Page 60 of Let’s Be Real

Ben: Mazzy says you can’t tell a freshly postpartum woman no.

I’d paused working to read through the texts in our group chat, surprised to see Adrian participating. Given it was a Friday evening, and what I assumed was one of the busiest nights at MHC. But what did I know? Maybe Tuesdays were when the kinksters liked to play.

Their messages brought a slight grin to my face, and I tapped out a reply.

Me: I assume Rome has trouble saying no to Shira always.

Roman: You assume correctly.

Ben: It’s going to be really hard to impress me with a gift this year. I’ve got the hottest woman on the planet and a really cute daughter. Can’t top that.

Adrian: I won’t try. A donation has been made in your name to the Human Fund.

Roman: Wow, a Seinfeld reference. How timely. Are you turning 50 this year?

Adrian: You scoff but caught the reference. Maybe this is your 50th birthday.

Ben: Anyway…Natey, hope you’re not lonely now that you have your place back to yourself.

Me: It’s pretty damn quiet around here.

Samantha and Kelly had moved out a week ago—Samantha to her house, Kelly to a new apartment on the opposite side of the city from her ex. How fast it had happened had been disconcerting. One day, I had two roommates. The next, the walls of my condo echoed.

Problem was, I’d allowed myself to get used to them. Surprisingly, Kelly wasn’t the worst company during the long evenings, and the nights with Samantha…well, there was something to be said about sharing a bed with someone who didn’t know the meaning of personal space. And once the dam broke, it nearly always led to the hottest sex of my life. That I had really gotten used to and begun to crave.

Which meant being over sooner rather than later was best.

Adrian: It happened in the nick of time. Nate was making moves to replace me.

Me: We both know that would never happen.

Adrian: IDK. Sammie says things like, “I didn’t know Nate was kind of cool,” and, “Maybe we should invite Nate out to dinner with us.”

Roman: That’s nice.

Adrian: It’s bullshit, is what it is. Nate can find his own best friend.

Ben: Don’t be selfish, Adey. It’s unbecoming. And if you’d finally married her, everyone would know she was yours.

Adrian: Gross. Never say that again.

They continued to bicker, and I set my phone down, leaving them to it. I had other things on my mind, and they didn’t need me.

The following weekend, I arrived at Roman’s house, a bottle of wine for him in one hand and a six-pack of Ben’s favorite beer in the other, surprised to find Samantha pacing on his front porch, wringing her hands.

She spotted me and stopped moving, her eyes going wide. “Nate.”

“Hello, Samantha.”

I climbed the porch steps, giving her a slow scan. How I’d gone so long without acknowledging how breathtaking this woman was beyond me. Now that I’d allowed myself to see her, it was impossible not to notice.

After almost two weeks, she was a sight for sore eyes. Her shorts stopped mid-thigh. Modest by most standards, but her legs were so long there were still miles of flesh on display—silky smooth and welcoming when wrapped around my waist…or head.

Her white top frilled around her chest and floated along her middle, and she’d done something with her blond bob to make it wave around her face instead of the straight it usually was. The overall effect was pretty, sweet, feminine, and utterly sexy.

The last part was unintended, I was certain, and entirely my fault for seeing her that way.

I snapped myself out of it, pulling my gaze to meet her worried eyes. “Something wrong?”