was a long time ago.”
“Not that long ago. What’s he look like now?”
“The same, I guess.”
He laughed. “That means he’s even hotter.”
I was definitely not going to admit it to Nick, but he was absolutely right. The feeling of my body crushed up against Colin’s sculpted chest, all the dirty and flirtatious things he kept saying to me, it all came back in a rush and I had to sip my drink. Nick didn’t seem to notice how flustered I was because the waitress came over and took our orders.
“So, what’s it like sharing a house with your hunky step?” Nick asked as the waitress walked away to put our orders in.
“He’s not my step, and he’s not hunky.”
“Oh, come on. Can we cut the act?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Never going to happen.”
“Fine. Still, it must be a little weird after ....” He trailed off, giving me a look.
“We’re not talking about that.”
“You and him?”
I laughed. “Everyone, anyone. That was a long time ago.”
“You’re going to tell me that this sexy as hell guy that lives in your house is no big deal? This guy you have an unfinished past with?”
“It’s not like that.”
He grinned and leaned forward. “Come on, Bren. It’s me. We both know it’s exactly like that.”
For half a second I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to tell him how I had practically drooled all over Colin’s post-shower body wrapped in a towel, and how he had pulled me against him in my bedroom.
But for whatever reason, I decided to keep that to myself.
“Nope, not at all.” I sat back and crossed my arms.
He sighed, mirroring my pose. “Fine, whatever. Be like that if you want.”
“I will.” I smirked at him.
He laughed and shook his head as the waitress came back with a plate of nachos we decided to share. I grabbed a huge, multi-chip portion and took a big bite. Nick laughed at me as he deftly swallowed three chips whole.
“Anyway, hey, speaking of guys, whatever happened to that dude you were dating the last time we talked?” he asked suddenly.
I blinked. I had totally forgotten that I told him about Vince. That must have been pretty early on in the relationship, before Vince had turned full-on psycho asshole and I wasn’t allowed to talk to Nick, or really anyone for that matter. I tried to think back to what Nick knew about Vince, but genuinely couldn’t remember. I decided to keep some things to myself, even though I was beginning to feel a little guilty over withholding so much information from him.
“We’re over.”
“Oh yeah? That sucks, you were pretty into him the last time we talked.”
“Yeah, well, he turned out to be an asshole.”
He gave me a look. “Shit, don’t they all.”
I laughed and we dove back into the nachos. Mention of Vince, though, put me back on edge, and I found myself glancing over my shoulder toward the entrance as if he was going to sneak up from behind me and steal me away right then and there. Vince was crazy and dangerous, but he wasn’t that crazy.
Nick launched into a story about his most recent conquest, some college boy at the University of Pennsylvania, and how he was so close to landing an actual gallery spot for his paintings. I found myself only half paying attention, and almost jumped out of my seat when the waitress interrupted to remove the demolished nachos and to place our actual meals in front of us. Nick resumed his story, oblivious to my small freakout moment, and I forced myself to smile and ask questions.
But no matter how distracted I tried to make myself, Vince kept bleeding in around the edges.
Chapter Six: Colin
I was sweating a little bit as I pushed open the cheap metal door and walked into the deli. Air conditioning blasted me in the face, and so did the smell of meat and more. Two guys in white stood behind the counter, slicing and packaging, but I wasn’t there for food. I walked directly toward the back door where a big guy in a tracksuit sat on a stool. He
“Not that long ago. What’s he look like now?”
“The same, I guess.”
He laughed. “That means he’s even hotter.”
I was definitely not going to admit it to Nick, but he was absolutely right. The feeling of my body crushed up against Colin’s sculpted chest, all the dirty and flirtatious things he kept saying to me, it all came back in a rush and I had to sip my drink. Nick didn’t seem to notice how flustered I was because the waitress came over and took our orders.
“So, what’s it like sharing a house with your hunky step?” Nick asked as the waitress walked away to put our orders in.
“He’s not my step, and he’s not hunky.”
“Oh, come on. Can we cut the act?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Never going to happen.”
“Fine. Still, it must be a little weird after ....” He trailed off, giving me a look.
“We’re not talking about that.”
“You and him?”
I laughed. “Everyone, anyone. That was a long time ago.”
“You’re going to tell me that this sexy as hell guy that lives in your house is no big deal? This guy you have an unfinished past with?”
“It’s not like that.”
He grinned and leaned forward. “Come on, Bren. It’s me. We both know it’s exactly like that.”
For half a second I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to tell him how I had practically drooled all over Colin’s post-shower body wrapped in a towel, and how he had pulled me against him in my bedroom.
But for whatever reason, I decided to keep that to myself.
“Nope, not at all.” I sat back and crossed my arms.
He sighed, mirroring my pose. “Fine, whatever. Be like that if you want.”
“I will.” I smirked at him.
He laughed and shook his head as the waitress came back with a plate of nachos we decided to share. I grabbed a huge, multi-chip portion and took a big bite. Nick laughed at me as he deftly swallowed three chips whole.
“Anyway, hey, speaking of guys, whatever happened to that dude you were dating the last time we talked?” he asked suddenly.
I blinked. I had totally forgotten that I told him about Vince. That must have been pretty early on in the relationship, before Vince had turned full-on psycho asshole and I wasn’t allowed to talk to Nick, or really anyone for that matter. I tried to think back to what Nick knew about Vince, but genuinely couldn’t remember. I decided to keep some things to myself, even though I was beginning to feel a little guilty over withholding so much information from him.
“We’re over.”
“Oh yeah? That sucks, you were pretty into him the last time we talked.”
“Yeah, well, he turned out to be an asshole.”
He gave me a look. “Shit, don’t they all.”
I laughed and we dove back into the nachos. Mention of Vince, though, put me back on edge, and I found myself glancing over my shoulder toward the entrance as if he was going to sneak up from behind me and steal me away right then and there. Vince was crazy and dangerous, but he wasn’t that crazy.
Nick launched into a story about his most recent conquest, some college boy at the University of Pennsylvania, and how he was so close to landing an actual gallery spot for his paintings. I found myself only half paying attention, and almost jumped out of my seat when the waitress interrupted to remove the demolished nachos and to place our actual meals in front of us. Nick resumed his story, oblivious to my small freakout moment, and I forced myself to smile and ask questions.
But no matter how distracted I tried to make myself, Vince kept bleeding in around the edges.
Chapter Six: Colin
I was sweating a little bit as I pushed open the cheap metal door and walked into the deli. Air conditioning blasted me in the face, and so did the smell of meat and more. Two guys in white stood behind the counter, slicing and packaging, but I wasn’t there for food. I walked directly toward the back door where a big guy in a tracksuit sat on a stool. He
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