Jayded (32 page)

“
You think I
’
m freaking out, don
’
t you?
”

He opts not to answer this time. We jump in the car and wait for it to warm up.

“
No. Well, maybe a little,
”
he finally admits.
“
But I get it,
”
he smiles.
“
Will you be coming back to my apartment after work?
”

“
Of course. I didn
’
t pack a bag for nothing,
”
I tease.

He pulls out of the parking lot and heads to my hotel.

C
onnie calls me and asks me to her office. She has a new client in the works and wants me to meet with her; she thinks we
’
ll be a good fit. Already, we
’
re expanding our agency. It can only get better from here. I
’
m excited to see our company flourish and to see where we are a year from now.

I knock on Connie
’
s door before walking in.
“
Good morning,
”
I say before taking a seat in front of her desk.

“
Morning! It
’
s only eight thirty in the morning on a Saturday, and my emails are already outrageous!
”
Connie gripes.

I laugh.
“
Yeah, I hear you on that. I haven
’
t even looked at mine yet.
”

“
Okay, so this client, Kelly, is a young adult fiction writer. This is her second book of a trilogy. She already has a massive amount of followers, and she has sold over twenty thousand copies already. I don
’
t think she expected to blow up so fast. She needs guidance and direction,
”
Connie explains.

“
Okay, what time will she be in?
”

“
She should be here at ten. She
’
s actually a local author, if you can believe it. We don
’
t usually find a lot of local talent,
”
she says. Connie
’
s great at multi-tasking. She
’
s texting, checking her emails, and filling me in all at the same time.

“
Great! I can
’
t wait to meet her. Oh, Kinsey comes in later today. She
’
ll be staying here and traveling back with me on Thursday. I
’
ll be catching her up all next week,
”
I inform her.

Connie
’
s responding to an email on her laptop.
“
Oh good! I can have Junior catch her up on the basics,
”
she offers.

“
Yes, that would be great. She can spend the first half of each day with him and the second half with me. She should be pretty caught up by the time we head back. We
’
re meeting up with Jonathan later to search for some houses and to look at some apartments for her. I already know it
’
s going to be a long day.
”

She looks up at me from her laptop.
“
How about you stop over for dinner tonight?
”

Shoot! She just had to pick tonight.
“
Actually I have plans with Kinsey tonight. Can I take a rain check?
”

“
Yes, of course. I
’
m making sauce tomorrow night. I
’
m going to have the boys over. Why don
’
t you bring Kinsey with you? How does six o
’
clock sound?
”
she asks.

“
Perfect. Do you need me to bring anything?
”

She puts her glasses on.
“
Just yourselves.
”

“
Sounds good.
”

I feel a little guilty sneaking around. This is normally not my thing. I
’
m not sure how Greg and Connie would feel, though, if they found out about my extracurricular activities with their youngest son. I should probably be safe and stop this before someone gets hurt or too attached, but every time I think of not spending time with Kyle, I panic. I don
’
t want to stop. I
can
’
t
stop.

Am I already too attached? This is my own doing. I should have just kept it to sex and nothing more. Lines begin to get blurred when you spend so much time together. The black and white becomes gray. Friends with benefits suddenly find themselves in a relationship without even meaning to. Things get way too complicated. I feel
we
’
re
getting too complicated.

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Kyle

Work drags by; the minutes feel like hours, and the hours feel like days. I
’
m just ready to chill out with Max and put in a nice afternoon movie, maybe order a pizza. It
’
s finally almost noon. I head out to my car. I see Beth watching me as she gets into her gold Honda. I didn
’
t even realize she comes in on Saturdays. Strange. It
’
s like she
’
s always creeping around.

I shake her off and jump in my car. I can
’
t wait for this cold weather to end. I
’
m ready for some cookouts, beer, and outdoor fun. I
’
m beginning to get antsy. I can
’
t wait to see Max in some shorts and bathing suits. I
’
m not going to be able to keep my hands off of her. I get hard just by the thought of this.

This whole thing has totally backfired on me. I had sex with her to get her out of my mind, but now I can
’
t go one hour without thinking about her. Crazy. I have got to get myself together. What the hell happened to my single-guy attitude? I was so set on living the bachelor life that I never saw this coming. I never saw
her
coming. I
’
m in big trouble.

I head over to my apartment, and Max pulls up right after I do. I wait for her before I go up. I do my normal ritual when we get inside: throw my keys on the counter, hang my jacket up in the coat closet, remove my shoes, and grab a glass of ice-cold water.

Max follows my steps and goes through the same motions. Except for water, though, she asks for an ice-cold beer. I chuckle at her request because I was thinking the exact same thing. It
’
s been a long week. An afternoon beer seems like heaven at the moment.

I twist off the cap on both beers. I hand her one, and we both take a nice long swig.

“
Ugh! This is exactly what I needed,
”
she says.

I smirk.
“
I
’
m going to get changed into some sweats. Do you need a pair, or do you have something to wear?
”
I ask.

She walks over to her packed bag and pulls out a pair of blue sweats and a matching T-shirt from Victoria
’
s Secret.

“
Got it covered,
”
she announces. I nod my head in approval.

“
Pizza for lunch?
”
I ask.

She takes another sip of her beer.
“
That sounds great. I could go for some greasy therapy to start the weekend off right!
”

I call in the pizza and grab two more beers for us. We look through Movies On Demand to see what
’
s out to rent. We decide on
Think Like a Man Too
. The first one was hysterical. I could use a good laugh, and I need something to keep my mind distracted. I know she
’
ll be spending time with Jonathan, but I also know Kinsey will be with them. That eased my mind some when she told me that last night. Then the rest of the night, she
’
s all mine.

I get to be the lucky man who lies with her in bed tonight and wakes up with her in the morning, not him. If only I could let that be known to him, I would feel one hundred percent better. Knowing that while he
’
s fanaticizing about her, I actually get to act out my fantasies
with
her is also a satisfying thought.

We wait to start the movie until the pizza comes. Once it finally arrives, we grub and then put the movie on. We end up falling asleep on the couch before it ends. I wake her up and drag us into bed for a short afternoon nap. We
’
re both exhausted. I wrap her up in my arms, and we fall back to sleep

CHAPTER THRITY

Max

I stretch and feel completely rested and satisfied after our nice nap. Falling asleep in his arms without panic seems to be happening more and more lately. The sun is desperately peeking through the curtains, leaving small rays of light to illuminate the darkness. I let my eyes adjust.

It
’
s already three o
’
clock. I need to be at the airport at four to pick up Kinsey, and then we
’
re meeting Jonathan at the first house. I roll over to sneak off the bed. He looks so peaceful sleeping. This time, though, I
’
m not going to leave without saying goodbye.

He pulls me back to him before I can get up.
“
Where are you going?
”

I turn to face him. He has a hungry look in his eyes.
“
I have to get ready. I can
’
t be late picking up Kinsey. She hates that,
”
I explain.

“
Damn, so no afternoon sex then?
”
he says with a pout.

He looks adorable when he pouts. I almost want to give in, but I can
’
t.
“
No afternoon sex.
”
I giggle. He snuggles up to my neck and lays sweet sensual kisses there.
“
That
’
s not helping.
”

He growls, knowing he is affecting me.
“
Go get ready. I
’
m going back to sleep. Wake me when you leave.
”

“
Okay, I will.
”

I put on some casual winter clothes along with my brown Uggs. These things are so damn comfortable. I wrap up in my warm beige scarf, then head over to the bed. He
’
s buried himself under the comforter. I jostle him lightly until he wakes.

“
I
’
m leaving,
”
I tell him.

He smiles and rubs his fingers along my cheek.
“
Okay baby. Good luck.
”

I
pull up to the airport. Kinsey has already arrived. I see her at the baggage claim, waiting for her suitcase. I hit the button to pop open the trunk for her.

Kinsey jumps in the car.
“
Hey!
”
We give each other a big squeeze.

“
Hey girl. These airports are getting worse and worse. It takes forever to get through these things now!
”
she says.
“
So, where are we headed?
”

I pull off and head to the expressway.
“
We
’
re meeting Jonathan at a house out in Spencerport. It
’
s about twenty minutes from the office. I
’
m not too sure I want to be that far away, but I told him I would take a look anyways.
”

“
Are you sure you
’
re ready to buy a house? Why not an apartment? Or why not just bunk up with me for a while, at least until we get used to it here?
”
she offers.

I head west on 390.
“
I was weighing that as an option, actually, maybe just until I
’
m able to find the perfect house,
”
I reply.
“
Just to forewarn you, I think Jonathan is most definitely on the prowl for some ass. He
’
s getting divorced, and I think he
’
s just lonely. He
’
s a nice guy though, a really good agent.
”