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“Yes,” she said. “Yes, of course. As long as you guys are cool with it.”
Noah looked at me.
I smirked and shrugged. “I mean… if my girl wants threesomes on a regular basis, it might as well be with my best buddy.” My eyes snapped to Grace. “Is that cool? That I called you my girl?”
She giggled awkwardly.
My heart sank again. “Right. You just got out of a relationship.”
Grace nodded. “I need to go slower romantically, if that’s something you want to happen. But physically… I think I’m all set. I like this.”
I grinned. “This is a new arrangement for me, so forgive me if I come on too strong with the romance sometimes.” My gut felt like it was stabbing me, but I reminded it to chill. Play it cool. Give it time. “What should I call you, then?”
“Just Grace.”
“What about when I’m referring to you? You don’t like girlfriend—”
“I’mnotyour girlfriend,” she said. “Not yet, anyway. How about you just call me your friend?”
Disappointment stabbed me through the chest, then twisted. “Grace, one doesnotdo what we just did with one’s‘friends.’”
Grace wilted for a second, then brightened. “How about ‘Special Friend?’”
“No. I’m not calling you my ‘Special Friend.’”
“Okay… um, how about—”
“You two can think of pet names later,” Noah said sternly. “Again, I don’t want to intrude on whatever you two have going on romantically, or whatever. I want to be clear about that. Honestly, I’m not sure if I even have much to give in that department.”
Grace shifted. “Noah…”
“No, it’s true, and I know it,” he said. “I’m a workaholic. I love my job, and my obsession with it has killed every relationship I’ve ever tried to have.”
“Sothat’swhat kills them,” I quipped. “Not the sky-high set of expectations you’ve got for women, and then you keep focusing on their ‘flaws’ or whatever—”
“I know I’m an asshole,” Noah said. His eyes shot to Grace. “Sorry you have to find out this way, Grace.” His gaze shifted to me again. “But look. I’ve done some thinking about this, and I know it’s an issue I’ve got to work on. I can’tbein a relationship—I’ll destroy it whether I mean to or not.”
I smirked, amused. “That was a pretty insightful shower for you, wasn’t it?”
“I didn’t come up with that in the shower,” Noah snapped. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while.”
“Well, it’s the first time I’m hearing about it.”
“Yeah, that’s because I don’t tell you jack shit.”
“But why not?” I taunted with a shit-eating grin. “Oh, I know why. It would’ve ruined your plan to swoop in and steal Grace from me.”
“She’s not yours dude, you just heard her.”
Again, an invisible knife twisted in my gut. I kept my cocky smile locked in place, hiding the pain. “It was still a shitty thing for you to do.”
Noah smirked. “Yeah, I’m an asshole. I know. That’s what I’m trying to say here.”
Grace spoke up. “So, you don’t want the romantic part of…” she gestured between me and her, “…whatever this is. But you want the physical part.”
“Correct.”
Her eyebrows came together. “Can we… can wedothat?”
