That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. That wasn’t helping my situation. I needed Jade to tell me Nate Navarro was toxic, to stay away from him. I needed my always logical friend to forbid me from ever having sex with him again. Instead, she failed me with each stupid point she made.
It took me a full minute to respond: “I hate you.”
She grinned. “No, you don’t.”
“Whatever.” Although Jade was absolutely right. Provided I kept my priorities in check, why stop the best sex I’d ever had?
Sunday nights were my time to read, watch mindless TV, and clear my head for the week to come. Normally my apartment was a sanctuary, but since getting home from Amy’s, being there made me antsy. Nothing appealed, and boredom wasn’t a familiar emotion for me.
After getting her thank-you text for the flowers, some foreign force had me lifting my cell to tap on her number a few times.
Okay, six… it was six times.
But what would I say? Hey, Jersey… even though it’s only been a few hours, are you as horny as I am? That was only half-true. Being horny wasn’t the issue. I was horny for her. Sure, there was a good reason for my cock to be, especially when just memories of having her caused it to swell. But why in God’s name was my head horny for her? There should be no place in my head for Amy Delton.
As I flipped through news channels, my phone lit up with a call from my brother. Ignoring it only had a text come next.
Answer your phone, fuckface.
For obvious reasons, I’d been avoiding him after what went down with Amy. Unfortunately, Brad did own a TV, and the string of text messages and irate phone calls he kept leaving on my phone meant he’d seen our televised date.
It’d been two weeks since I last saw him. Because of our schedules, there was nothing unusual about that. Unless I popped into Max’s gym or Brad’s bar, interactions with my brothers weren’t more than texts or quick calls. Not being able to get us all together in one place at the same time was always my mother’s biggest complaint.
That combined with the hunger pangs in my stomach was what had me grab my keys and head out to Brad’s Tavern. I might as well eat for free while getting my proverbial ass kicked.
Contrary to what I said to Max, bragging wasn’t my style. All the other times I apparently had stolen a chick that Brad was into, he’d never found out from me. I always allowed the universe to play things out. Having said that, by the time he’d find out, I’d be prepared for his wrath.
Besides, this thing with Amy was more than just stealing her from him… not that he ever had her. It was something else, and none of Brad’s business.
About twenty minutes later, I hopped out of the cab and zigzagged my way down the busy sidewalk. The mild weather served as a precipice between summer and fall, and the streets were jammed with New Yorkers enjoying it while delaying the end of their weekend.
The moment I grabbed the ornate brass door handle and pulled, the muffled babel drowned out the city noise, meaning the place was mobbed. I really wasn’t up for this tonight and would much rather be balls deep in a certain biracial beauty, but such was life.
For a sports bar, the estrogen to testosterone ratio was pretty equal. But I doubted the females were there because of the baseball games playing on the mounted TVs. And each woman I passed had me mentally comparing them to a romance author I knew. My thoughts of her had me so distracted that I was unprepared when a large hand gripped my arm and dragged me deeper into the bar.
“Fuck, man, really? Amy?” Brad growled above the noise. Once he pushed me into his office and slammed the door, he elaborated with an eloquent “The fuck?”
“What?”
“Don’t what me. Besides the fact you hid like a coward, and every one of my social media accounts has blown up because we look alike, let’s start with the fact that you paid twenty grand for a date with her!”
“It was for a good cause.” I took a seat while he paced. “And I don’t do social media, so that’s not my fault. Who needs that hassle?”
“Well, I do. I depend on social media for the bar, and it’s your fault that I now have to weed through all the wackos you’ve brought to my online doorstep.”
“Sorry,” I said on a shrug before picking a piece of lint off my jeans.
“Yeah, you look it. Did you do it to fuck her, Nate?”
“No.” I hated the way that sounded out of his mouth, and even though I had done just that, it wasn’t my initial intent. Not until I spoke to her, got close to her, smelled her did I realize how much I wanted her.
He slammed a hand on his desk and barked, “Bullshit!” One of my brows lifted as an amused response before he accused, “You did… you fucked her.” I wasn’t sure what pissed him off more—the fact I possibly had done what he accused or the fact I didn’t respond. “Goddamn it, Nate. Besides having an ass that won’t quit, and tits that I’ve fantasized about, that smart mouth of hers…” He raked a hand through his hair. “You knew how much I liked her.”
“What I knew was how much you wanted in her pants. Big difference.”
“Is that so?”
“It is. And you seem to forget one small problem. She didn’t feel the same way about you.”
“I was working on that.”
“Ho’kay,” I said with an eye roll. “It’s only been a year since you started your stupid flirtation.” I kept to myself that it had taken me a mere two hours after making it known I wanted her. “And let’s be honest, asshole. It wasn’t like you were celibate waiting for her to come around.”
“Whatever. That’s not the point. Does Max know about this?” My gaze cutting to and holding on a water-stained ceiling tile above his head provoked another outburst. “Seriously?”
“He guessed.”
“This is just great.” He plopped into the chair behind his desk, and for a moment I felt bad for my brother… until he grabbed a half-filled water bottle and hurled it at my head.
Lucky for him, I caught it one-handed. “I’m going to allow that,” I said calmly, placing the now-crinkled plastic on the edge of his desk. “But the next thing you throw at me will end up your ass.”
The fucker actually scanned the contents of his desk, and I had to assume he imagined my threat playing out when he leaned back in defeat and sighed.
We sat in silence, the lawyer in me knowing to hold information close to the vest. If there was something he’d want to know, then he’d ask. Sure enough, his green eyes landed on mine. “Was it hot?” Fuck, yes… scorching.
“It’s very hot.”
I watched in slow motion as he blinked repeatedly, processing my response. “Wait.” A long finger pointed my way. “You’re still fucking her? It wasn’t just a one-time thing, was it?” My continued silence caused the jawline exactly like mine to clench. “Are you seeing her now? Is she your latest conquest in that fuck-lationship method you favor?” More silence. “Man up, you coward.”
“It is.”
“So, it’s exclusively fucking her until you’ve had your fill?”
“Do I do anything other?”