20. Brent
Brent
Jaxon gathers his wallet and keys off the side table, and he putters around the kitchen checking cupboards for snacks and mixed drinks. “You’re sure you’re okay with the guys coming here for poker night?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I’ll even play.”
“Huh.” Surprise is clear in his voice.
“What?”
“Was starting to think you’d suction cupped yourself to Posey Jensen. What’s she doing tonight?”
“Out with her roommates. But she invited me to some house party tomorrow night.”
“Deacon’s party? One of the basketball guys?” Jaxon pauses with his hand on the door.
“Yeah. I met him the other night at Posey’s place. He’s dating Destiny.”
“You’re even double-dating? You and Val never hung out with anyone other than each other.”
“It’s not—we’re not—” It had sort of felt like a double date.
We’d made dinner. Posey sat practically in my lap on the couch, and Destiny and Deacon had been on the other couch.
The conversation between us had been easy, and then we’d watched a movie on Netflix together.
If I so much as whispered the words “double date” in Posey’s ear, she’d crawl out of her skin and find a new fake boyfriend.
“I’ll be back with the beer in a little while. You have practice in the morning?”
“Yeah. Might take a nap while you’re gone so I’m not the first one in bed.”
“Good plan,” he says, opening the door. “Just because you never play doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you. Your rent money will be mine.”
“I’m a quick study,” I say, getting off the couch and heading to my room.
My two practices and the weight training along with my reduced sleep after a week of staying at Posey’s apartment have taken their toll.
At her place I’m closer to the pool, and I could get more sleep in theory, but I stay up later when I’m there than I would at home.
The middle-of-the-night, half-asleep sex sessions also have their pluses and minuses.
Mostly pluses. There are few things better than cradling a drowsy, turned-on Posey while I ease into her.
Just the thought of it makes me fucking hard.
I’ve only known her a week, and it feels like she’s slithered into every aspect of my life.
In the morning after my practice, I find her to deliver her latte.
We usually end up back in bed before I have class or weight training in the afternoon.
Inevitably, I head to her place after my evening practice.
Slotting her into my life has been surprisingly easy.
Our schedules match well, and she’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.
Incredible sex and a lot of laughter. The one-two punch I never realized I needed.
With that thought in my head, I strip down and fall into bed. I’ve barely dragged the covers across me before sleep pulls me under.
There’s a hint of light streaming in from my curtainless bedroom windows, and I stir in the bed. A heaviness in the room niggles at my subconscious, tugging me out of sleep. I crack open an eye, and Val is standing in the corner of my room.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I say, and I sit up, rubbing my cheeks.
She tucks her phone into her purse and crosses her arms. “The front door wasn’t locked. I knocked. Rang the doorbell. You must have been really tired.”
“So you just let yourself in?” I gather the covers around my waist. Jaxon is the worst for forgetting to flip the lock when he leaves.
We have very little in the apartment worth stealing, but it’s still annoying.
It’s doubly annoying when my ex-girlfriend just spent however long watching me sleep.
Suppose that’s better than crawling into bed with me.
“We need to talk. This Posey Jensen thing has gone on long enough.” She sits beside me on the bed, and I try to shift farther away, but I can’t do that without losing my blanket shield.
“We’re not getting back together,” I say.
“That’s not why I’m here.” Val stares at me, and there’s concern in her dark eyes. “I’m worried about you. There’s a lot of gossip around campus about Posey. How well do you know her?”
“It’s none of your business.” I run a frustrated hand along the top of my head. “We broke up. I can date or do whatever with whoever. That’s how breaking up works.”
“The list of men she’s had casual sex with is—” Val raises her eyebrows “—long. Not very impressive. But long.”
“The fact that you’re digging into her sexual history in an effort to bother me is sick.” My temper will not remain in check if she can’t keep a lid on her Posey opinions. Val is the type to spread the rumors she’s supposedly uncovering.
“I’m not trying to bother you. I’m informing you about the woman you’re sleeping with. She’s got at least three guys she sees regularly besides you. You’re okay with that?”
An irrational spike of jealousy shoots through my gut.
While I’m not sure I believe Val, the idea of it is enough to raise my hackles.
Fake relationship or not, we shouldn’t be sleeping with other people.
A safety concern, that’s all. But I can’t remember if we agreed on exclusive.
I’m tempted to tell Val that Posey’s partners are none of my business, but if I do, she’ll have confirmation my relationship is a smoke screen designed to keep her away.
Not that my plan is having the desired effect.
“The only thing I’m not okay with is you attempting to uncover dirt on her. She’s a good person, and she’s my girlfriend. That’s all you need to know.”
“Huh.” Val rises off the edge of my bed. “I guess you care about her even less than you cared about me if you don’t mind her sleeping around. Do yourself a favor and get checked for STDs when you’re done with her. She’s bound to have something.”
“Get out!” I point to my bedroom door. “Leave before I throw you out.” I stand up with the covers gathered around my middle.
The front door clicks open, and Jaxon calls a hello while I follow Val out of my bedroom, the blanket trailing behind me.
Jaxon sets drinks and snacks on the island, and his eyebrows almost hit the ceiling as he takes in me in a sheet and Val looking like the cat who caught the canary.
Christ. I do not need my fake girlfriend finding out that my ex-girlfriend was in my bedroom while I was taking a naked nap.
Val saunters to the front door, and as soon as it’s shut, Jaxon tosses me a beer. I fumble with the covers to keep them secure and grab the beer midair.
“I’m surprised you let her in. Not surprised where it ended up, though. This mean you and Posey are done? I wouldn’t mind a second shot at that—or maybe it’s a third.” He winks at me and cracks his beer.
“I didn’t let her in,” I say though gritted teeth. “Someone forgot to lock the front door again.”
“Ah, shit. Did she break and enter to watch you sleep? I can’t decide if that’s sweet or creepy.” He tips back his beer. “The guys will be here in fifteen. You might want to wear something else for the poker game.” He nods at the sheet covering my middle. “It’s not a toga or a dick-swinging party.”
I crack the beer and chug it, hoping the pause before I speak will give me the distance I need to deal with Jaxon.
The empty can is in my hand for a beat before I crush it and send it flying toward the sink.
Val’s comments about Posey with other guys shouldn’t bother me.
Whatever she did before we met last Thursday isn’t any of my business.
But if she’s still doing those things, I deserve to know.
“You seem pissed off,” Jaxon says, and he tosses me another can.
“Nope,” I say, and I open the second beer.
“Not a care in the world.” I leave the living room to gather my clothes from my room and hit the shower.
For the rest of the night, I’m not thinking about Posey or Val or anything other than taking Jaxon’s rent money for suggesting he should take a crack at Posey once she and I are done.
Later that night, I’m far too many drinks down but a hell of a lot of money up when my phone pings. It’s a voice message, and I stare at the screen for a beat before Jaxon nudges me.
“You in or out?”
“I’ll raise.” I toss money into the pot in the middle, and I switch off my phone.
If Posey is after a booty call, I’m too drunk to go anywhere, and I’m not having her come here with all these drunk assholes.
Besides, we’ve been spending every night together, and neither of us needs to get too comfortable with this arrangement.
“Was that Posey?” Jaxon asks.
“Posey Jensen?” Carl asks from the other side of the island. We’ve crowded six of us around the space since we don’t have a kitchen table.
“They’re dating,” Jaxon says while he raises the pot.
“That’s not—we’re not—” I stumble.
“First Valentina Consuelos and now Posey Jensen?” Carl eyes me. “You got a magic dick or something?” He makes a tsking noise while he checks his hand again. “If I had to pick, I’d have no problem being Posey’s side piece. To be fair, I’ll take your sloppy seconds either way. Get me some of that!”
Underneath the island, I make a fist and release it over and over again. She’d murder me if she was here to witness the jealousy running through me right now. Raw and ugly. Carl doesn’t have any chance with her, and inside I’m fuming.
I glance at the clock on the stove. Looks like I will be the first one to turn in. Morning practice waits for no man.
“Don’t tease him about Posey,” Jaxon says. “He doesn’t like it.”
Funny, he doesn’t have a problem participating in it when it’s just the two of us.
My cards are decent, and when it’s my turn, I raise the pot enough to make everyone at the table nervous. In quick succession, people fold or call. We turn over our cards, and I win the hand with three of a kind.
“It’s been fun,” I say while I collect the cash. “But I’ve got practice in the morning.”
In my room, I stare at my phone and consider turning it back on.
Instead, I set my bedside clock for the alarm, and I tug the covers over me.
I’ll deliver her a latte in the morning, but I won’t stay.
Sleep deprivation made me completely miss an intruder entering the apartment.
Jaxon’s carelessness could have gotten me murdered, and I’d have slept through the whole thing.
I’ve never let any woman steer me so far off my sleep schedule. Posey and I are temporary, and if I keep slotting her into every spare moment of my day, she might start to feel entirely too permanent.