She breaks the kiss before I succumb and steps back. “Is this how you usually greet all your roommates?”
“Only the ones who drive me crazy with need. Besides, you’re the only roommate I’ve ever had.”
“Really?” She arches her eyebrows.
“Grandma was adamant when she let me stay here that I wouldn’t have roommates, so I was surprised when she told me she’d be renting a room to you. You made quite an impression on her. She doesn’t like a lot of people.”
“Well, I’m very likeable. Only you thought otherwise.” She smirks.
“Because you had a bad attitude when we met.”
She puts her hands on her hips and glares at me. “And whose fault was that? You made me wait forty minutes and never apologized.”
Guilt takes over me. She’s not lying.
I rub the back of my neck. “I was a jerk to you. I shouldn’t have agreed to the interview that day knowing I’d have to meet my mother right before. She has the ability to suck the joy out of everyone.”
“I’m sorry. Your parents are divorced, right?”
“Yeah, for a while.”
A shadow crosses Charlie’s eyes, but she turns away and veers for the kitchen, almost as if she’s hoping I didn’t notice her change in demeanor.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No, nothing is wrong. I’m just sad about Bailey.”
“I’m sorry. I never had a pet, so I don’t know what you must be feeling,” I lie.
I know exactly how painful the grip of grief is. But I don’t tell her that. I have no intention of ever telling Charlie about Robbie. That’s my biggest shame, and I’ll take it to the grave.
When she looks at me, I have the feeling she knows I’m lying. She doesn’t make a comment, only smiles sadly before looking away again.
“Are you hungry? I can make dinner.”
“Yeah, I’m hungry.” I hug her from behind as she peruses inside the fridge.
She leans against me, pressing her sweet ass against my cock. Instant erection. “Hmm. You know all you have to do is admit defeat.”
“Tempting,” I whisper before biting her earlobe. “But I definitely do not want to be at your mercy if I lose.”
“You might like what I have in mind.”
I dig my fingers in her hip, pulling her closer to me. “Maybe, but I don’t want to risk it. Besides, I want to see you beg for me.”
She frees herself from my grasp and pushes me off. “You’d better sit and wait. That’s not likely to happen.”
Since I’m not going to make her cave tonight, I might as well change the subject before I end up begging her. “Guess who came by earlier to have a chat with me?”
She looks over her shoulder. “I haven’t the faintest idea.”
“Your buddy Blake, or should I say, ex-boyfriend?” I try my best to keep the venom from my tongue. I don’t think I succeeded.
She whirls around, shutting the fridge door hard. “Blake came here? I can’t believe him. What did he say?”
“Basically, he came to warn me that if I broke your heart, he would make me pay.” I shrug to hide that I’m jealous as fuck. “The usual empty threat stuff.”
“Those aren’t empty threats. When Blake says shit like that, he means it.” Charlie pulls her hair back. “I can’t believe him. He’s never pulled a stunt like that before.”
“Maybe because he was never threatened by another guy before.” I lean against the counter, trying to convey a relaxed stance, when in fact I’m anything but.
“Blake isn’t threatened by you. Why would he be?” She pulls a tray of chicken wings out of the fridge.
“He’s your ex-boyfriend, isn’t he? Maybe he’s still harboring feelings for you.”
“Please. There are no lingering feelings there. Trust me.”
“I don’t know. The way he was acting sure sounded like he was jealous.”
Charlie narrows her eyes. “Where are you going with this? Do you want Blake to have a thing for me?”
I stand straighter. “No. I just want you to be aware of the possibility. You guys do spend a lot of time together.”
The frown disappears from her forehead while the faint hint of a smile appears on her lips. She steps closer to me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Well, Troy, it sounds like you are jealous.”
“What if I am?” I grab her ass, squeezing it.
“I’d say you have nothing to worry about.” She rises on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine.
She meant it to be a quick peck, but I keep her in place and devour her mouth. My body turns into a furnace immediately, and my rock-hard erection presses against her belly. She moans against my lips, making me forget dinner, the bet, everything. I just want to rip her clothes off and fuck her on the counter.
I’m breaking all the rules, and I don’t care. We’re supposed to keep things strictly platonic in the common areas, roommate stuff only. But it seems whenever she’s near me, I can’t resist having a taste of her sweet lips, of feeling her body against mine.
I’m about to say to hell with the challenge when my phone rings. I’d be tempted to let it go to voice mail if it wasn’t Grandma’s ringtone.
Reluctantly, I end the kiss and go look for the device.
“Saved by the bell,” Charlie murmurs.
“Too bad I didn’t want to be saved.”
I finally locate the phone under one of the couch cushions. “Hello?”
“Wolfie, I thought I was going to miss you.”
“Is everything okay, Grandma?”
“Oh yeah. I’m fine. I’m just calling to see how everything is going.”
“Everything is going great.” I glance at Charlie.
“How are you and Charlie getting along? I haven’t seen her in ages.”
“Fine. She’s nice.” I wink at her.
Charlie smirks.
“Oh good. I was afraid you’d be mad at me for imposing her on you when I forbade you to have any roommates.”
“It’s your house. I’m lucky you let me live here rent free.”
“Yeah, yeah. When can I expect to see you?”
“Uh, I don’t know.” I love Grandma, but I confess that seeing her with her two boyfriends freaks me out. That’s why I prefer to take her out somewhere without them. “Grandma is asking when we’re coming by.”
“Oh, she is, huh?” Charlie shakes her head. “I heard what she said. I think she meant you specifically.”
Fine. She caught me. “Well, you haven’t shown your face in a while either. So, when?”
“We can come on Sunday.”
I think of the party Andreas wants to drag me to on Saturday. If I manage to convince Charlie to come with me, we might actually stay late.
“How early are we talking?”
“Why? Do you have any late-night plans for Saturday?”
I cover the phone with my hand and smile. “No, sweetheart. We do.”
25
CHARLIE
I call Sylvana the next day because she’s the only close girlfriend I have. It’s not because I have a dislike for my gender; it’s just one of those things that happened. I need some advice, and since my best friend is being an idiot about Troy, and Fred can’t be trusted to give a sound opinion about anything, she’s all I’ve got.