“
What
’
s up, Julian? You go out last night?
”
I ask.
Jeff
’
s now on his back, doing chest presses.
“
Yeah, man. Me and Skylar went out to Louie
’
s. It was mobbed. You guys should have been there. Chicks were all over the place!
”
I laugh.
“
Yeah? Did you go home with any of them?
”
Julian
’
s hilarious, but the one thing he
’
s not is a player. He won
’
t admit it, but he
’
s shy and doesn
’
t have the balls to walk up to a girl. Believe me, Jeff and I have tried to get him to. He only had one serious girlfriend growing up, and he was heartbroken when she left him. I
’
m not sure if he ever fully recovered.
“
Nah, man. Where am I going to bring her? Back to my mom
’
s?
”
he jokes.
“
Mom would freaking kill you!
”
Jeff chimes in, laughing.
Julian picks up the twenty pounders.
“
No shit, Sherlock!
”
These two go at it for another thirty minutes or so. They
’
ve got my stomach sore as hell from laughing so hard. I envy their relationship because this is how Junior and I should be. Instead, I got gypped with a douche for a sibling.
“
Alright guys, I
’
m out.
”
I slap them both up.
“
See ya Monday at work,
”
Jeff says.
I
look at the clock; it
’
s seven in the morning. Ugh! I am so warm and comfortable; the last thing I want to do is expose myself to the cool air. I can
’
t move because my man part is standing at full attention. I
’
m hard as a rock and my mind instantly drifts to Max.
Damn, the things I want to do to her. To feel her and to slide inside of her would be incredible. I can
’
t help but grab myself and moan. I close my eyes, picturing her on top of me, feeling her warmth, smelling her lust, and hearing her small moans. I can only imagine.
I grab her hips and bring her against me, harder, deeper, and faster until my toes curl. She
’
s like heaven melting all over me. A flash of heat swarms my body as I stroke myself to a climax of sweet serenity. I lie still for a moment, trying to catch my breath. Man, that was intense. I
have
to have her; there
’
s no doubt about it. She
’
s making me go crazy. I don
’
t care what I have to do, but I
’
m going to bury myself deep inside of her until she surrenders everything to me.
My phone rings. I look at the clock, and she
’
s about five minutes late
—
it
’
s a good thing, too!
“
Good morning, Ma.
”
“
You never called me back last night. How did your day with Max go?
”
she asks.
I head to my bathroom and turn the water on hot.
“
Good. I took her to the art gallery. Tessa was having a showing there.
”
“
Oh great! How
is
Tessa? Didn
’
t you two used to date?
”
“
Uh
—“
“
Hold on, dear,
”
she says right before she orders her coffee.
I wet my washcloth and scrub my face.
“
We got close before college but never dated.
”
“
Well, I thought she was adorable. Maybe you should consider asking her on a date?
”
“
Really, Mom? It
’
s seven thirty in the morning! Listen, I have to get ready. I
’
ll see you at work.
”
I hang up the phone. Maybe I was a little dramatic. It was only a suggestion, but seriously Tessa is not who I want to talk about.
I finish getting ready and head out to work. It
’
s even colder than it was this weekend. I didn
’
t think that was possible, but then I remember where I am: Rochester. Only a couple more months until spring, and then I can shed some layers.
I park and head into the office. To my surprise, Jeff is standing at Elise
’
s desk as I walk through the main doors. Elise looks uncomfortably shy as Jeff shoots the shit. I walk behind him and pat him on the back.
“
Good morning, Elise,
”
I greet her and nod to Jeff.
“
Is my friend over here annoying you at eight in the morning?
”
I joke.
Her face turns pink.
“
Oh, not at all!
”
she smiles. I swear I can see lust in her eyes as she looks at him. Weird. Could she have a thing for my friend? Jeff, out of all people? Everyone here knows he
’
s a chauvinistic pig. He
’
s my friend, but he definitely doesn
’
t hide his love for women.
“
Okay, good to hear. Come on, Jeff. You don
’
t want to be late.
”
I drag him away with me.
Elise buzzes us in, and as soon as the door closes and we
’
re far enough away, I lay into him.
“
What the fuck, Jeff? Elise? Really? She
’
s sweet and na
ï
ve. You
’
re going to ruin her,
”
I whisper, trying to keep it down. I nod my head as we pass other employees in the office.
“
Dude, I was just talking to her. It
’
s not like I
’
m gonna take her out and have sex with her or anything,
”
he says, looking a little insulted.
I shake my head as I take a seat at my desk.
“
You? Not have sex with a girl? What?
”
I tease.
He slaps me in the back of the head, playfully.
“
So, McGregor
’
s tonight?
”
“
Yup! It
’
s Monday. McGregor
’
s it is!
”
I reply.
Jeff heads to his desk, and I head toward Max
’
s office. I saw her light on when I walked in. I lean against the doorjamb, quietly watching her. She
’
s so into her work that she doesn
’
t even realize I am here.
I clear my throat. She jumps.
“
Oh, Kyle, you scared me!
”
“
Sorry, you were so into whatever you were doing, I almost didn
’
t want to bother you,
”
I lie. I wanted to see her. I
had
to see her. I haven
’
t been able to keep her off of my mind since she left my apartment.
“
Do you want to go grab some coffee?
”
She stands up and grabs her mug. I bite my lip before I say anything inappropriate. She looks so sexy in her tight black skirt and creamy silk shirt. I
’
m ready to shut this door and have my way with her against this very wall. I can have her screaming my name in no time.
She lifts an eyebrow at me, clearly interested in what I am thinking.
“
Man, that outfit you have on is hot. You
’
re killing
‘
em!
”
I tell her. She hits me on the chest with the back of her hand and giggles. I can tell she
’
s flirting back with me.
“
You
’
re not too bad yourself,
”
she whispers back quietly as we walk by employee cubicles.
“
Will you be joining us at McGregor
’
s tonight?
”
I ask.
We step into the kitchen. Like always, it
’
s crowded.
“
I don
’
t know. Will you be there as well?
”
“
Yup.
”
“
I wouldn
’
t miss it,
”
she replies.
We split up to get our coffee. As I
’
m shaking the coffee creamer into my hot, steaming cup, another cup gets placed on the table. I look up and it
’
s Beth. She smiles.
“
Will you be at McGregor
’
s tonight?
”
she asks.
I almost want to say no, but she
’
ll know I
’
m lying.
“
Yup, I
’
ll be there,
”
I tell her.
“
See you then,
”
she says and walks away to talk with Max. God, she just gives me the chills when I see her, ever since last Monday night. There
’
s just something so off with her. Thank God I noticed it before it was too late. I can
’
t imagine how crazy she
’
d get if we were actually together for a long time and I broke it off with her. I shiver at the thought.
Max and I walk back to her office before our agent meeting. I take a seat in the chair in front of her desk. I sip my coffee. My whole body awakens with warmth.
“
So, tell me. What
’
s going on with you and Beth?
”
Max asks.
My brows furrow.
“
What do you mean?
”
“
I noticed you completely stiffened up when she was talking to you,
”
she explains.
“
Did something happen other than you guys hooking up?
”
I take a deep breath and run my hand over my head.
“
Yeah, last Monday night she wanted to come home with me. I told her to go home. I apologized for what had happened, and when I left, she followed me home. She got all crazy and told me we weren
’
t over with. She creeped me the hell out,
”
I confess.
She looks at me, shocked.
“
Wow. I can tell just by looking at her that she still has something for you, but I never thought she
’
d act like that. She
’
s too beautiful to get all crazy.
”
“
Yeah, well, looks are deceiving. She
’
s turning into a nut.
”
Max laughs as though I
’
m taking this way out of proportion.
“
Just give her some time. I mean, you did have your tongue down her throat and hands God-knows-where just a week ago.
”
Great. Now Max is making excuses for her. I shouldn
’
t have even said anything. She obviously thinks I am overreacting. This was not the kind of response I was looking for from her. I decide to take this in a different direction.
“
Are you jealous?
”
I suggest with a huge smirk on my face.
Max looks at me like I
’
m crazy.
“
Um, no. Most definitely not!
”
she says with a smile.
“
Hmm, I guess we
’
ll just have to see about that,
”
I comment and stand up.
“
What does
that
mean?
”
she spits out.