by Amy Brent
I grabbed her in my arms, kissing her passionately, a bolt of lust shooting through me as she groaned and pressed up on her tiptoes. Her lips were hot against mine, and I plunged my tongue into her mouth, demanding entrance, not giving her the chance to be coy.
It was like all the tension in the kitchen spilled over into the kiss, bringing us both from zero to a hundred in seconds. I walked her backward until she was pressed up against the fridge and framed her body with my hands. Slowly, I dragged one hand down to cup her breast, feeling the hardness of her pert nipple through the soft fabric of her shirt. She slid her hands into the back pockets of my jeans, pulling me closer like she couldn’t get enough of me.
Before I could take things any further, there was a knock on the front door. A distinctive knock. A knock I knew. Zach’s knock.
I pulled away like lightning, staring down at Abigail. “Shit,” I muttered under my breath, immediately turning and heading for the front door, leaving her standing there touching her lips, her hair mussed and her eyes wide and dark. She looked totally fucked out, and I hadn’t even fucked her. God, I had to get that image out of my head.
I imagined all the least sexy things I could, composing myself while Zach knocked again on the front door. I pulled it open.
“Dude, what were you doing?” Zach asked. “Taking a shower?”
I thought back to what I had been doing. Making out with your little sister. He’d punch me in the nuts if he knew. “What’s up?” I asked instead.
Zach snorted and made an exaggerated show of looking at his watch. “It’s six thirty,” he said. When I clearly still didn’t get it, he rolled his eyes. “Remember this afternoon when I dropped by the gym and we agreed to go get drinks tonight, and I said I wanted to go early because I have a busy schedule at work tomorrow, and so we agreed I’d come get you at six thirty?”
“Right, yeah,” I said, even though I had no recollection of that. It must have been what I had agreed to with that vague “yeah” when I’d been too busy thinking about his sister.
“Dude, we have to get you laid,” Zach said, shaking his head. “You clearly don’t function as a human when you’re not blowing your load every night.”
“Gross,” Abigail said from down the hall where she was just coming out of the kitchen. But she didn’t say anything else as she disappeared into her room, which I was grateful for. Not that I really expected her to beg me not to bring anyone home or something like that. She and I weren’t an item. We had just kissed, and it was never going to happen again. I hoped she realized that.
“How’s that going, you and Abigail?” Zach asked a little while later when we were seated at the bar with our beers.
I took a swig of my beer, pretending to scan the crowd for hot girls even though I still didn’t really feel like going home with anyone random, especially not with Abigail back in my apartment. Even if she and I weren’t ever going to sleep together.
“Things are great,” I said to Zach, wishing the words didn’t sound so hollow to my ears. If Zach noticed anything strange about my tone, though, he didn’t mention it. Nor did he mention how much I was drinking.
I had to drink that night. I had to quit thinking about Abigail, naked or otherwise. No matter how sexy or cute or whatever else she was, dating or kissing or sleeping with her—none of those things were options, not when her brother was my best friend and she was my roommate.
Chapter 7
Abigail
I deleted yet another “thank you for your application, but” email, scowling at my computer screen. It seemed everyone was somehow more qualified than I was, no matter what I applied for. I didn’t know what it was. Was I looking in all the wrong places? Where else could you look for a job? I had applied for everything by now.
And yet, a month later, I still had nothing.
I was beyond the point of frustrated. At this point, I would take anything, even another job in retail or at a restaurant or something that had nothing to do with my degree. As much as I’d love to do something with counseling, particularly counseling for children, I had to accept that anything would do at this point if it meant I had a source of income again.
I just didn’t understand why my degree seemed so useless. I was a certified therapist, and I had a degree from a great university. I had work experience, too. Sure, none of it was in the field that I wanted to eventually have a career in, but how was I supposed to get that experience if no one would hire me in the first place? It was maddening.
On top of that, retail shops should have been bending over backward to hire me. I’d been an assistant manager at my previous shop. That should have counted for something. Instead, they all seemed to think I was overqualified for basic positions and underqualified for managerial positions. So that was no help either.
Frustrated, I called Brittany.
“Hey. What’s up?” she asked. I could hear her switch to talking to someone else, her hand over the phone. “Sorry. This is going to have to be kind of quick. We’ve got a party beginning in an hour—a wedding reception—and we’re missing key things like, I don’t know, chairs.”
“Shit,” I said, instantly feeling bad for having bothered her at work. “I just wanted to check in and see if you’d heard anything back from the catering company regarding some part-time work for me.”
“Still working on that. Sorry.” Brittany sighed. “And I’m still brainstorming other ways I could get you involved here. You know I’d love to work with you, just as much as I’d love for you to just have a job again, anywhere.”
“I know, and thanks for trying,” I said.
“Still nothing, huh?” she asked sympathetically.
“Not yet, but I’m sure I’ll find something,” I said, trying to sound cheerful when, really, I felt more like tearing up all the copies of my resume I had printed. They clearly weren’t doing me any good anyway.
I wished we could keep chatting, but I knew Brittany had to get back to work. “We should get drinks sometime soon,” she said.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Maybe with Ian and Zach,” Brittany added. Then I heard her pull the phone away again. “I really have to go.” She sounded apologetic. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Yeah. See you,” I said, hanging up.
Not for the first time, I wished we could go back to a time when things were simpler, but I wasn’t sure when, exactly, I wanted to go back to. I liked who I was now, and I was happy to be living with Ian. I just wished I had a job and could support myself. That was the only thing I wanted to be different.
And maybe to be sleeping with Ian, whispered another part of my mind. I grinned.
Maybe I wanted that as well. Even though I knew I really, really shouldn’t do anything about it. Ian wasn’t the kind of guy I could just mess around with and forget about, even if I was the type of girl who did that. Which I wasn’t. I cared about him, first of all, as my brother’s best friend. What was more, for as long as he and Zach were friends, I was going to have to deal with Ian. I could move out of this apartment if things got awkward, but I couldn’t avoid him forever.
I had to get out of the apartment, I decided, so I got up and headed for the door. As I passed the kitchen, I tried not to think about Tuesday night. That had been totally unexpected. I didn’t know when I had decided it was okay to flirt with Ian, but there had been something hungry in his gaze that morning when he’d caught me on my way out of the shower. I’d mainly just been curious to see if he was actually interested in me.
From the way he had kissed me, I had to conclude that yes, he was interested. Now I just had to figure out what to do with that information. I could tell he was holding back, and I was sure Zach had something to do with it. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I should be kissing Ian, all things considered.
But I couldn’t seem to help it. He was sexy and he was nice and he cheered me up, and I’d had a crush on him for years now, whether I wanted to admit it or not.
I shook my head
and headed out to the coffee shop on the corner, bringing my old laptop with me. I could at least get a change of scenery while I kept searching for jobs, right?
I had just sent off another job application when someone dropped into the seat across from me. I blinked over at him, immediately frowning. Jason.
“What do you want?” I asked him, trying to make my tone hostile. I folded my arms across my chest, hoping he understood that my body language said I didn’t want to have a conversation with him.
“Is Ian really your fiancé?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, he is.”
Jason shook his head. “There is no way Ian is a better guy for you than me,” he said.
I gave a harsh laugh. “Well, he doesn’t cheat on me. That’s for sure.”
“You still haven’t forgiven me for that?” Jason asked. “That all happened ages ago, Abigail. I’ve spent the past year working on myself, and I’m ready to be there for you. I’m ready to be the perfect man for you, just the way you need me to be.”
I shook my head, not buying it. “Just go away and leave me alone, Jason. I’m engaged to someone else.”
“I don’t believe you,” Jason said.
I stood up, shoving my laptop back into my bag. “I don’t really care what you believe,” I told him flatly, leaving the coffee shop. But Jason followed me.
“Come on, let’s at least get a drink. Let’s have coffee. Let’s talk. You owe me.”
“I don’t owe you a damn thing,” I snapped. “Leave me alone.”
I turned and stalked off, but Jason still followed me. I started to feel a little panicky, wondering what he was planning. At least it was the middle of the afternoon in broad daylight. That meant that if I started screaming, people were bound to notice.
What if they didn’t do anything, though?
I walked quickly, aware of Jason still lurking behind me. Every time I glanced back over my shoulder, he was there. I wanted to run, but I didn’t want him to know I was afraid of him. Instead, I went as fast as I could toward the gym where Ian worked.
I walked inside, blinking after the bright sunlight outside. My eyes quickly scanned the place for Ian. Fortunately, he was still here, just finishing up with a client at the front desk. I went immediately to his side, putting a hand on his arm.
Ian glanced down at me with a quizzical look and then looked back at his client. “Melanie, it was good to see you again. Glad you’re feeling better, and hope I get to see you again on Saturday.”
“You will,” Melanie said, smiling at him and flipping her hair back. She gave me a look, mildly interested, and then bounced off toward the locker room.
“What’s up?” Ian asked me. Then he caught sight of Jason. His face hardened in anger, but then he glanced around. I wondered if he was checking to make sure Zach wasn’t here. I knew my brother usually came to the same gym. I hadn’t even thought that he might be here.
Ian brushed back a lock of my hair and then kissed me soundly. It wasn’t like the kiss we’d shared in the kitchen. This was much more PG with no tongues involved and definitely no groping. It only lasted a matter of seconds, but I still felt breathless when he pulled away.
He gave Jason a dirty look. “Get lost and quit bothering Abigail,” he said sternly.
Jason scowled, but he left. Unfortunately, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time I saw him.
My knees felt weak with relief when he left, though, and I leaned into Ian’s arms for a second. “Thanks,” I said quietly.
Ian wrapped his arms around me, kissing my hair. “Anytime, sweetheart.”
I snorted at the term of endearment and pulled away. “Are you done for the day?” I asked. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was worried that if I walked outside by myself right now, Jason would be right there waiting for me.
Fortunately, Ian glanced at the calendar behind the counter and nodded. “Yeah. That was my last client for today,” he said. “Let me go shower and change. I’ll meet you out here in fifteen minutes.”
“Take your time,” I told him, flushing at the thought of him showering.
Ian smirked at me, like he knew exactly what I was thinking, but he opted not to tease me. Instead, he headed off toward the locker rooms, emerging a little while later in fresh clothes, his keys in hand. “All right, let’s go,” he said. As we walked home, he put an arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him, thinking about how safe I felt.
Chapter 8
Ian
I was kind of dreading Friday night. Zach had asked me to go to the bar with him and Mikayla. I knew he was plotting to set me up with someone again. He meant well; he just didn’t want me to be lonely. He had Mikayla, and he wanted to make sure I had someone as well. But I wished he would ease off.
It wasn’t like I could use the fake engagement excuse tonight, either. I didn’t think Zach would appreciate it if he heard I was using Abigail to keep the ladies away from me, and I doubted she had told Zach about the whole Jason thing.
What a creep. I couldn’t believe he had followed her to the gym the previous day. I wanted to ask Abigail why she didn’t just get a restraining order against him, but I wasn’t sure how to approach the subject, and I didn’t want to upset her.
Anyway, I kind of liked the way Abigail had come to me for help, regardless of the circumstances. It was an added bonus to get to kiss her again.
I shouldn’t be thinking thoughts like that, but I couldn’t seem to quit thinking about her. I wanted her. I wanted her in the kitchen, in the living room, in my bed. Anywhere I could have her, I wanted her. Maybe I did just need to get laid. Maybe it was my libido talking, reminding me that I hadn’t had a one-night stand in a while.
I wanted to tear all her clothes off, plunge my dick deep inside her, and make her scream in ecstasy. I imagined she looked at me the same way. Our fingers sometimes brushed as she passed me the milk in the morning after pouring some into her bowl of cereal, and all I could think about was taking her right there on the kitchen floor. Or else she’d hand me the mail in the front hall, and I’d think about how she would look bent over the hall table as I fucked her from behind.
I’d always thought she was pretty, but now that I’d seen her naked, I realized how sexy she was without her clothes on, and I just couldn’t get enough of her. But, of course, I couldn’t act on that.
What I could do, however, was invite her out to the bar with Zach and Mikayla that night.
Abigail’s brow furrowed when I asked her. “Are you sure?” she asked.
I raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like you’ve never hung out with Zach and I before,” I pointed out. “Anyway, I don’t want to third wheel the two of them, and I don’t want Zach to think he can set me up with anyone. I don’t feel like playing that game tonight.”
“You’re not going to tell him that we’re engaged, are you?” she asked.
“Of course not,” I said, laughing. “Your brother would kill me.”
“Probably,” she agreed. She shook her head. “That’s part of why I didn’t want to move in with Zach and Mikayla. I didn’t want to be the third wheel.”
I didn’t mention that I didn’t think her brother would have let her move in with him even if she’d wanted to. That was none of my business. “Come on, let’s go,” I told her. “It’ll be fun. I’ll buy your drinks and everything.”
“Well, when you put it like that, I guess I have to go,” Abigail said, giggling.
We went to this great little dive bar halfway between our place and Zach’s place. It was one of those places that did karaoke at least three nights a week, plus there was an old beat-up car in the middle of the bar and too many weird signature drinks to name. But the drinks were cheap, the music, when it wasn’t karaoke night, was decent, and the location was convenient for all of us.
“Hey, Brittany actually lives right around the corner,” Abigail said in surprise as we arrived. “Would you mind if I invited her out as well?”
“That’d be fun,” Ian
said. “I haven’t seen her in forever.”
Abigail gave me a look, and I almost wondered if she thought I wanted to sleep with Brittany, too. I couldn’t think of a way to assure her that I definitely did not without embarrassing her. She quickly typed out a message to her friend, and I led her inside and over to the bar.
“What do you want?” I asked over the music blaring from the speakers.
“A red rover,” she said, picking one of the drinks off the menu. “Hey, there are Zach and Mikayla, back in that booth.”
“Why don’t you go sit down?” I suggested. “I’ll bring over the drinks.”
“Thanks,” she said, and for a moment, she stood slightly taller, like she might kiss me. Then she seemed to remember herself and moved quickly toward the booth in the back.
I counted to ten in my head while I waited for our drinks, trying not to think any more dirty thoughts about her. Otherwise, it was going to be impossible to sit next to her in that booth. Already, I was thinking about sliding my fingers beneath her skirt and making her squirm right there at the table.
But not with her brother sitting across from us.
Brittany showed up before long. “How come no one invited me to the party until the last minute?” she asked jokingly, sliding into the booth next to Mikayla and Zach and smiling over at Abigail and me.
I slid out of the booth and stood up. “You can sit next to Abigail,” I offered.
“Oh no, you have a seat,” Brittany said, smiling around the mouth of her beer as though she knew something I didn’t.
I glanced over at Abigail, wondering what she had told Brittany. Did she know about the fake engagement maybe? I was surprised Abigail had told her, but she had probably just done it so Brittany wouldn’t be surprised if she overheard something between her best friend and Jason.
We had quite a few drinks each, talking about work and our lives. Brittany told us about running into Dave Juliano, one of the guys from the same class as Zach and me. “He’s just as weird as ever,” she said with a chuckle, telling us all about his job at the movie theater and how he’d asked her out.