Warmth floods my system. “Thanks, Zander.” He has the most uncanny ability to make me feel safe. Like I can say and do anything and he won’t judge me.
In fact, I’ve warmed up enough to shrug out of my coat. The second the jacket comes off his eyes almost bug out of his head.And this time, I know without doubt that I’m reading something questionable in his eyes.
“What? Is it too much?” I look down at the red lacy bralette peeking (okay, more than peeking) out of my white doctor’s coat that hits mid-thigh. I have my reasons for why my tits are spilling out of the jacket.
He hasn’t said anything yet, so I fill in his silence and explain my costume, “I was thinking that tonight I might actually make a move on Logan, if he’s there. I heard that his band is supposed to show up.”
Zander’s eyes are flitting all over the place. My face. My chest. My legs. His eyes drop to my lips for a second. No, that must have been my imagination. Zander’s not like that with me, not like other men.
You know when I said it’s never awkward between us…well, this is borderline. I shove at his shoulder, and presumably to catch his balance, his hand flies to my waist. With a death grip.
“Zander? Seriously. Is it too much?”
He licks his lips and then his eyes snap up to mine, pinning me in place. As if his hand wasn’t doing a good enough job of that already.
“It’s not too much.” He lifts his finger up, like he’s about to touch me, then withdraws. “Where’s your mom’s necklace?”
That’s what he’s looking at. That makes more sense than him staring at my breasts. Though I have to say they do look good tonight.
“The chain broke. It sucks not having it.”
His voice comes out all gravelly when he agrees with me. “Ya. That does suck.”
There’s a beat before he clears his throat and says, “You don’t have to dress like that to catch a man’s attention.” His eyes pierce mine with their intensity.
“I know.” I flip my hair off my shoulder. “But I figured I’d go all in tonight. Shoot my shot. Why not?”
I wasn’t really asking, but he stiffly says, “No reason not to.”
Chapter 2
Zander
“What do you want to accomplish tonight?” she asks me with no clue what she’s doing to me in that outfit, and what she’s been doing to me for the last few weeks.
“Get drunk.” It’s only partially a lie.
“Sloane messed you up that badly, huh?”
I’ve had five weeks—and three days—to digest everything, but since she’s just hearing it, I nod. And I want to let her think that for now because I don’t think I’m ready to tell her where I’m at. It’ll change everything. But then I see her cute, pouty mouth waiting for more from me.
“I thought she was…the one—” I cut off the sentence, second-guessing myself. Sometimes I overshare, we both know that, and I can’t just throw this all on her. I can’t tell her everything justyet. I grip the back of my neck while my stomach coils, not loving this restraint I’m choosing.
“I didn’t realize it was that serious.”
“Ya. I don’t think I appreciated it for what it was either.” Normally I’d tell her everything. I’d just spit it out. But this time it’s different. This time it involves her. It’ll affect her more than anyone, and I just need to brace myself a little more to tell her. And it’s not that I think she won’t listen. She’s one of the best listeners I know. She makes people feel heard, which is ironic since no one listened to her way back when.
Then again, maybe that’s why she’s so good at it. She knows what it’s like not to have it.
I huff out a large breath. “Let’s get creative with these suckers, shall we?”
Her bright smile is back and it carves something in my heart. “Let’s do it.”
It takes all of two seconds for us to find our natural groove. Then we make jack-o-lanterns like no one has ever made jack-o-lanterns before. At least, that’s what we say while we’re carving them up.
We’re nearly done our pumpkins when I peek over at her. Of their own volition, my eyes drop to the red lace hardly holding her tits in place.
My cock twitches again. The same way it did when she first derobed. I shouldn’t be thinking these thoughts about her for so many reasons. She’s my friend, and friends don’t lust after each other. She wants to go after another guy, and I should respect that. And lastly, I just got out of a relationship.
