That pit deep inside me that started to heal last weekend, standing in Gemma’s tiny kitchen, it opens back up again. The sourest tinge I’ve ever felt overtakes all of my innards, tainting all of my good thoughts with really fucking bad ones, and I feel a monster I’m unfamiliar with rearing its head. Keeping it at baymight take all of my energy tonight, but I know for the sake of repairing our friendship, I have to do it.
I barge forward, extending a hand well before I’m actually at the table, Kayla practically running in her heels to keep up with me.
“Hey man, I’m Aaron.” The force in my voice startles them apart and his dumb face turns around to look at mine, excitement spreading across his features as he realizes we’re here.
Ugh, he looks like a fucking puppy dog, what the fuck is this?!
His square, black, thick-framed glasses could even be markings around a dog’s eyes. If a tongue starts hanging out of that big ass smile, I’m out of here.
It takes him a second to pry himself off of my best friend, but he hops out of the booth excitedly, extending his hand to meet mine. His handshake is firm, despite the deceptively lanky form.What the fuck is this guy?
“A-A-Ron!” he exclaims, like he’s been waiting to meet me.
Gemma sidles out of the booth, taking a second to extract herself from the inside seat of it, laughing at Simon’s joke as she makes it out.
Where an easy smile might normally grace my features at the obvious reference to a comedy bit Gemma knows I love, what feels a lot more like a mocking grimace appears instead.
I pump his hand once and release it, while Kayla, who’s been silent since we entered, peeks out from behind me and makes her way to Gemma, arms spread out in greeting. I think she’s thankful to have another chance to spend time with her, already hopeful this will go better than their last—and first—time.
Kayla’s in this tight little dress that’s got these sexy cutouts that show off her curves and it really hugs all her best assets, out there for the world to see. As Gemma leans in to hug her rightback, a warm, welcoming smile on her face—she looks like she’s still fuckingglowingfrom whatever that asshole said to her—I notice how short her fucking dress is. That little sparkly gold skirt ends only a few inches below her…you know. And for the first time in our lives, my eyes laser in on that part of her, right between her thighs, this tempting gap between them I want to explore with every single part of me. It hits me that there is something a lot of men wouldreallywant hiding right there, and I might now be one of them.
This girl I’ve spent countless days and nights with, whom I’ve never harbored a sexual thought for in my life, is now overtaking everything my minute brain has available. A few inches of material are all that keep my eyes off of her most intimate areas. Suddenly, I’m pretty sure I’d do fucking anything to get to the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow.
My mind races with possibilities—wondering what it would feel like to sink into her, how tight she would be, what kind of noises she’d make as I did so. What it would be like to have those arms and legs wrapped around me in a whole new way.
The thought hits me that this guy next to her already knows the answers to all of those questions and more, and my head twitches, my hand clenching and unclenching by my side.
It’s this exact moment that I realize how how deep the shit I’m in really is.
My dick twitches in my dark jeans, and I move Kayla’s body in front of mine to hide evidence of anything that might be visible. She leans down to start getting in our side of the booth as the girls break apart, but I tug on her hand again. “Mind if I get in first?” I ask.
She shakes her head, like it’s no problem, but I still feel the need to give her an explanation. “Privacy,” I tell her simply. She’s got a pretty big following on IG, but she doesn’t tend to get swarmed when we go out, lucky for her.
If I were more honest with myself (and her), I might admit that I want to sit closer to Gemma, to take in the way she looks, maybe get her attention off Sebastian. I vaguely take note of Kayla introducing herself tohim, and as Gemma and I slide all the way in, to the end of the booth, my eyes fall back down to her small chest, more on display than I’ve ever seen it.
She might notice, because her head drops in that sweet way that shows she’s embarrassed, her new, shorter hair falling forward and covering her face from my view, which is my fucking loss right now.
Her date slides in next to her, and she turns to face him as he does, and the douchebag leans in and places a kiss on her damn mouth right in front of us.
A little too late, I notice I’m staring, as Kayla nudges into me unnecessarily hard as she settles in next to me. I can feel how big her smile is without even looking at her, which is convenient, but it seems like she’s genuinely excited about this double date.
That makes one of us.
By the time Stavros lets go of her face and they both turn toward us, Gem looks all flushed and out of breath again, and my heart is pumping green fury through my veins.
“So Aaron, this is Spencer,” she says, grinning, gesturing between us, like this has been a long time coming or some shit.
A single head nod of greeting is all I can bring myself to do. “Spencer. Heard a lot about you, man.” I might be a dick, but I try not to be a liar, so I’m not gonna tell him it’s good to meet him. I hate that he’s across from me right now, with one arm around my best friend, and the other beneath the table. I’m trying not to think about what he might be doing to her with it right now. What I’d sure as shit be doing if I were in his place.
“It’s so good to meet you, brother! Big fan of yours.Rough and Tumblewas the best movie of the year last year, you were robbed at the Oscars, man.” From anyone else, I’d appreciatethose words. “But, if I can be honest with you,” he leans forward, like he’s sharing a secret between us girls or some shit, and it is going to take more than my measly acting skills to pretend like I like this guy, “my absolute favorite thing you’ve done was that fantasy book to movie adaptation a few years ago.”
This. Fucking. Guy.
Did Gem tell him to say that?
My eyes shift left to lock on hers, and she’s nodding eagerly, whether to back up his statement, or encourage me to play nice, I’m not sure.
“You guys have actually worked with a lot of the same people!” Gem crows, a little too enthusiastic to be her normal voice.
