He squeezes, and my knees nearly buckle. He keeps me standing by pinning his weight against me. “You really want to entertain this guy?”
Obviously not, but it’s the right thing to do. Before, we would have shooed him out of the door, distancing ourselves from everyone in sight. Being alone, together, that’s our thing. Adding a new person into the mix—that’s something we haven’t quite figured out yet.
With his other hand, he unbuttons my jeans.
“Lo!” I shriek. He’s trying to make Ryke so uncomfortable that he flees, but what I’ve come to understand about the guy, he’s impenetrable among all offenses. Somehow, I disentangle Lo from my body and button my jeans, my neck heating as I create distance from him.
I stand between Lo by the kitchen and Ryke by the foyer, wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do now.
Lo angles his body so he has a good view of Ryke. “You’re still here.”
Ryke scrutinizes Lo, trying to figure him out from afar. “Lily said you both would help me with research on Comic-Con.”
Lo takes this in. “She agreed to this?” He looks down at me. “That’s unlike you.”
“I owe him.”
Lo’s jaw locks as his eyes flicker to Ryke. “And you can’t come back later?”
“I’m here now. What’s the big deal?”
Lo scowls at him like he’s a moron. “You’re cock-blocking me, that’s the big fucking deal.”
I want to disappear. Like right now.
Ryke glances at me and then tilts his head at Lo without a shadow of insecurity. “Have sex with her later. I’m not stopping you.” He inches closer. “Lily, you want to show me your comics or should I go find them myself?”
Lo interjects. “Hey, I don’t know you. There’s no way in hell you’re going to be alone with her.”
“Lo, it’s fine,” I tell him. Really, I havezerodesire to do anything sexual with Ryke, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual.
Ryke inspects Lo once more and then he nods. “If I was you, I’d probably be the same way. Some strange guy creeping in with your girlfriend—I get it. It’s weird.”
“That’s an understatement,” Lo says flatly. “I make out with my girlfriend, you stand there. I put my hand down her pants, you stand there. I tell you I’m going to fuck her, you stand there. What am I supposed to make of that?”
My heart beats wildly, and I’ve lost the ability to breathe. I must be dreaming. Yeah, this is a dream. I’ll wake up soon, but obviously not soon enough.
“That I’m a self-assured guy that likes to get what he wants, and right now that’s information about Comic-Con. Pretty simple, right?”
Lo takes this in.
To nudge his thoughts, I say, “I’ll grab a fewNew X-Mencomics. Stay here.” I don’t give Lo the option of backing out. I disappear into his room, sprinting around to try and gather some issues. After I collect a handful, I rush out of the hallway.
Lo has crept into the kitchen where he opens a cupboard for a glass. When I pass Ryke by the sink, the guy gives me a look likehelp me.
I’m trying, I mouth.
Try harder,he mouths back.
I flip him off in a knee-jerk reaction, and he rolls his eyes. I set the comics on the counter beside him and then fill the space in the kitchen between Lo and Ryke.
Lo closes the fridge, plopping an ice cube into his whiskey. When he leans an elbow on the counter, he eyes me likecome here.He’ll probably wrap an arm around my waist and let me sink my body into his.
No, Lily.I shake my head at him and wade in the center, unsure and uncomfortable.
His face sharpens at the rejection, and he directs his hate onto Ryke. “What do you need to know?”
He shrugs. “Anything.”
