“I’m sorry, the windows are practically blacked out, I could hardly see into the place, it just looked like two people standing there.” He tries to defend himself but his actions are inexcusable. A jury of my peers would not convict me if I murdered him right now, I’m sure of it.
I’m still not over it by the time we’re seated at the restaurant, but now I have decided to go with the silent treatment. I can’t believe my best friend just fucking cockblocked me. Not only that, but he ruined what I know would have been the best kiss I’ve ever had.
How do I know Gavin won’t come to work tomorrow and completely regret the moment we shared, or deny the chemistry between us? Ugh, I feel like my heart is already broken. That could have been my one and only chance to be with him and fucking Jordan ruined it.
“You’re being very dramatic, Sunshine,” he tells me over his menu as I lay across the table, my head resting on my folded arms as I sigh… loudly.
“Yes, Jordan, I am being dramatic. This requires drama. You have ruined my whole life,” I whine, which makes him laugh again. The bastard.
“Oh Petey, I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t do it on purpose. I couldn’t see what was happening, but I’m sure all is not lost. If nothing else, at least you know now that he is in fact interested in you, and now you just have to make sure he doesn’t forget it. Why don’t you tell me everything that happened, in great detail of course and we’ll come up with a plan to catch a bear.” He takes my hand squeezing it. I know in the logical part of my brain that he’s right and that he never would have cockblocked me on purpose. I am being a whiny baby about this.
“Ok fine, but I’m going to drink my weight in frozen margaritas and you’re going to sit there and listen to me talk about my perfect grizzly bear all night and not complain once,” I warn him and he rightly nods his agreement and acceptance of his punishment.
Four frozen margaritas and far too many tacos later, Jordan helps me into our apartment as I sing ‘Walking On Sunshine’ for possibly the hundredth time. “He’s my soulmate Jordy, I know it. I felt it when he kissed me. We’re going to get married and have furbabies and I’m going to get their faces tattooed on my chest when they save me from feral neighbor children, I mean dogs, feral neighbor dogs.” I hiccup loudly as he drops me unceremoniously onto my bed and I pass out with images of Gavin’s deep blue eyes and perfect lips at the forefront of my mind.
I am not walking on sunshine this morning. I am barely walking at all, more like shuffling as I make my way into Savage Ink. No matter how much my body begs me to stay in bed and allow my hangover to slowly drain my life force, I refuse to let the team down. Along with my usual C&D delivery I have a bag of greasy breakfast sandwiches for everybody, figuring this is what will either kill me or cure me.
“Rough night, Trouble?” Carter asks with a smirk as he sidles up beside me and snatches a breakfast sandwich and his coffee from the break room table. I look up at him then flop my cheek back onto the cold table top. “Tequila is the devil,” I mumble but instead of his laugh I hear a different deeper voice.
“Pete? Are you okay?” The concern laced in Gavin’s tone has me whipping my head up so fast I slide right off the chair and onto the floor with a soft thump and a loud groan.
“I’m okay, totally fit for work,” I pout but before I can attempt to pull myself up Gavin is right there, his hands braced under my arms pulling me up and back into the seat as he kneels at my feet. He softly brushes a curl out of my face with a tenderness a man his size shouldn’t possess.
“Come into my office Pete, you don’t look okay.”
GAVIN
I barely slept a wink last night because so many thoughts of Pete flooding my brain had my cock hard the whole time. As much as I know it’s a bad idea to get involved with him, I just can’t get his body and smile out of my head. To allow anybody even close to the black hole that is my heart is a bad idea, but especially Jellybean… he shouldn’t be anywhere near my darkness. Yet as soon as I stepped into Savage Ink this morning my body was seeking him out like a heat-seeking missile.
Seeing him clearly hungover brings back far too many memories of myself that I would rather forget but I can’t leave him like that. I need to be the support for him that I never had. Ushering him down onto the worn leather couch in my office I quickly grab a bottle of water from my mini fridge and a packet of Advil from my desk drawer before unscrewing the cap and dropping down beside him.
“Small sips, okay? Take two of these and then I’ll drive you home,” I say softly, making sure to keep my voice low so it doesn’t hurt his already throbbing head.
I look into his bright eyes now dull with pain and I feel my heart squeeze in my chest. Even hungover as balls, he's beautiful.
“I don’t need to go home Grumpy Bear, I just need these and… maybe another kiss?” he asks, throwing the pills in his mouth then turning a hopeful gaze to me. I couldn’t fight my smile if I tried.
“A kiss, huh? Is that the secret cure for a hangover?” I ask, eyebrows raised in challenge.
“Oh yes, didn’t anybody ever tell you that a kiss and snuggle from your soulmate fixes just about anything? It’s a medically proven fact, I’m sure of it.” He grins, moving closer to me on the small couch to lay his head on my chest and throw an arm around my waist to snuggle against me.
With a mind of its own my arm moves to secure him to my side and I preen at his soft contented sigh. I watch as his eyes close and he inhales deeply like he’s trying to memorize my scent. Soulmates. He thinks we are soulmates. It’s so obvious that Pete Cliffer has not been jaded by the world if he believes in soulmates and actually thinks that an asshole like me could be his.
“You sure you don’t want to go back and sleep it off?” I ask, trying to leave the choice in his hands. He doesn’t answer and just keeps cuddling my chest. “I have a client scheduled in a few. Why don’t you stay here for a bit, and decide if you’re going to be able to stick it out for the rest of the day?”
“I’m sorry,” he says with a sad voice. “I shouldn’t have drunk that fourth margarita last night. I don’t want to lose this job. I love it here.”
“It’s okay, everybody has a bad day from time to time.” I assure him as I lean down closer and nuzzle against the side of his face. I know it’s stupid and likely irresponsible but somehow the thought of kissing him to cure his hangover makes perfect sense, I’m just a full-service boss. “Tell you what, Jellybean. I’m gonna go do my job and you’re going to lay down here and wait for the meds to kick in.” I stand from the couch and let him get comfortable. “And just to make sure I’m doing everything I can for you…”
I lean down and kiss him lightly. It’s not enough, not nearly enough to squash my need for him, but I can’t trust myself to deepen it. I don’t think I would be able to stop.
His fogged mind doesn’t register what went down, because only when I’m about to leave the room does he speak again.
“Wait, come back.” I look over my shoulder. “It was too little, too soft, I need more tongue for it to work,” he complains and holds out his hands to pull on an invisible rope that would take me back to him. I chuckle.
“Take a nap, Jellybean.” I wink at him and drag myself out of my office. How the fuck am I meant to concentrate now with the taste of him still lingering on my lips and the image of his body curled up on my couch? I just want to give in to that pull and hold him. I of all people know how awful it is the day after a night of heavy drinking. But above the overwhelming need to take care of him, I want to find out the reason he got so drunk. Maybe he was just having too much fun with his friend but what if his mind is whispering to him like mine did, still does, and like Adam’s did? Although alcohol wasn’t Adam’s downfall. No, he chose harder, swifter substances to take his own life, but still, the whispering was just too loud for him and I can’t bear the thought of somebody so full of light like Pete, feeling that kind of sadness.
CHAPTER 8
