Extra footage included me palming his cock through his jeans or him turning me around after growling at me to put both hands against my car door as he plunged his hand down my pants.
Pissing him off to the point of distraction had been a euphoric high for years now, but kissing him, tasting his lips and the memory of his body pressed into mine? That was bliss on a level I never thought existed. What could come of this though?
A bruising kiss didn’t mean anything other than that he could rise to the challenge and put me in my place for once, no matter how much I’d loved every second of it.
“I remember when you guys were, like, this teenage inferno of hormones and lust,” Morgan said. “You’d argue, and we’d all stare to see if you would finally make out and get it over with.”
“Well, we’re thirty-five, and he hates me. You know this. He only agreed to this fake date because his ex is pregnant and he didn’t want to lose face in front of her or his family.”
“What did he say when he agreed? Like, did he even say why he’d take you?”
“He said I was the perfect distraction.” I shrugged.
Morgan snickered.
“I’m sure he just meant that I pissed him off that much.” I groaned. “I’m a shitty person, I can admit that.” I dragged a hand down my face.
“Did he recoil when you kissed him or something?”
“Oh, no, he didn’t recoil. Hewentfor it. For a second, I thought he was inching me toward the back door of my car.” I covered my eyes, rubbing my lids as Morgan laughed. I’d come home freaked out, my nerves shot and my panties ruined.
“Sex is going to be epic and may ruin the both of you.” Her shoulders rolled with an exaggerated shiver.
“Sex?” I gaped at her. “Are you kidding me? This was a freak thing. I’ll do this favor for him, and we can be sort of friendly, distant acquaintances.”
“I bet he looks good in a suit.”
“You’re not helping,” I said as my head fell against the table with a thud. There wasn’t much that didn’t look good on Tyler. I’d seen him in a suit a few times and almost gave myself a migraine trying to tear my eyes away, and that was when we were young. With his baker’s biceps and broad chest now, I’d have to fight just as hard not to ogle him all night.
“All kidding aside, I’m worried about you.” Morgan reached out to squeeze my hand. “You need to stop blaming and punishing yourself for everything.”
“I’m not punishing myself.” I let out a long gust of frustrated air. “I’ve been selfish and spoiled, and in my mid-thirties it’s finally time to snap out of it.”
“I know that part of the reason why you moved back was to atone for all this guilt you torture yourself with but…” She paused, grabbing my hand. “A shitty person wouldn’t have fought anyone who looked in my direction the wrong way when I came out in school after all my other friends acted like I had the plague.”
“I didn’t fight everyone—just the assholes. And you’d do the same for me.”
“I think it takes a special kind of person to break someone’s nose for upsetting their best friend, even if you freaked out after that a nose could bleed that much.”
A real laugh fell from my lips for the first time all day.
