I jump up from the seat, placing my beer on the coffee table. “What do you mean you don’t know? Where is she?” I’m pacing the room, digging my phone from my slacks.
“She’s just keeping something from me, that’s all.”
Fuck. He knows something. How much does he actually know? “She’s all right, though. Right?”
“As far as I know. She was home today when I nipped over to see my parents off on their cruise.”
“How long are they away for?”
“Two weeks.”
I hold back the smile at thoughts of being with Glory every night for two whole weeks. Damn, I shouldn’t be here thinking of all the things I want to do to her. At least not while her brother sits on my coach, but I can’t help it. I’m like a kid with a new toy who can’t stop pressing the different buttons. I want to know everything about her and what she likes. Not just sexually, but in every other way, too.
“How’s things with you and this girl then? The one with the—” He holds his palms out in front of his chest as if he’s juggling two watermelons while wiggling his eyebrows.
I shake my head. “Can you not impersonate my girlfriend’s tits?”
“Girlfriend? Well, that escalated quickly.”
As I swallow another swig of beer, I realise what I’ve said. My throat closes up as the drink attempts to go down the wrong hole. Before I know it, I’m coughing it back up.
Gray pats my back. “You don’t have to choke. I won’t mention her tits again. I didn’t realise it was serious.”
I give him a glare while I clear my throat. My hand wraps around my neck, then I take another swig from the bottle to soothe the scratchiness away. I don’t normally do girlfriends. Damn. I go back to LA when this is all over. She wants to move out there with me.
When she mentioned it before, I said I’d help her get set up in her own place. Now I’m thinking fuck it, she could just move in with me. But this is dangerous territory. If we break up—and we probably will eventually because she’s too young to settle down—it could ruin my friendship with Gray.
Both our families have been friends for so long. Our parents even cruise together. The last thing I want to do is bring any conflict between our families. Not to mention if Gray found out what I’ve done, he’d go ballistic.
Gray stares at me with a frown. “Man, you look even worse than I do. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” I sigh.
“I know that sigh. I’ve been doing that same sigh for the last couple of weeks.” He takes a drink of his beer and examines it as if he can’t believe it’s empty already.
“I’ll get us another.” Dragging myself into the kitchen, I can’t stop thinking about this new dilemma I find myself in. I should put an end to this right now. But I know as soon as I see those big brown eyes and those big….waves in her hair, I’m a goner.
I open the fridge and just grab the full six-pack of beer, knowing it’s gonna be a long night. Gray might think I’m still a player, but Glory is more than enough for any man.
Gray shouts from the sofa, “What the fuck?”
I rush in with the six-pack under my arm.
Gray has a silly grin on his face and the TV remote in hand. My blood curdles and clots in my veins. It drains from my face, making me lightheaded.
“You still watching pornos?” He chuckles like a schoolboy, reminding me when we snuck out here and jerked off to a porno we stole from the back room of the local store.
With a rushed voice, I blurt, “Give me that remote!”
From the angle of the camera, you can’t see anything other than my swift ass, pounding Glory into the mattress. He clearly hasn’t seen her or he wouldn’t be grinning like a fucking idiot.
“Wait.” He holds the remote away from me. “Is that you?” He stands, getting a closer look at the birthmark on my ass cheek. “Fuck.”
Before he notices anything else, I jump over the coffee table and rip the TV plug from the wall. The screen goes black and I let out a breath.
“You dirty fucker. That was you, wasn’t it? You get off on filming yourself?”
I clench my jaw, ready for the fist that’s about to hit it, but he bursts into a fit of laughter. He doesn’t know who was underneath me. I close my eyes, lean my head back and thank the Lord for small mercies.
