She was sexy as hell and smart and talented and had an enormous heart. But the things I enjoyed the most about her were her unpredictability and willingness to be spontaneous. She was guarded and stubborn and maybe a little jaded, but she challenged me, and I loved that. It made my life infinitely less boring.
I was becoming a prisoner of my ever-growing feelings for her. Locked in this friends-with-benefits purgatory with only myself to blame.
We had fun, but I had no idea what I was doing when it came to a real or serious relationship. When Eve and I were together, things felt easy. They felt right. She made me feel like I could do the serious relationship thing.
I just didn’t know where to start.
My apartment grew crowded as everyone arrived, striding into the kitchen to add their food and drinks to the counter where Eve was arranging the taco bar.
“Thanks for coming over to cook and help set up. Nothing I made would compare to all this,” I said, gesturing to the vast array of dishes and dips she’d spent the day preparing for everyone. Everything was homemade: the salsas, pico de gallo, guacamole, tortillas, and meat, cooked and seasoned to perfection.
“That’s what friends are for, right?” she said, her back to me as she arranged the dish just so.
I stared at her back, jaw clenched, as she finished setting up the taco bar.
I hated that word when it came to her and I.
Friends.
I wanted to fuck that word right out of her vocabulary.
As if we were nothing more than pals hanging out, throwing aparty together. As if every intimate moment we’d had meant nothing.
I was losing it. This wasn’t me. This clingy, needy, simp of a man.
I walked out of the kitchen, cracking open my beer, trying to quell the possessiveness gnawing at my insides.
Friends.
I was more than a friend. I knew it. And so did she.
She just wasn’t willing to admit it yet.
Eve was wrapping up in the kitchen when my phone rang. The caller ID showed the office calling, so I headed to my small, cluttered office to take the call away from the noise.
“This is Ben,” I answered.
“Mr. O’Connor, this is Amber Mills. I’m part of the internal audit team at CHMG. I’m sorry to be calling you on the weekend.”
Sirens sounded out the window and Eve called out that the food was ready, but I focused on the woman on the other end of the phone.
“It’s no problem. What can I do for you?”
“We’ve been working on an internal audit, and we just had a few questions about some things that popped up on your expense account. Would we be able to meet August 10th to go over them with you?”
I grabbed a pen from my desk to jot the date down.
“Sure. What time?” I asked, unworried. It was most likely standard questions they asked everybody.
“Ten o’clock?”
I could feel Eve’s eyes boring into the back of my skull and I smirked, a plan to rile her up a little brewing.
“Of course, Amber.” I put emphasis on her name. “It’s a date. I’ll see you then.”
I turned around, finding Eve’s eyes of steel on me. I rolled my lips together to prevent my smile from breaking free. Her fingers wrapped themselves in my t-shirt before she tugged me down towards her, vibrating with rage.
“Who’s Amber?” she hissed.
