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“You worry about you,” I replied, brushing him off.
“She’s your best friend, Rum,” he said, grabbing my arm as I tried to walk past him. “Don’t fuck around with her.”
“Wow, this really feels like none of your business,” I shot back.
“You fuck anything with a pussy,” he growled. “Don’t be stupid and add Nova to the long fuckin’ list.”
“Nice to know what you think of me,” I muttered, pulling away from him.
“I’m just sayin’—”
“Yeah, I know what you’re sayin’.” I threw my hands in the air as I walked away.
I was pissed that Mick had said something, but mostly because part of me knew he was right. Me and Nova had come to an agreement that nothing was changing and it seemed like it was working out all right. I mean, when I saw her or even thought about her, I imagined her naked, but that had always happened. The only difference now was that my imagination had facts to back it up.
I’d always found Nova sexy. She just had this thing about her that got to me. It didn’t matter if she was made up or two days into a camping trip, she’d always been gorgeous to me. Of course, now that I knew what sex with her was like, it just made her that much sexier.
I went back to work and tried to shake off how tense things seemed between us. It wasn’t like we were fighting or anything, something just felt different. Maybe I was naïve for thinking that we could fuck and then go back to normal. Of course things would be a little different, but we’d just have to push through it. Eventually it would all get back mostly to normal with the added bonus of fantastic sex.
I scowled as I thought about her going on a date with some guy. I wasn’t going to acknowledge the relief I’d felt when she said it was boring and she’d gone home early. Being jealous wasn’t part of our deal—actually it was exactly the opposite of our deal. Too bad I’d been struggling with it all fucking week. I’d tried to ignore it and I’d even gone so far as not texting Nova when I usually would, trying not to think about her.
When I’d realized that I was obsessing over this guy Nova was going on a date with, I’d saidfuck itand set up my own date. I’d gone home with a woman named Taylor, fucked her hard, which she’d seemed to like, and then I’d left after she’d passed out.
I’d been bored the entire fucking time, pun intended, and that pissed me off. Sex had never been boring before. I’d had mediocre sex plenty of times, but I’d never beenbored.
I was jealous of guys Nova was hooking up with and bored with the women I was hooking up with, and I still rejected the idea that having sex with Nova was going to be a problem.
I refused to acknowledge how absolutely fucked I was and told myself that everything would be fine.
Chapter 6
Nova
Ihad nomemory of the drive from the garage to the craft store. I’d been too busy replaying every memory of how Rumi had touched me. By the time I got to work, I had to sit in my car for a few minutes deliberatelynotthinking about what Rumi’s hands could do. My stomach was in knots as I waved hello to my manager and went to the break room to store my backpack and coat. I was letting thoughts of Rumi take over which was exactly what I couldn’t let happen.
We werefriends. It shouldn’t matter if I hadn’t spoken to him for a few days. It shouldn’t matter that I wouldn’t see him all week. He’d still be there when we both had time and that should be enough for me but somehow it wasn’t anymore.
The day dragged by and by the time I got home that night I was as exhausted as I’d anticipated, in a bad mood, and kicking myself for not telling Rumi that I’d stop by his house on my way home. I could’ve just stayed the night at his house like I’d done a hundred times before, but for some reason, that felt weird now. I knew if I went to Rumi’s we’d end up in bed together and sleeping at his place after that was too intimate or something. It wasn’t the same.
“Hey, Bossanova,” Pop called out quietly as I let myself into the house. “How was work?”
“Long,” I replied with a laugh, hanging up my coat. “What are you doing up?”
“Just finishin’ this show,” he said, pointing to the paused TV with his remote. “Nana’s in the tub.”
“Lucky,” I murmured, walking over to sit next to him on the couch. “I’d love a bath. I wish we had a hot tub.”
“Hot tub would be real nice,” he agreed, nodding as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. “You wanna watch this with me for a while?”
I was tired and my whole body hurt, but I leaned into him anyway, resting my head on his shoulder. I used to hang with Pop a lot, but lately I’d been working so much that I hadn’t had the time. “Sure.”
He kissed my head and started the show again. I was able to figure out that it was about some kind of car restoration, but within minutes I’d completely passed out on his shoulder. I didn’t wake up again until morning when my phone alarm started going off in my back pocket.
“Rise and shine loser,” Bird sang. When I opened my eyes, his face was within inches of mine.
“What the hell are you doing?” I groaned.
“Gross,” he barked, jerking backward. “Your breath is foul!”
