“So, um, thanks for that. It was cool.”
“Is that my cue to leave?”
I chuckle, still standing in the kitchen and studying Aldis’s handsome face. “I feel like I need to check in on my roommate.”
“He’s gay?”
“No.”
“Shame. He’s hot as fuck.”
I narrow my eyes. “Planning to move in on him next?”
“Whoa, settle down there, tiger. I was just commenting.” Aldis steps forward, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me into him until our chests touch. “Listen, Bowen. I know what this was, but if you’re interested in round two, you know where to find me. I’ll say yes.”
“Noted.”
Aldis shuffles to my bedroom, and after guzzling my water, I follow him to throw on some shorts. Something about Hawthorne was off, and the need to check on him is poking at me. Aldis is bent over when I walk in, displaying an ass that should have monuments dedicated to it. The man is absolute fire.
He twists around, grinning when he finds me watching. His eyes zero in on my cock, then lazily move up to my face. Once he’s dressed, he steps toward me, kissing me hard enough to leave me speechless before nipping my bottom lip.
“The offer stands. I’ll show myself out.”
Once he’s gone, I do a quick clean-up and head to Hawthorne’s room, even though Aldis’s presence still lingers. That had to be one of the best fucks of my life, but I can reminisce later. Right now, Hawthorne needs me.
I knock on his door. “It’s Bow.”
“Come in.”
I find him lying on his bed in a towel. He sits up, his expression totally wrecked.
“Hey.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Is your friend gone?”
“Yeah. Sorry about—”
“You live here too. You can do what you want.”
I walk over and sit next to him. “I thought you were spending the day with Jess. Did something happen?”
Hawthorne studies his hands for a second before meeting my eyes. “I broke up with her.”
My heart races. “Wh-what?”
He nods, his face creased with tension. “I had to. Fuck, Bowen. Please tell me I did the right thing.”
“I’m, uh…” Confused. Speechless. Weirdly happy. “Shocked. I’m shocked. She was here. She has a mug.”
“What?”
“How did this happen, Thorne?”
“It’s been bothering me for a while. Jess is great. On paper, she makes so much sense, but something isn’t there that should be.”
I can hardly believe my ears. “But…” I shake my head. “What do you mean something isn’t there?”
“She’s been hinting, you know? She’s ready for the next step, but the idea of that felt so wrong. I can’t see it.”
“It?”
“Me and her forever. Married and kids and shit. I had to cut her loose so she can find someone who wants that.”
“Oh my god,” I whisper.
“She loves me. I broke her heart, Bow, but I had to. Right? I did the right thing?”
When I hear the pain in his voice, I push away my own shock and selfish thoughts and try to comfort my best friend. I wrap my arms around, holding him to me. He leans into me like he needs me to hold him up.
“Yeah, man. You did. It sucks, but it’s worse to lead her on. If you weren’t feeling it, you did the right thing.”
He exhales a shaky breath. “Her face…” His words trail off as he buries his face in his hands. “I feel like a monster.”
Patting his back, I nod. “You don’t love her?”
He shakes his head. “I want to.” Looking up, he meets my gaze. “I should, but I don’t. I don’t know why.”
“You don’t have to know why. You can’t force it. I know it sucks, but you’re not a monster. Eventually, she’ll see that you did the right thing.”
Hawthorne nods, but he doesn’t look convinced.
“I knew I had to deal with this today. This morning, she was practically planning the wedding.”
“I’m sorry, man.”
“Thanks. I just needed to hear you say I did what I needed to do. You’re always so level-headed.”
“I wish you’d told me you were struggling with her.”
“I was trying to ignore it, you know? Pretend the doubts weren’t there.”
“I get it.”
After a long pause, he nudges my arm. “Who was that naked dude in our kitchen?”
I cringe, feeling more than a little embarrassed. “Hot guy from the gym. I just needed to burn off some energy, and he was there.”
“Guess you had a good time?”
“Sorry you had to hear that. I didn’t expect you to be here.”
He offers a slight smile. “It was bound to happen at some point.”
“Yeah.”
“Will you see him again?”
“Nah.” The memory of his thick cock sliding into me invades my mind, sending a shiver of desire through me again. “Maybe.”
Hawthorne chuckles. “He said you were fire in bed.”
“Things you wish you didn’t know about your best friend?”
Hawthorne’s eyes settle on me, an emotion in them that I can’t quite read. My stomach flutters under his intense gaze, and I decide a change of subject is in order.
“What do you say we blow off responsibility, order pizza, and do some day drinking?”
Smiling, he nods. “Deal.”
I leave his room while he gets dressed, still reeling from his news. He dumped Jess. That’s huge. I thought for sure she was the one.
Once Hawthorne is dressed, he plops down on the couch next to me, throwing an arm around me. “Thank god for you, Bow.”
“What did I do?”
“Nothing. You’re just here. That’s enough.”
My heart does that insane flutter it does around him. “I’m always here for you. You know that.”
“Yeah.”
A few hours later, and we’ve finished off the case of beer in the fridge, destroyed a large pizza, and watched four very stupid sci-fi flicks.
“We’re probably getting too old for drinking binges,” Hawthorne says, followed by a hiccup.
“Never too old to blow off some steam.”
“Good point.” He laughs, tilting his head back to lean on the sofa cushion. “So, um, what led to hot guy from the gym coming over?”
“He asked. Hit on me in the locker room.” I smack his arm. “Get this. I pulled him up on my hookup app and passed on him while he was standing right behind me.”
Hawthorne snorts a laugh. “No way. Why did you pass?”
“I wasn’t seriously looking. I thumb through it sometimes just to feel like I’m trying to date. Then I turn around, and he’s standing right there. I just jumped at the opportunity.”
“And it was good.”
I nod, my eyes feeling heavy from too much alcohol. “It was good. It was exactly what I needed. You know how it feels, right? Just to get fucked so good?”
When he doesn’t respond, I focus on my friend, noticing his pink cheeks. He chuckles, shaking his head. “I know what you mean, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had it really good like that.”