“Well, since we’re just friends,” he said, staring at me in a very non-friend way. “As your friend, I should probably tell you what I think of that guy.”
Uh-oh. I knew that look. Not the hungry one he was giving me and my slinky dress two seconds ago. The one he was giving me now; it was the same one my sister gave me whenever Carter came around.
“He’s a douche,” he informed me.
Aaaaand that’s pretty much what Dani would say.
“Have you met my sister?” I asked, taking a leisurely sip of my drink. “Because you seem to have similar thoughts on the matter.”
“Because we both care about you,” he said. “And that dude does not.”
“You don’t know him,” I said. “That’s not fair to say…”
Then I actuallyheardwhat he’d said, and my heart did that fluttery thing.
He just said he cares about me.
“That dude,” he said, “cares about getting his dick wet. End of story.”
Okay. I didn’t love that. It was harsh… but there was also a small part of me that knew it might be true. I’d definitely come to see Carter in a different light since we broke up. When the pheromone fog cleared, maybe the truth was I finally saw him as he really was. As he’d always been.
Still. It wasn’t easy for me to turn my back on someone.
“Kind of like your friend, Xander,” I replied.
Ashley narrowed his eyes at me, but he didn’t dispute it.
“I’m not criticizing,” I clarified. “Nikki seems to like him. I just want to make it clear I’m not a total idiot when it comes to reading men.”
“Never said you were.”
“People can change, Ashley. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
At that, his blue eyes hardened. His whole face hardened, actually. “Second chance?”
“Oh. I mean… not like that kind of second chance. I don’t mean I’m giving him a second chance to be my boyfriend or anything. I just meant… I’m not just gonna totally write someone off because they made a mistake. If everyone did that, how many friends would I have? How many friends would you have?”
He didn’t answer that one.
“We all make mistakes,” I said. “We all have… issues. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Uh-huh. And what issues do you have?”
Before I could answer that, he set his beer down and pulled me right into his lap like I weighed zero pounds. With his strong, sexy arms.
His hot,hotlap.
The heat wassteamingoff him. His body was hard against mine as he draped his heavy arm around my hip.
I looked right into his face, which was an inch from mine.
I could taste his breath. Alcohol and delicious man.
“Uh… I kind of have this issue with this guy I met recently,” I said.
“That so?”
“He, um, keeps stalking me and doing stuff like, you know, kissing me and pulling me into his lap, when I told him we should just be friends…”
