“Oh, God no. I just meant that I got to spend tonight with you. Nothing else matters.”
Oh, fuck. He needs to stop it, pronto. It’s our first date. He can’t say shit like that after our first date. “Okay, Romeo.” I wrap my arms around him. “Go before he comes back in here and sees this mess.” I nod at the abstract art my dick created on his shirt.
“I don’t have to see it to know it’s there.” Pete’s voice comes from the kitchen, making my head drop back with a loud groan.
Eric laughs and lifts me off his lap. After tucking my dick back into my sweatpants like the gentleman he is, he heads to the door. Part of me wants to tell him to stay, to wait while I try to explain this whole thing to Pete, then we can climb into bed and—dare I say it—cuddle. Maybe I should just leave with him. We could totally make it to his car before Pete realizes I'm not there and comes after me.
Eric’s lips brush against mine, bringing me back to reality. As much as I want to, I can’t just run away. I also can’t ask Eric to sit through what I imagine is going to be a dramatic performance from Pete. I’ve never kept anything from my best friend before. We have always told each other everything, so I know he's probably confused right now, his mind conjuring up crazy wild assumptions.
“Call me later, okay, Lashes?”
I nod, and it's only at that moment I realise Eric has been fully clothed this whole time. He probably came in his pants. That's going to be a really uncomfortable drive home. The thought makes me grimace, but it doesn't seem polite to point it out, so I quickly fix my expression.
“Sure, if I survive Pete’s little intervention.”
“Next date is for you to plan,” he calls over his shoulder. I just stand there watching him walk away. He has a really exceptional ass in those pants.
“Well, Mister. I would never date my boss.” Pete’s eyes are burning holes in the back of my head. “Start talking.”
“Me start talking? Why did you burst into my apartment like I owed you money?”
“Why did I—” he moves his mouth like a fish out of water before turning to Gavin. “Can you believe this guy?” He storms into the living room and starts pacing. “Remember when we decided on a system if one of us was not answering his phone?”
I nod cautiously. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with you showing up guns a-blazing?”
A long time ago, we made a pact that if one of us calls the other and there’s no answer, we try again in half an hour. If it happens more than five times, we go full defcon.
I check my pockets on autopilot. My phone isn’t on me. I eye the couch with suspicion. It’s probably been eaten by the cushion. Fuck. “Sorry, Sunshine, I have no idea where I left my phone. It’s been a long night.”
“One with a happy ending, it seems.” Pete stops in front of me, hands perched on his hips. “You riding your boss’s lap was the last thing I thought I’d find when I rushed Gavin over here. I was expecting to see you dead.”
A laugh bursts out of me as I drop onto the couch. Pete’s enraged stare just makes me laugh even harder.
“What the fuck, Jordy? I was worried about you! What is so funny?”
Reaching up, I grab his arm and pull him down beside me, ignoring his protests about sitting on the sex couch. “If you had arrived about four hours ago, you might have found me dead.”
CHAPTER 21
Jordan
“You better start talking, Jordy, or so help me God… I have no idea what is going on with you and I don’t like it.”
Taking a deep breath, I start at the beginning. How Eric and I hooked up the night before my interview with him. How we didn’t exchange names and had no idea who each other was. I tell him how Eric and I have been in a situationship ever since. Seeing the hurt on his face when he realises how long I have been keeping this from him creates an ache in my heart.
Reaching over I take his hand in mine. “I know we tell each other everything, Sunshine, and I'm sorry I kept this from you. But I knew as soon as I told you I was sleeping with Eric, you would run off with the idea of double dates and cookouts. It wasn’t like that with Eric and me. Well, not at first, anyway.”
“Not at first? Well, how about now? Are you two in a relationship? Like a real relationship?” Pete is practically vibrating with excitement, which instantly makes me groan. I know where this is heading, and it's exactly what I have been trying to avoid.
Instead of giving him a chance to go off on a tangent, I continue to explain it all: our six months of hot fucking, then finding Blake, then feeling it all shift till we came to our senses and decided to try this dating thing.
“Except instead of going on our first one tonight, I got myself all worked up, drank way too much vodka and pretended to be dead when he came over and found me stuck with my leather pants around my thighs.” Holding out my hands, I look squarely at Pete. Now he knows everything, we can let the interrogation commence.
“I—” Pete clears his throat and looks over at Gavin, who has been listening to all of this from his perch on the breakfast bar. I have to give it to the big guy, he did not laugh at all. I think he was close at one point, but masked it with a cough. “Well, it’s official.” Pete directs his words at his fiance. “I’m not the most awkward one anymore.”
That’s when Gavin loses his composure and a loud laugh bursts from him.
“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up,” I snap, then wait for the laughter to die down.
