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He said he hadn’t invited her and that they were just friends. But there was no way that woman wasn’t into him, unless she was into women and I didn’t get that vibe from her.
“Ugh, I hate this!” I’d accomplished nothing on my to do list because my mind kept swirling with thoughts of Stone. Thoughts of me and Stone kissing. Thoughts of Babs and Stone. And I’d done nothing to brainstorm ways to gain access to the over fifty crowd looking for love, nothing to pacify Magnus or the other clients looking for their own Mr. or Ms. Right.
In short, I’d done nothing, which meant I needed to get the heck out of the house. Get some fresh air so that I could clear the irrelevant issues from my mind and focus on what really mattered.
Work.
Work was what mattered. Work was a problem with actual solutions and that’s what I needed to focus on right now.
Thinking about Stone was madness, no it was worse than madness, it was confusing and I didn’t like the uncertainty of thinking of Stone as anything other than a friend. Confusion and uncertainty reminded me of living with my parents and siblings, never feeling good enough. Never measuring up. Never knowing what kind of drama was coming next, knock down drag out fights, or nitpicking until I wanted to cry. Expectations upon expectations, no matter how unrealistic, just for a kind word or two of praise.
I hated that, and it was the reason I decided to walk away from the family business and do my own thing. It’s why I’d denied my teenage attraction to Stone, because I needed the stability of his friendship. Of the kindness Maggie had shown me over the years. The Lawson family never made me feel less than, never made me feel like a burden.
No, Stone was Mr. Reliable. I could always count on him to be there for me and I knew I always would, unless I let something as insignificant as a kiss ruin it all.
I wouldn’t.
I loved Stone and I always would. As a friend.
Nothing more.StoneMovie night rolled around the following Friday after my sorta, kinda kiss with Sophie and I was excited for it. For the same reasons I usually was. It was nice to kick back after a long week at work with my best friend. But from the moment she opened the door, a weird kind of tension settled between us.
“Uh, hey Stone. What’s up?”
I laughed and waited for her to join in, but when she didn’t, I was worried. “What’s up? It’s movie night Soph. What’s going on?”
She shook her head and took a step back. “Nothing. I was just lost in work, I guess.” Her words had a ring of truth to them, but her blond hair was up in a messy ponytail and she had on worn jeans and a Bigger in Texas t-shirt that hung nearly to her knees. “Come on in. I didn’t start dinner, but we can order something. If you want.”
“If I want.” I repeated the words twice and let them roll around on my tongue, trying to figure out why they sounded so odd. “Do you want me here, Sophie?”
She shook her head once again and rolled her eyes. “Of course, I do. Why are you being so weird?” She turned and headed towards the kitchen, leaving me to take care of the door, and when I found her with her head buried in the fridge, heart shaped ass on display, I groaned.
“You forgot about movie night.”
“It happens sometimes, Stone. People forget things.” Her tone was still odd as hell and I knew something was up with her. I just didn’t know if it was our almost-kiss. Or something else.
“Did your parents call today?”
“No, thank god,” she groaned. “How about we order dinner tonight? I’m sorry I forgot, but I have been busy.” She was lying, and I didn’t know why, nor did I want to fight about it.
“I’ll buy that you forgot, even though that memory of yours is like a steel trap. But I’ve known you too damn long to believe that nothing is bothering you, so what is it Soph? A client? An algorithm? Me?”
“No! Jeez, why are you pushing so hard on this? I said nothing is wrong, so clearly, nothing is wrong!” She whirled around, red-faced, brown eyes blazing a fury I didn’t understand. Even seconds after her outburst, her chest still heaved. Her nipples were hard and braless under the oversized t-shirt, but she couldn’t look me in the eyes.
My own damn best friend and she couldn’t meet my gaze. “All right. If that’s how you want it.”
“It is,” she said, relief in her voice.
Relief. As if my presence, my questions stressed her out, or annoyed her somehow. That’s your answer, that little voice sneered, and I’d had enough. “Good. I’ll see you around, Soph. Didn’t mean to distract you.”
