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Bewitched Series Box Set 1: A Friends to Lovers Romance

Page 17

by Hazel Keys


  Chapter 4:David

  I smiled at Amelia, totally at peace with myself…for once. I admit I was insanely jealous for a while and truth be told half of that was probably sexual repression doing most of the talking. When I found out that chasing after women and talking them into bed wasn’t THAT hard to do, I eased up on Amelia and really wanted to go back to the way things were. I missed my friend and thankfully within a year she didn’t have that air of arrogance that she carried before.

  We got together for brunch and enjoyed chatting about old times. I ordered the Hawaiian pizza and she ordered the eggplant parmesan. She was much more relaxed and so was I. It was like we were connecting…or something close to it.

  “So you don’t see pretty boy anymore?”

  “Oh Mister Scott? Nah, that ended a long time ago.”

  “You still call him that?” he laughed.

  “Yeah,” she laughed with me. “Probably because he’s like a running joke in my mind. Kind of full of himself and not really worth knowing on a first name basis.”

  “Hmmm,” I said, with squinting eyes…though this time I wasn’t clutching my fists in rage. Not after having intense office sex with Katherine, my latest crush I met in the break room. After taking a sexual pummeling from the hottest woman on Level 1, in the very same office chair I took escalated calls from, you learn to get over shit and not take rejection so personally, I tell you that.

  “And yet you gave him so much…lucky guy that man was.”

  “Oh yeah right,” she said in sarcasm. “I trust you’re getting some, David, since you seem so mellow compared to a year ago.

  “I can’t complain,” I said with a dignified but secretive smile.

  “Yeah, and funny that I won’t harass you about your arrogance or how you’re becoming a smug asshole. See how that works?”

  I laughed and wore a shit-eating grin. At least she was smiling and wasn’t actually vengeful. “I admit…being a virgin back then, did sort of warp my perspective.”

  “Uh huh. Well I’m glad you’re happier now.”

  “Yeah I am. I think good office sex really cheers a-”

  “David, don’t!” she said, furling her brow in warning. “I don’t want to hear your porno descriptions. For God’s sake, don’t men hold anything sacred anymore?”

  “You’re right, I’m too smug. Sorry…” I laughed and waited for her to smile in acceptance. “What about you? Are you happy?”

  “I don’t know,” she said with a sigh.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think I’m really getting over the whole political volunteering thing.”

  “You don’t say.”

  “Yes and you don’t have to rub it in.”

  “No such intention, Miss Baxter. Can I call you Miss Baxter? Or are we on first name basis?”

  “Silly, don’t ever be formal with me!”

  “Okay, Amelia it is.”

  “Yeah…I just think I’ve chased after career for so long but now that I’m getting to the top of the hill…it’s like I don’t want it. Or maybe I do want it, I don’t know. What are you doing?”

  “Actually I did a total career change. And who knows, maybe it was because of what you said.”

  “What did I say?”

  “That taunt about my job in the record store.”

  “I wasn’t taunting you, silly.”

  “I know…I just…realized I wasn’t happy. So I started getting into selling supplements and vitamins. A brand called Tranquility LTD. I started as a temp for them one day, but then sort of fell into the sales division over the first year. They really liked me a lot because I took the time to talk to the athletes. And they were a good team so I felt like I was going somewhere.”

  “And you still enjoy it?”

  “Oh yeah. Those guys make it a fun environment, you know? You can tell the boss really cares about everyone. We even have this new thing called staff vacations. We’re all seriously pitching in so we can go to Aruba.”

  She laughed respectfully. “That’s kinda’ neat.”

  “Yeah,” I said, studying her face and finally detecting a glimmer of jealousy. Although it hurt to me to realize she wasn’t jealous of my body or my sex life…just my career. She envied my career. That was kind of an ego kick right there.

  Of course, there was still a part of me that was unwholesomely dreaming of Amelia—if for no other reason than because she was single. Maybe I was obsessing over it, but she seemed to be single and unhappy. I think, quite literally, what happened was that my salesperson personality kicked in and I wanted to “fulfill her needs” however I could. But she was smart enough to know that we were definitely not in the same “market”.

  “Well…I heard you’re single again.”

  “Single and confused, yeah. The story of my life,” Amelia said with a soft laugh.

  “Well you know, Amelia, if you ever need…”

  “No thanks,” she said spitefully but still with a smile. “But thanks for the offer.”

  I laughed. “I wasn’t saying that.”

  “Uh huh, sure. I know what you’re thinking. I always have had that uncanny ability.”

  “I was just going to say I deal with vitamins and supplements. But I also give natural doses of oxytocin and endorphins. Great for headache relief.”

  “How generous of you!” she said with a laugh. “And what is the delivery method of that, David? Capsules? ”

  “Well…”

  “Don’t say it.”

  Oral, topicalsolution or manual insertion, your choice. Oh, don’t say it. She already left my eyes and is uncomfortable talking about it. Damn, that might have gotten a laugh…I have really bad timing sometimes.

  I stared at her, losing my smile and sensing her inner dissatisfaction. My natural instinct was to heal her, help her in some way. But what did I have to offer her, assuming of course, she didn’t want a one night stand with her old friend—that kind of thing could ruin the one valuable asset we had together. Trust.

  “I don’t think happiness is a real thing,” she said, changing the subject quickly. “I think it’s more like a condition we make ourselves feel. We convince ourselves we’re happy with our decisions.”

  “You think so?” I said, still eying her lips and feeling forbidden feelings. Maybe the fact that I was more sexually experienced only fueled my curiosity. Or maybe simply seeing Amelia in a state of unhappiness triggered something in me.

  “Yeah I think I do. I mean do these jobs and date these guys…but they always seem to be the types that I convince myself I want. Office jobs, political or city jobs. The truth is I just want some stability in life. Is that so wrong to ask for?”

  “No, not really.”

  “You might not understand,” she said with a squint. “You seem to enjoy the wild gypsy life lately.”

  “No…I mean…”

  “But all I want is someone that…”

  “Yeah? Go on.”

  “Someone who’s honest,” she said with a smile. “Fun…but not too crazy. Happy. Motivated in their career. And maybe even…a little prickly on the edges.”

  I laughed in uncertainty. She seemed to be describing me. I bit my tongue, short of saying So why don’t I qualify again?

  “Well Amelia…”

  “I guess that’s too many qualities to ask for though, right?”

  “No, not at all. But I guess looks are a big requirement too. Right?”

  I figured maybe she wanted someone like me, but someone cuter or with a different body type. Maybe it was this weird displacement thing where she was looking for my personality in a more handsome man’s body. I mean, it’s not like she just said, “I want a man opposite of you, David. She seemed to be describing me. Could she had been sending that as a hidden message? To test if I was interested in her?”

  “Well Amelia…”

  She interrupted. “I’m just glad I have you as a friend, David. It’s nice to have someone I can spend time with and not have to worr
y about him trying to get into my pants.”

  “Oh. Right, of course, buddy.” Damn, I just friend-zoned her.

  I didn’t even mean to say it, but the way she smiled at me seemed to communicate the feeling Thank You. As in, Thank you for not being like all the other guys. Thank you for staying a friend and nothing more.

  It was kind of a lousy feeling but one I had to bite down on. It seemed that whenever I got bold enough to say something she would send me all these missiles of doubt, making sure I got the point that I don’t want to embarrass myself.

  I don’t know, but at that moment, as I hugged her in a feeling of pure platonic love for all the years we had suffered, I knew what was most important. Giving her what she needed. And friendship was what Amelia needed.

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  ALSO BY HAZEL KEYS

  BEWITCHED SERIES

  Crazy About My Best Friend (Free Prequel, get it now!)

  Obsessed With My Best Friend (Book 1)

  Attracted To My Best Friend (Book 2)

  Smitten By My Sister’s Best Friend (Book 3)

  Note: All the books above can be read as standalones even if they belong to a series

 

 

 


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