“Yay,” Trevor said as he clapped. “I’m excited.” He pinned me with a you-owe-me-big-time look that had me chuckling.
I wasn’t sure if I should buy my friend a bottle of champagne for being a stellar wingman or slap him upside his head for enabling my toxic behavior.
The rest of the lunch crawled by in a too-slow blur of stolen glances at Ryder, insufficient blood flow to my brain, and a constant desire to donkey kick Corvin, whose mooning over Ryder bordered on pathetic.
Trevor kept the conversation flowing, drawing Corvin’s attention whenever his slobbering over Ryder became too obvious, while I reverted to one-word answers and grunts. If Iparticipated in the conversation, I’d have either blasted Corvin with a verbal assault or begged Ryder to leave now and feast on my cock for lunch instead of his panini.
I snuck another peek at Ryder to find him watching me. My tongue dried up at the heat in his eyes. They’d darkened until I almost couldn’t find the speck of green I’d become obsessed with.
I didn’t know what the hell we were doing besides playing with fire, but I did know one thing.
I was seriously fucked.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
RYDER
After serving drinks until two a.m., coming my brains out on Alex’s tongue, and jerking him until he flooded my hand, you’d think I’d have passed out the second I got home. Instead, I’d laid flat on my back, staring at the ceiling for an hour, tense. My skin felt sensitive and irritated, as though I’d developed an allergy to sleeping under my father’s roof. The thought of spending another night there had me wanting to scream, so I got up, grabbed my laptop, and searched for apartments until the sun came up. As soon as the business offices opened at eight, I called my top five and decided to rent one right then and there. Tonight, I’d sleep in my own apartment in a building my father did not own.
At some point, I would have to speak to him. I couldn’t expect to avoid him forever, but today wasn’t the day. I needed some time to determine the best way to approach the conversation and assert myself in a way he’d accept and respect. I didn’t really think he’d cut me off. My mother would have a fit if he tried, but on the off chance he did, my bank accounts were fat enough to sustain me for years, thanks to investments I’d made once I turned eighteen from money my grandparents left to me.
I didn’t plan on running into Alex today, but what a fun surprise. Helpful too. Corvin and I had been friends for years. Sure, we’d hooked up two or three times when we’d met, buthe wasn’t my usual type, and I wasn’t into him in that way. Unfortunately, he felt differently and had expressed his desire for a repeat performance a few times since I’d returned home. Turning him down gently didn’t seem to be working. Maybe it was shitty of me, but I hoped he finally got the message after I asked Alex to join me while I signed the lease.
And if I played my cards right, maybe we could get each other off again.
After putting my car in park, I pressed my hand over my cock, which had been half-hard from the second I glimpsed Alex in the restaurant. Feeling his gaze flick my way every few seconds hadn’t helped the situation, and I’d had to walk away from the table, holding my winter hat over my crotch. The move didn’t fool Trevor for a second—Corvin either by the crushed look in his eyes.
I sighed. That did the trick, and my cock deflated. At some point in the near future, I’d have to endure an uncomfortable conversation with my friend.
Alex pulled his old beater in next to me. He climbed out of his car with the same sour expression I now realized was his thinking face.
“You good?” I called out as I opened my door.
“Yeah.” He glanced up at the brand-new luxury apartment building. “Place looks fancy.”
I shrugged. “I guess.” It looked normal to me. Rarely did I think of things in terms of fancy or not. “Let’s go in. The leasing agent is going to meet us in the apartment.”
He craned his neck and looked up. “How many floors is it?”
“Sixteen, I think. There is everything from studios to three bedrooms. The top two floors have penthouses.”
He frowned. “Ryder, which floor are we going to?” The suspicion in his tone had me glancing his way, and his deep frown made me chuckle.
The guy was clearly out of his element, and I had no idea why I found his discomfort so endearing. I winked. “Guess,” I said as I strode toward the entrance.
“Shit,” he whispered, hustling to catch up to me. “Maybe I should just go. I don’t really fit in here or know how to talk to all these fancy people.”
I stopped and spun around on the spot. Alex would have crashed into me, but I put a hand on his chest, halting his progress. “First of all,” I said, shaking my head. “You work at Top Shelf. You deal withfancypeople four nights a week.” Then I curled my fingers into his puffy jacket and pulled him so close I could smell his fresh aftershave and feel the heat coming off his face. “Second, I got hard just sitting next to you at lunch, and I suspect you did as well. I plan on doing something about it right after I sign the lease and kick the agent out the door. Don’t make me take care of this alone,” I whispered as I thrust my re-awakened dick against his leg.
“Christ,” he bit out, squeezing his eyes shut. “You play dirty.”
“Mmm, I do a lot of things dirty.”
His nostrils flared as his eyes opened, so dark and stormy with lust, I almost shoved my hand into his pants right there.
“All right, I’ll come… go,” he said as though realizing I’d run with that slip. Then he reached down and adjusted himself. “Just… shut the fuck up, or I’m going to scar the leasing agent for life.” He shoved me away as he spoke.
My head fell back as I laughed. The times Alex joked were my favorite, especially when he did it in that growly tone. I caught a peek at the noticeable bulge in his worn jeans and swallowed hard. My dick responded in kind. Maybe his jokes were my second favorite thing.
