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“Your interview is tomorrow, isn’t it?” Jax looked at me. “You excited?”
I was nervous as fuck. “Of course. Opportunity of a lifetime and all that.” My reply came out with less enthusiasm than I intended. Tomorrow’s meeting was the first of several I’d lined up, to speak with Hollywood costume designers and get myself on someone’s team. The next step in my plan.
Lyn’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen and sighed so heavily her body deflated. “I need to take this.” As she answered, she left the room at a quick pace. Her voice faded then vanished.
Jax met my gaze. “You have the worst poker face in history. You said you were okay with this morning. Second thoughts?”
“I’m pretending it never happened, just like you asked.” My retort came out with a sharper edge than I intended. Where was the balance between discretion and embracing what we’d done? I’d had a total of two one-night stands in my life. Hookups with guys I met online that ended with a walk of shame.
Grayson set aside his plate. “You’re not pretending very well.”
“And I could have swornyoucalled itcasual fun.So what’s with the silent treatment?” Jax said.
“I don’t appreciate being treated like a dirty little secret.” I winced at my own phrasing and my immature retort. Neither of them was being aggressive. They seemed willing to talk through this, and I’d prefer to still be on speaking terms with them at the end of the day.
Jax scowled. “You think—”
“That’s not what he meant.” Grayson’s tone was kinder than Jax’s.
Calm down. Be a grown-up about this. “Explain it to me.”
“Not if you’re going to take it out of context.” Jax sounded frustrated and... hurt?
“How else am I going to take you?”
“Tight and slick, just like earlier.” He winked.
Heat flooded my cheeks. Effective way to shift the mood in the room. “One, that doesn’t make any sense, and two, your words werewe should keep this between us. Not the sweetest thing to hear after sex.”
“Theyou’re incredibledidn’t stick?” Jax asked.
Grayson crossed the room to sit on the floor next to my beanbag. The nearness wasn’t unusual between us, but today it made me question so much. “We asked for discretion because of Chase,” he said.
Bros before hos? “I don’t talk about my sex life with my brother.”
“But we run in the same circles... obviously.” Grayson settled his hand on my arm, searing my skin. “It’s going to get back to him. And in the past he’s asked us—”
“His exact words wereKeep your grubby dicks off my sister,” Jax said.
Not the nicest way for Chase to address his best friends. But he’d always been protective of me. Wait. That meant... he felt like he had a reason to make that request. Was that good or bad? I couldn’t find a reply.
“The point was, is...” Grayson sighed. “We’re not looking at you any differently—”
“I am.” Jax smirked.
Grayson rolled his eyes, but a hint of a smile shone through.Comforting. “We’re not looking at you with any less respect or any more assumption.”
Jax’s grin grew. “The lust hasn’t decreased any, either.”
He was lusting after me before? A tiny nag in the back of my mind repainted that moment in high school. He’d apologized. We’d moved on or I wouldn’t be talking to him. None of those reassurances extinguished that spark of doubt. And here I was, not responding while they tried to soothe my mind. I needed to say something.
Grayson placed a finger under my chin and raised my gaze to his. “If you’re not okay with what happened, say so now, and we can figure it out.” He sounded so genuine.
My racing thoughts were slowing and the nagging in my gut was fading at their insistence we use now to make things right. “I’m okay with it. Great with it. It was amazing.” Was it okay to say that out loud? It should be.
“Something we agree on.” Jax winked.
“...I said no.” Lyn’s shout echoed through the top floor of the building. “If you don’t like my answer, even if you do, you can fuck all the way off.” She stormed back into the room, and threw her phone at her chair. It bounced once and then settled. Red blotches decorated her face, and she was shaking.
