Shit. I had a feeling that was going to come back to bite me.
“Don’t start, it’s not what it looks like.” I roll my chair closer to the desk and put my hands on the keyboard, fingers hovering over letters I don’t push since I’m still too distracted.
“No? Are you telling me your lovesick biker didn’t come back for seconds?” I feel him smirking at me.
“He did, but that doesn’t make him lovesick.”
“What would you call it?” Though I’m concentrating on my screen, I see Sloan press his fingertips together like a damn therapist, waiting for my confession.
“Horny,” I deadpan.
“Hmm.” He taps his index fingers together. “I don’t buy it. Try again.”
“You don’t have to buy it, there’s no other reason for him to have come back except that the sex is incredible.” I feel my cheeks warm, though not because I just admitted to enjoying sex with Axel. I’m not ashamed of that. I’m afraid Sloan will see that part of me is starting to wish it could be more.
“Lennon, don’t pretend either of us is dumb enough to believe that. If the guy just wanted a hookup we both know he could find that anywhere. Instead, he drove at least four hours to hook up withyou.” He points a finger at me.
“I did say incredible, right?” I lift my eyes to meet his.
“There’s no such thing as sex so incredible you’d drive four hours for it.”
“Then you haven’t had it. Just saying,” I add defensively when I see his jaw drop.
“Alright, say for a minute it’s that good. Why?” He cocks his head to the side like he’s trying to see deeper into my brain.
“I don’t understand the question.”
“Why is it so good?” Sloan watches me expectantly, like he’s waiting for me to have some sort of revelation.
“Um, you’re my friend and all, but…”
“Lennon!” He jumps up from his chair, cutting me off. “It’s so good because it’s the two of youtogether. And since you can’t see it on your own, I’ll tell you—that means it’s more than just sex.”
“Pfft,” I snort. “We’ve literally done nothing else.”
“He got you to take a day off.” Sloan sets his hands on the desk and leans forward, daring me to object.
My mind drifts to the day on his bike when all we did was talk.Shit.I guess we did do something besides sex. Once.
“So?” I shrug indifferently. I may be curious about whether it could be more. Daydreamed about it even. But daydreaming is safe. Harmless. What Sloan is implying isn’t.
“You don’t take a day off for anyone.Ever. But you did for him.” He bites back a satisfied smile, like he’s won a debate I didn’t realize we were having.
“Okay, I hear you,” I concede, since there’s really no point in pretending Axel didn’t coax me into a day off. “It doesn’t change anything, though. He’s still touring with his bike stuff and I’m not going anywhere, so this will eventually run its course.”
“He can’t tour forever.” Sloan sighs and straightens to his full height, making me feel like I’m being scolded.
I shut my laptop, since I’m obviously not going to get anything else done. “No, but I’m sure there are several years yet before he’d give it up. He’s apparently the guy to beat.”
“Maybe he’ll want to go out on top.” Sloan offers, as though Axel’s career can be so easily tossed aside. Forme.
His eyes beam with excitement as he links Axel and I together in his mind. I didn’t know he was such a romantic. And he's convincing me to believe it. Almost.
“Not that I don’t appreciate having a cheerleader, but why are you so determined to make this into something it’s not?”Why are you trying to get me to want something I can’t have?
“Because you’re so determined to dismiss it. Look.” He rests his hip against my desk. “There’s a whole town of people who’ve been trying to get through to you about the need to slow down, but only one person has actually done it. Whether you want to admit it or not, that makes him more than just a hookup.”
“It doesn’t make him mine, though. And as long as he’s just passing through, he never will be.”
