Page 26 of Walk of Shame
She laughs and glances over her shoulder back to where the guys are. “Awesome. He was in such a mood. It was fantastic. You wouldn’t know it to look at him, but he’s quite aggressive in the sack, and let me tell you he let me have it.” She shivers a little. “So much fun.”
She’s right, Ted is a good-looking guy, but very mild mannered and unassuming. There’s nothing dangerous about him, except for the way he looks at Shelly. I don’t know why they believe they are fooling anyone, I’d known the second I’d met them that they were together.
I giggle. “Glad to be of service.”
“I think he’d try and lure you into our bed but Christopher’s already claimed you, so that makes you off limits.” She winks at me. “I indulge him and let him think that’s the only reason he can’t have you.”
Full of affection, I roll my eyes and grin. She doesn’t fool me, they are having fun with each other, and I’m a tool neither of them has any real interest in. My only purpose in this game is to fuel the spark between them, which is intense and considerable from what I’ve seen so far. “So why are you keeping it a secret? You’re a smart woman, so you must know it’s totally obvious there’s something going on between you.”
She sighs and shrugs. “Yeah, I know. Christopher, Jace and Xavier all figured it out about five minutes after it happened. I don’t know how to explain why we keep up the charade. It’s not logical and I like logical.”
I smile. “Well, I’m not at all logical, so feel free to lay it on me, I want to listen.”
She blows out a breath that concaves her stomach. She’s wearing a powder-blue bikini and she’s tiny everywhere. “I resisted him for as long as I could. I’ve always been one of those women that got along better with guys than girls. The guys were the smartest ones in our rotation and I wanted to study with them, so I infiltrated their group and basically told them they didn’t stand a chance with me. But from the start there was always something between Ted and me. We fought, sparked, argued. I hated every girl he dated and he hated every guy I brought around. But we were friends. And those stupid guys, they mean everything to me. I know it’s weird being the only girl in a group of males, but they are my best friends in the whole world. Med school is demanding, I’ve lost touch with the people I used to hang out with. My family’s okay, but I don’t get along great with my sisters so these guys are my people. I didn’t want to ruin that. So I resisted the attraction. Until I couldn’t anymore. Now I’m scared if we go out into the world instead of sneaking around we won’t make it and I’ll lose them.”
I touch her arm, nodding. “I can understand that. But you know you’ll never know until you try.”
“I know. I’m just avoiding it.” She bites her lip. “What if it’s so hot between us because we’re hiding it?”
“What if it’s not?” My gaze drifts over to Christopher. “But I do understand, life’s not always convenient, is it?”
“Isn’t that the truth.” She looks me up and down. “So what about you and Christopher?”
I can’t stop the heat from flaring. “Like he said last night, we’re just friends.”
“Yeah right.” She snorts. “Nobody’s buying that story either. Why else do you think Jace and X stay so far away from you?”
I glance over my shoulder. “We’re trying to be friends. But the truth is, I don’t really know him at all. I met him the first time a couple of days ago at his brother and my friend’s engagement party.”
She raises a brow. “And?”
“We hit it off.”
“And?”
“We were drunk.”
“And?”
I shrug. “We might have slept together, but that’s all behind me now.”
She laughs, as though the idea is preposterous, and maybe it is. “Yeah, no, it’s not.”
“It has to be.”
“Why?” She smiles at me. “I think you guys would be great together and I love you, so you have to stay.”
I wrinkle my nose. “I’m five years older than he is.”
“So?”
“We’re at different times in our life. I’m thirty-two and that kind of thing starts to matter.” I don’t want it to matter, but it does. And I have my quest to think about, I’m nowhere near finding myself.
There’s a few moments of silence before Shelly says, “All I know is that he really likes you and you fit with us.”
I swallow hard, and spot them walking back to us. “They’re coming.”
She jostles me with her shoulder. “Give him a chance.”
