“I told you I didn’t want to do this. You must really hate me.”
“Frankly, I keep thinking you’ll get better at it. Thanks for the help, by the way. I only have two more plus the eight ball.”
“If you were my friend you’d throw the game.”
I probably should be merciful but my innate competitive streak wouldn’t allow me to do that. Something inside of me always drove me to win. At a moment like this, I was ashamed of it. Mia was a sweet girl and every instinct was telling me to crush her like a bug.
What is wrong with me?
“How about I be a better friend and help you? If you were just a little better you wouldn’t need me to throw the game for you.”
A bit of an exaggeration. Mia was going to have to get a whole lot better to beat me but she would at least be competitive.
“Just how are you going to help me? You’re the one that taught me the game in the first place.”
I bent over and quickly made my shot, a hell of a lot more sloppy than I usually would. Now it was Mia’s turn again. I’d set up a nice corner shot for her. She could do this.
“Okay,” I said, going over to where she was standing and leading her to the right side of the table. “Stand right here.”
“I’m a lost cause. Leave me to my misery.”
“No way. This is an easy shot. You can make it.”
“I hate you for this, Josh Henry.”
“You’re going to love me in a minute.”
I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her forward so we were both bent at the waist, her body tucked into mine. I placed my hands over hers and moved them into the correct position. Her skin was soft underneath my own, smooth to the touch. The smell of vanilla and coconut wafted around my head and a few stray auburn curls tickled my nose. Mia smelled…amazing. Her shampoo had mixed with her own natural scent and it was warm and intoxicating. Before I could stop myself I filled my lungs with it again, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes to savor it.
Her pert little behind was pressed against my groin and that was when all the trouble began. Between her alluring scent and her well-shaped ass my cock had a mind of its own. It was quickly draining the blood from my brain and affecting my ability to make even halfway decent decisions. If I didn’t put some distance between Mia and I immediately I was going to do something really stupid, like kiss the silky soft skin on her neck which was only inches from my lips.
For the first time since I’d known Mia I was suddenly wondering how her skin felt all over. Was she paler on her breasts and belly? Did she have those delicious freckles everywhere?
I had a vision of my tongue tracing those freckles on her creamy flesh.
Bad. So very bad. This was all Luke’s fault, mentioning how hot she’d become. I needed to punch him in the nose on Monday morning.
I stepped away as if I’d been scalded and before Mia became aware of my predicament. The last thing we needed between us was my hard dick. It was a good way to ruin a friendship.
I loosened my hold on her and moved away, taking a deep breath of relief. I should never have been that close to begin with and I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“So…just try and make the shot.”
The words came out slightly strangled but Mia didn’t seem to notice, so intent on sinking the ball. The tip of the cue struck solidly and the ball glided across the surface of the pool table before falling into the pocket. She’d done it.
Mia did a fist pump in the air. “Yes! I did it.”
Letting out a squeal of joy she dropped the cue on the table and threw her arms around my neck, all the while hopping up and down. Her body rubbed against mine and I was once again highly aware that Mia had some sweet curves. My cock still hadn’t retreated from earlier and was now standing at full attention, ready for action, except that there wasn’t going to be any. This was Mia, my little neighbor. I’d helped her learn how to ride a bike, for Christ’s sake. I wasn’t going to teach her to ride me, too.
This all had to stop. I quickly stepped back and pasted a smile on my face while turning so that my lower half wasn’t pressed against her.
“You did great. That was awesome. See? You can do this. With a little practice, you’ll be beating me and everyone else.”
She was still hopping up and down excitedly, her green eyes sparkling and her cheeks a rosy pink. She looked adorable.
“I really did it,” she crowed, clasping her hands together. “Thank you, Josh. You are a good teacher.”
I’m a total lecher, in actuality.
“You did it. I just helped a little.” I cast a desperate glance over my shoulder. “How about we have some of those brownies now? I could use some dessert.”
I could use a double whiskey but I’d wait until Mia went home.
She licked her full lips in anticipation and I almost groaned out loud. Shit. This was only getting worse. How do I politely ask her to leave? She could take the brownies to go.
“I’m hungry, too. I’ll get the plates and forks.”
Good idea. I’ll just be over here looking for my sanity. Clearly I’ve lost it if my reaction to Mia tonight is any indication. She’s my friend and I don’t want to ruin that.
I don’t have sexual feelings for her.
The best thing about Mia Kelly was that she wasn’t my girlfriend.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mia
True to his word, Josh showed up the next week at my school ready to talk to the students about his work and business. I should have known his mere presence would cause a ruckus among the teenagers – and he did – but what I hadn’t bargained on was grown women acting like simpering fools around him. Did they have no shame? At least I had my dignity.
My fellow female teachers were swooning as if Josh was some sort of movie star. He was good looking but not that good looking.
Tina, the honors math teacher, tugged at my arm as Josh stood in front of the crowded auditorium taking questions about his work. “Are you two dating?”
I didn’t turn around. Instead I kept my gaze trained on Josh who was charming a senior cheerleader who had asked about art school. Well…he’d had plenty of experience. He’d dated the captain of the cheerleaders several times.
“No, he’s just a friend of many years.”
Tina snorted and then giggled. “If he was my friend I’d make him a friend with benefits double quick. He’s a hunk and a half.”
“He’s not really my type.”
“Which part don’t you like? Tall, dark, and handsome? The smile? The wide shoulders? Oh, it must be the flat abs? That’s probably it. Honey, he’s everyone’s type.”
This time I did turn to address her. “You’re a married woman.”
“Married but not dead. I think we need to check your pulse, though.”
If they did they’d find it racing far too fast. Just being in the same room with Josh was enough to get my heart going. When he’d showed up, he’d looked amazing, actually sporting a tie to go with his button-down shirt. He’d tamed his curls slightly with some gel and his square jaw was shaved so smoothly I wanted to reach out and run my fingers over it.
“I’m fine. Like I said, he’s a friend. Once you get to know him he’s just any other guy.”
Sure. Right. I was the freakin’ Rock of Gibraltar.
I stood in the wings of the stage watching Josh talk about his video game business. He was smiling and animated, totally excited about sharing his career with these kids. It was clear he loved what he did and that just made him all the more attractive.
The jerk.
When his presentation – slash – question period was over he ducked offstage with me, grinning like a loon. Tina had gone back on stage to announce the next guest for career day, her family physician.
“So? How’d I do? Was it okay?”
The one attribute Josh had plenty of was confidence, so I assumed he was playing at not being sure how it went. He had to know from the thunderous a
pplause he’d received that he’d hit it out of the park.
“You did great,” I assured him. “They were really interested in what you had to say. You made it entertaining for them.”
A feat that wasn’t easy with teenagers. They had cell phones and YouTube. And the opposite sex.
“It was more fun than I thought it would be. They’re very inquisitive.”
I led us out of the auditorium area and down the hallway toward my classroom where he’d left his jacket. “Don’t believe everything you read about how awful teenagers are these days. They’re a lot like we were at that age. Some are ambitious and driven, some are quiet and shy, some are loud and want attention, and some are just trying to make it through high school. Most of my students are intelligent and well behaved, even if they aren’t interested in the subject. I don’t find that their attention spans are any shorter or that they’re socially stunted from being online. I don’t think we need to worry about the next generation at all.”
We walked into my empty classroom. All of the juniors and seniors were at the assembly.
“I’ll sleep better at night knowing that.” He shrugged into his blue pea coat. “You handle them beautifully, by the way, and I can tell they all like you. I think a few of the boys have a crush on you. They were looking a little starry eyed when you were directing them to their seats.”
There had been one young man last year who had become something of a nuisance but other than that I hadn’t had any issues.
“I’m sure that’s not the case.”
Chuckling, he reached into his pocket to check his phone. “I’m sure it is. If I had had a teacher as pretty as you in high school, I would have been sitting in the first row every single day even if I had pneumonia.”
He thought I was that attractive? That was news. I steeled myself to show no reaction.
“Now you’re just being silly.”
“When I’m being silly, you’ll know it. I’ll stand on my head or wear a clown’s costume.”
I shuddered at the mere thought. “There’s nothing scarier than a clown. You know they creep me out.”
“You wouldn’t be scared of me.”
“If you were in a clown’s costume I would be.”
We seemed to run out of things to say and that was unusual for us. Most of the time we were talking over each other trying to say every little idea that had popped into our heads before it was gone again.
Our gazes met and for a moment I allowed myself to drown in his azure blue eyes flecked in gray right around the irises. Josh’s eyes could go from icy gray when he was angry or upset to dark blue when he was happy or excited. For just a few seconds I let myself enjoy his scent and warmth, his body just inches from my own. If I wasn’t in the friend zone, I would have pressed my body against his and kissed him.
This is such a terrible idea. Stop it.
I stepped back and dragged my gaze away from his, gulping in air to my starved lungs. Apparently while I’d been looking dreamily into his eyes I’d forgotten to breathe. That’s how stupid this man made me. I’d forget to do something I wasn’t even supposed to need to remember.
“So thanks for coming in today. The kids really enjoyed it.”
“I was happy to do it.”
He wasn’t moving toward the door. Shouldn’t he be doing that? Maybe he didn’t want to go.
“Don’t act too happy about it or I’ll put you on the roster every single year.”
“Seriously, I had fun. Your students are awesome.”
“They really are.”
Finally he glanced toward my classroom door. “Listen, I’ve worked up a storyboard I’d like you to see. Do you think you’d be free one night this week?”
Of course. Work. That’s what he’d been lingering about. The game. It wasn’t because he wanted to continue looking into my eyes too. For a moment I’d allowed myself to think that perhaps…
“I’ll have to check my schedule. I’ll text you.”
I’d been right to try to avoid him. Being this close was becoming exquisite torture.
But avoiding him had been painful as well. Was this my fate? To love someone who would never love me back? That sucked and I was getting tired of it. I didn’t want to be this pathetic person. But I didn’t know how to make it stop. Something had to change and soon.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Josh
Another Saturday night date with Trisha. She was talking about a meeting she’d been in yesterday but my mind was a million miles away. Mia was avoiding my calls again. She’d said she’d text me about seeing the storyboards but she hadn’t. I had texted her again. And again. This was becoming a pattern.
Trisha ate the last bite of our shared tiramisu dessert and then sat back and patted her stomach.
“That was delicious. I shouldn’t have eaten it though.”
If I lived to be a hundred and ten I’d never understand why women said things like this. She’d clearly wanted dessert as she’d been eyeing all the diners around us eating theirs. But she’d made me talk her into it which was stupid because I didn’t care if we had dessert or not, but somehow I was put in the role of diet spoiler. Then she ate three-quarters of it. Every guy knows that the woman always, always, always gets the last bite of dessert.
Women. A mystery wrapped in a riddle, and tonight covered in a tight black sweater that showed off her assets nicely. Trisha had a great rack, although I was a leg man. For a moment, an unbidden image of Mia’s legs drifted in front of my eyes. She’d looked spectacular in that fitted black skirt that showed off well-toned calves and a heart-shaped ass. Paired with a button down white blouse and her tortoise shell glasses balanced on her pert nose, she was every man’s naughty librarian fantasy.
Don’t go there. She’s your friend, you horn dog.
These thoughts about Mia were beginning to become a problem. I’d barely paid any attention to Trisha tonight and I blamed my childhood friend for that.
“It was good.” I caught the waiter’s eye for the bill. If we got out of here soon enough I could still catch most of the football game on television. “I’ll get the check and then we can go.”
“What are you doing at Thanksgiving?”
If last year was anything to go by, I would be eating far too much of my mother’s cooking and watching football with my brother and dad.
“Same as last year. Why?”
I asked the question casually but Trisha had my senses tingling. I’d been dating long enough to know that this wasn’t an off-the-cuff question. She was going somewhere with this. I could tell by the way she’d leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
“Just imagine it. Sun and sand. Tropical drinks. You and me walking along a warm beach.” When I didn’t answer right away, she smiled widely and clapped her hands together. “We should get away from the rat race. Go on vacation and have some fun. What do you think?”
I was thinking that the collar on my shirt was becoming far too tight. Like a noose. Trisha had told me when we started dating that she wasn’t interested in anything serious. She was just out of a bad relationship and looking to have a good time.
“It sounds…”
Intimate. Like a couple. The serious kind.
Her smile fell and she sat back in her chair, a defeated look on her face. “You don’t like the idea. We could go skiing instead, if you don’t like the warm weather.”
I loved the beach. That wasn’t the issue.
“Do we have to make the decision tonight? I’d need to talk to Luke about the timing. It’s a couple of months away.”
I wasn’t even sure I would be dating Trisha in November. I liked her and all but I already knew she wasn’t the one.
“Sure,” she replied, her voice low. “But we don’t want to wait too long. Places book up fast around the holidays.”
I’d hurt her feelings and I didn’t mean to. We’d met at a Fourth of July party thrown by a mutual friend and I’d called her
the next day. We’d had a great deal of fun and she was a wonderful woman. But the thought of being with her – and only with her – for days on end in an airplane, in a hotel, during meals and bedtime was a little much for me. Way too much togetherness. I was the kind of guy who liked seeing a female a few times a week. That was the perfect compromise of my time and our time. If we went on vacation all of my time would become her time.
I could tell I wasn’t out of the woods though by the way she fiddled with her fork and studied it as if it was suddenly the most fascinating item in the room. Warning bells rang in my ears but there was no place to hide. I had to sit there and see it through.
“Josh, where would you say this relationship was going?”
Fuck. Nothing good had ever come from that question.
* * *
Mia
I pulled into the parking lot of the convenience store that was located just a few blocks away from my condo. I was tired after a long day of having fun with my friends, running around like we were teenagers again. The four of us had gone to the mall to find Emmy some new clothes for work. Then later we ate dinner and saw a movie. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and watch television but that wasn’t going to happen. I had a stack of essays to grade this weekend and I needed to get a start on them. I wanted to get them back to the students by Wednesday at the latest.
Staying up late meant caffeine and lots of it, which was why I’d stopped at the EZ Mart to pick up a six pack of soda. I didn’t normally keep it in the house since I was trying to cut down. There weren’t any cars in the parking lot but the place was lit up brightly as usual. I stopped there quite a bit to get gas, pick up milk, and stock up on junk food. The usual late night clerk was at the register and I gave him a cheery wave as I walked in. I didn’t remember his name but he was always polite and helpful.
I walked to the back of the store and grabbed a six pack of Vanilla Coke and a giant bag of M&M’s. I shouldn’t be eating them but in a few hours I was going to want a snack to go along with my caffeine. I headed directly to the cash register while fumbling in my purse for some cash. Triumphantly, I pulled out a twenty just as the door to the store swung open and a man dressed all in black and wearing a ski mask walked in.
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