Maybe the little puke was right. Maybe it was time for me to man up. “Are you—”
“Hey,” Cece touched my back as she came up behind me. Her eyes darted back and forth between me and her pretty boy. “What’s up?” When neither of us responded, she said, “Things looked intense from where I was standing. Just wanted to check in, make sure everything was okay.”
Auden jerked his head towards me. “He was just telling me you lied to me. That y’all have messed around.”
Cece turned on me, those emerald eyes cutting right through me. “You told him what? Are you crazy?”
I shrugged, tamping down my anger. I couldn’t believe she was gonna call me out in front of this guy, but since she’d started it, I intended to finish it. “I wasn’t lyin’, Cec. Tell him the truth.” My eyes glided over her body, pausing in all the places that made her burn up.
“I did tell him the truth!” She looked around when she realized a couple of lighting technicians were within earshot. “I told him,” she said through clenched teeth, “that we never slept together, and we haven’t.”
The little bastard had one up on me and he knew it. Cece had slept with him, but she hadn’t slept with me, and knowing that made my blood boil. I was acting totally irrational and I knew it. Cece wasn’t a virgin, but she didn’t sleep around either. She’d slept with a few guys in the five years I’d known her while I’d been with… more women than that. Way more.
“Didn’t say we slept together.” I got all up in her personal space, tucking one of those corkscrew curls I loved behind her ear while my finger stroked her cheek. “He asked if we’d messed around.” My eyes dipped to her cleavage and I could tell her chest was heaving, whether from anger or arousal I couldn’t say. But I had a feeling I was about to find out. “I told him we had.”
“Why?”
It felt like we were in our own little bubble now. Junior wasn’t even on our radar. “Because it’s true.” My voice was low, husky. My tongue sliding around my lips while her eyes followed. “And I’m all about tellin’ the truth, baby.” Except where she was concerned. I really needed to grow a pair and just spit it out already. I was into her. Or at least wanted to be… see how far it could go.
“What the hell…?”
It was like Cece suddenly remembered he was there when he spoke, because she jumped back and cleared her throat.
Spell broken. And another reason for me to hate him.
Cece shook her hands out before she realized what she was doing, then folded her arms, curling her hands into fists. “I’m sorry, Auden.” She gave me the stink eye. “Things with Knox are kind of… complicated. I didn’t think they were, but clearly they are.”
“Apparently,” he grumbled.
“Can I have a few minutes to talk to him alone?”
He looked hesitant, but he finally nodded. “You’ll come find me when you’re done? I think you and I have a few things to discuss too.”
I wanted to tell him that a few months of flirting and one meaningless roll couldn’t possibly compare to five years of friendship and love, but bit my tongue. Cece was already pissed at me, and I had no doubt my fiery little redhead was gonna go postal on me when she got me behind closed doors. Bring. It. On. She usually wound down as quickly as she got fired up, and I wanted to be there to catch her when she fell.
“Sure.” She nodded, forcing a smile. “I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”
She waited until he’d walked away before she turned on me. “I’m gonna kill you.”
I tried like hell to keep a straight face, but when she saw my lips twitch she raised her hand to strike. I blocked her just in time, curling my hand around her wrist as I whispered in her ear, “Don’t you think smacking should take place behind closed doors?”
Her mouth slipped open and my only thought was of sliding my tongue inside that sweet mouth. Yeah. I had it bad. And it was time to do something about it before I drove us both crazy.
“Let’s head to my bus.”
I linked my hand through hers, like I’d done a hundred times before. But this time was different. My hand was thrumming, energy was coursing up my arm, and it felt like my heart was gonna beat out of my chest.
Was I really gonna do this… proposition my best friend?
How could I not?
Chapter 9
Cece
By the time we got back to Knox’s bus, I was torn between slapping him senseless and kissing him stupid. How dare he tell Auden that we’d messed around! And more importantly, why had he told him that? He’d already cut Leo loose and now it looked like Auden was next on the chopping block, and it didn’t make any sense. He’d never had a problem with me dating our co-workers before, so what had changed?
The tension was so thick by the time he closed and locked,yes locked, the door that my mouth was dry and my palms were wet. “So, what gives, Knox?”
