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Xander drops his hand and gives me a withering look. “Is it?”
I’m not usually speechless, but my mouth opens and shuts at least three times before I blurt, “Well, what would you call it?”
“Dating.”
My mouth has trouble forming words again. “It’s not dating if you’ve never been on a date.”
“Semantics.”
“Semantics are pretty important, you know. Critical even. And aside from the fact that we haven’t been on a date, I don’t date. So, your definition doesn’t apply.” I’m rambling, but since that’s normal for me I figure he won’t make an issue of it.
“Does cohabitating work better for you?”
I gasp with as much disgust as I can muster. “I would never—”
“How many nights have you spent at your place in the last two weeks?”
“I’ve been playing nurse. You know that.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“And how much nursing are you doing? Noah’s got a chef and a physical therapist, and he should be walking by now if his recovery is on track. So, what’s your role, exactly?”
“I gave him a foot massage the other day,” I blurt defensively, realizing a little too late that won’t help my case.
“You hate feet.” Xander smirks knowingly, forcing me to double down.
“Which clearly demonstrates what a good nursing job I’m doing.”
“Or it says you like Noah.”
“Of course, I like him. He’s a friendly guy and he’s got a beautiful cock.” I lift a nonchalant shoulder.
“You could say the same thing about most guys you hook up with, but you’ve never spent the night with them.”
Right about now, I’m regretting the extent to whichI exploit my exploits to Xander. In my defense, I was pretty certain he wasn't paying attention half of the time.
“We’re talking in circles here. You know why I’ve been spending the night. Stop reading into everything.”
“Stop pretending your motives are purely altruistic. You’re staying there because you want to, not because you need to.”
“He does have a magnificent shower.” I snatch a pen off Xander’s desk and start spinning it around my fingers.
Xander snatches the pen back. “He’s different, admit it. And while we’re on the topic, so are you, and I don’t just mean your hair color. Since the day I met you, you’ve been hiding in plain sight. You’re loud and obnoxious and outspoken, but you don't fool me. It's an act to make people think you’re an open book when really all they see is the cover. Noah sees through it, doesn’t he? And you like it, don't you? That’s why you haven’t left when he doesn’t, and never really did, need you to take care of him.”
Wow. All this time I thought Xander was too broody and guarded himself to realize there wasn’t much substance behind most of my word vomit. Being sickeningly happy–like a chocolate addict being welcome into Willy Wonks's chocolate factory–must’ve opened his eyes. I blame Niko. Clearly, he's at fault here.
“Perhaps the big guy is more interesting than I first thought.”
“Still not willing to admit you might have feelings for him, huh?” Xander narrows his eyes, and while that warrants a saucy retort, I’m embarrassed to say I don’t have one, so I just stare at him blankly. “Fine,” he dismisses me by focusing on his computer, and since I don’t have a retort for that either, I slink back to my own desk, wondering if it’s already too late to say we’re simply friends with benefits.
Chapter 19 - Noah
“When are you coming back?” There’s an uncharacteristic hitch in Luca’s voice, which I’m not sure can be attributed to a poor connection.
“The doctor says at least two more weeks, if I have full range of motion.”
“Dammit.” He exhales.
“What’s wrong with that? It’s faster than originally projected.”
