27. You Got It Bad
TWENTY-SEVEN
YOU GOT IT BAD
Lach
Yesterday was brutal, especially for my willpower, as she fucked herself to orgasm. Am I jealous of her vibrator I refuse to call by the name she gave it? Absofuckinglutely. I was supposed to be the one who made her come, not some pink vibrator, and she knows it. My gaze drifts to Eve as she disappears to the opposite end of the bar. And now I’m taking her on a date. A part of me is thrilled, but the other half of me is screaming, “What the hell are you doing?” Dates are not keeping our relationship secret. That’s exposing us to the entire world. But fuck, I’d be an idiot to turn down a date with Eve. To the world, it will be pretend. For us, it will be real.
From behind me, Nora blows out a low whistle. “You got it bad.”
Slowly, I turn my head toward her. “I know. I should stay away, but I can’t. It physically pains me to be away from her, and I don’t know what to do.”
She rests a comforting hand on my arm. “I’m happy for you. If she truly makes you happy, you should be with her. Jake will have to get over it.”
I wish her words were true, but “Jake” and “getting over it” don’t exactly work in the same sentence. Jake’s fist meeting my face seems more likely. I rake my hand through my hair. “Every scenario has flashed through my head so many times. The optimistic ones are Jake telling me he’s happy for me. I deserve to be with someone who makes me happy. I deserve to be with his sister. But I doubt those will be the words I get.”
“Don’t focus on that. Instead, focus on your date.”
I huff out a laugh. “Is it sad to admit I’ve never been on a date?”
“I mean, I’m not surprised based on the fact that I’ve never seen you with another girl.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I spot Eve chatting with a couple of customers. She throws her head back in laughter. I don’t know what I did to deserve her, but I don’t want to fuck it up. Turning to Nora, I ask, “What kind of date do I give her?”
She taps her chin. “I’m not sure. But whatever you do, don’t do dinner and a movie. It’s way too cliché.”
Shit. That was the obvious choice.
“What are her interests?”
“Besides me?” I wiggle my eyebrows.
“If that’s her only interest, I feel sorry for her. That would get boring pretty fast.” She playfully winks.
“Hey! I’ve kept her interested this long. In fact, she keeps coming back for more.”
She fake gags. “I don’t need details on how you keep her interested. No, I mean, she has to have a hobby. She’s a photographer, right?”
“Yeah.” I rub the back of my neck. “But what do I do? Take her somewhere to shoot photos?” Silence floats between us while I think. “I know she enjoys reading.”
Nora straightens her shoulders. “There you go! You have your date.”
I pinch my eyebrows together. “Reading?”
She rolls her eyes and exhales a heavy sigh. “Take her to a bookstore. Buy her some books.”
“People do that?”
“If she loves reading, she’ll love going to a bookstore. Trust me.”
“I’m not sure.” This seems like the too-obvious choice. It can’t be that easy, can it?
“Says the guy who doesn’t date. Just trust me. If she hates the date, I’ll give you a hundred dollars. But if she loves it, you owe me.” She rests a hand on her hip and smirks.
“Okay. It’s a bet.” She holds out her hand, and we shake on it.
“What am I going to spend my hundred dollars on?” She taps her finger to her lips.
The house is dark when we enter. Eve flips on the kitchen light while we do our best to be quiet and not disturb Jake. Eve shrugs out of her coat and yawns. She stretches, causing the hem of her shirt to ride up, exposing a tiny sliver of bare skin. I itch to lift her up on the counter and run my tongue over the exposed spot. Instead of turning my fantasy into reality, I stroll into the living room, hoping to get a few extra minutes with Eve. I flop down on the couch, turning on a lamp. A soft glow fills the room as Eve enters a few steps behind me. She sits on the cushion next to me and crosses her legs pretzel style.
“Have you filled out your profile yet?”
“I haven’t. Have you?”
“No.” She pulls her phone from her pocket. “I’ll do that now.”
I dig my phone out of my pocket and do the same.
A few minutes pass while we type on our phones. The couch dips, and Eve’s arm brushes against mine as she leans over to see my screen. “What are you putting on your profile?”
I tilt my phone away from her so she can’t peek. “Stuff.”
She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, but what are you adding?”
“It’s supposed to be a surprise. Then we’ll know if we match.”
“We’re already a match.” She beams at me.
“Then it shouldn’t matter.” I lean away, lifting my phone so the back is to her, and continue typing.
“Ugh! You’re so infuriating,” Eve pouts while she continues creating her profile.
When we’re finished, we both hit submit and wait for approval. Within a few minutes, both our phones chime with a message from OneDate.
“Oh, look at that. Not even in the app for five minutes, and I already have a date.” She flashes me a smirk.
“Me too. Do you think she’ll be attracted to my good looks and dazzling charm?” I tease.
“Hmm.” She taps her chin before shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”
A laugh bursts from me. “I thought the same.” I lean toward her, so close I get a whiff of her coconut shampoo, and whisper, “Just so you know, whoever your date is, you are way too good for him.”
Slowly, her head turns to face me. A soft smile tugs at her lips. An electric charge arcs between us. I feel it every time I’m near her.
“I have something for you.” Her words are soft. Almost seductive.
“Is that so?” I lean away and stretch my arm over the back of the couch, wiggling my eyebrows.
She laughs and playfully smacks my chest. “Unfortunately, that,” she glances at my crotch, “is staying in your pants tonight. Let me grab it. I’ll be right back.” She rises to her feet and rounds the couch before strolling to her bedroom. When she returns, she has a hand behind her back. “I know we’re not really in the gift-giving portion of this,” she waves a hand between us, “but I saw this and thought of you. And it’s Christmas.” She swings her hand from behind her back and holds out a red and gold-wrapped present.
My back goes rigid as I sit up. “You got me a present?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s nothing special.”
She places it on my lap. I stare at it, waiting for the gotcha prank because people don’t buy me presents. Fuck. I don’t remember the last time anyone bought me anything. Especially out of the blue because they saw it and thought of me.
“Please say something,” she whispers. “The longer you stare at it, the more foolish I feel.”
I peer up at Eve. “Shit. I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, for starters, you can open it.” She bites her lips together.
I turn it over and slide my finger under the paper, releasing the tape. She takes a seat next to me as I carefully peel away the wrapping paper. It’s a hardback, but it’s not the traditional fiction size. I flip the book over and stare down at the colorful picture of a short stack of pancakes.
“It’s a sketchbook for you to draw in.” She shifts back and forth on the couch.
I can’t take my eyes off the sketchbook. She bought me a sketchbook. She bought me a present, and it’s a sketchbook. Warmth radiates through my chest.
“You hate it.” She buries her head in her hands. “It’s a dumb gift.”
The wrapping paper floats to the floor as I spin to face her. I brush her hands away from her face, wanting to see her. “This is probably the best gift anyone’s ever given me.”
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“I never got a lot of gifts, so this is great. I’ll definitely make use of it.”
A pained expression spreads over her features before she quickly recovers. “I’m glad you like it,” she says softly.
Fuck. Now I feel like the asshole. “I didn’t get you anything.”
She rests a hand on mine. “I didn’t get it for you with the expectation of something in return.”
“But still.” My gaze falls.
She sits up, inching closer to me. “How about this? You can make it up to me with the date.” She grins. “Is it weird that I’m excited about going on a date with you?” She lifts her leg, tucking it under her as she turns to face me.
“Nah.” I rest my hand on her thigh. Touching her grounds me, which tells me this is real. Right now, that trumps being scared. Mostly scared of what Jake will do to me, but I’m willing to pay the consequences because I don’t think I can give Eve up. “I’m excited too.”
She flips my hand over. With a feather-light touch, she drags her fingertips across my palm. “What do you have planned for our date?”
“Oh. I’m supposed to plan the date? I thought you were.” I smirk.
“I can. How do you feel about mani-pedis?”
“It doesn’t matter what we do as long as I get to do it with you.” I lean closer, and she does the same. Even though we’ve been in the bar all night, her sweet scent invades my senses. Her eyes drift closed as our mouths inch closer together. A door creaks open, and we jump away from each other like a couple of teenagers on the verge of getting caught by a parent. My heart pounds in my chest as Eve does her best to put space between us. A couple more inches, and she’ll be sitting on the armrest. A second later, Jake emerges from the hallway and enters the living room.
He scrubs the sleep from his eyes. “I thought I heard someone out here.”
“Sorry we woke you,” Eve blurts out.
I’m sorry too because I was seconds away from pulling Eve to my lap and kissing the hell out of her, then convincing her to stay in the basement with me so I could continue kissing her. Everywhere.
“No problem. How did the night go?” Jake stops behind the couch, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
“Good,” I answer.
“The usual,” Eve says at the same time.
Jake nods. “I’m going to get some water and go back to bed.” Both of us stare as Jake strolls in the kitchen and back through the living room with a bottle of water. We’re silent until his door clicks shut.
My shoulders drop, and I huff out a laugh. “How many close calls are we going to have before we get caught?”
“I think we have one or two more times left in us.” A smile curves across her lips.
I shake my head and laugh. “Good night, Eve.”
“Good night, Lach. Sweet dreams. I know mine will be.” She flashes me a sultry smile.
My dick twitches in my jeans, and I exhale a deep groan. There’s a good chance I won’t be falling asleep for at least another hour while I lie awake, thinking of all the sweet dreams we could be having together.
The next day, I’m back at Porter’s while Eve has the day off, but I’d much rather be with Eve. Playing dodge-Jake is cramping my style. He said I could stay as long as I needed, but I’m thinking time is up if I’m going to get any alone time with Eve. Better yet, I should just tell him I’m falling for his sister. Not falling, but fallen. I’ve fallen hard for her, which is just as terrifying as telling Jake. Maybe if I tell him while at the bar, with witnesses, he won’t physically hurt me. It’s an option.
Jake strolls down the bar with a case of beer in his hands. He stops a few feet shy of me and is definitely out of reach. Resting the edge of the box against the cooler, he flips open the top, grabs three bottles with one hand, and transfers them inside.
I wipe my palms on my jeans and swallow. Hard. “So, Jake.” Without stopping, he peers up at me. “I wanted to?—”
A crash on the opposite side of the bar startles us. “Fuck,” Jake murmurs under his breath.
He shoves the box to the top of the cooler and stomps to where two guys are currently in a shoving match. I’m a few steps behind him. One thing Jake doesn’t tolerate is fights in his bar. He wrangles one guy while I take the other. We toss them both onto the sidewalk, and their friends follow. We return to behind the bar, and Jake goes back to filling the cooler as if nothing happened.
“What were you going to say?”
Shit. Later. I’ll tell him later. He has adrenaline racing through his veins. There’s no doubt he’ll do more than throw me out on the sidewalk. “I wanted to say, let me know when you want to start the bathroom renovation.”
“I will.”
I walk to the other end of the bar to serve customers mostly so I don’t have to look Jake in the face. I lied to my best friend. Truth be told, I’ve been lying to him. Lying by omission. I’m a terrible fucking friend.