Jax furrowed her eyebrows, and I couldn’t tell if it was because she was confused by my question or was preparing to give me an answer I didn’t want to hear. “That fizzled out before it even started. We exchanged numbers, met at the dog park once, and after that, our texts became less and less until they stopped completely. I think we both realized there really wasn’t anything between us.”
But there’s something between us, right?I really wanted to ask the question, but the confidence I had gained in bed seemed to have melted away now that I was no longer on the brink of an orgasm. “Cool.” I nodded as I tried to think of the best way to change the subject. “I’m really glad your parents are such heavy sleepers.”
“I know, right?” Jax laughed. “If we could do all of this while under their roof, just think of what we can get up to in the privacy of our own apartment.”
“I can’t wait.”
I really couldn’t. I just hoped that everything we got up to didn’t end with me getting my heart broken.
Chapter 20
“Would it be okay if I asked my coworker if she and her husband want to come over for lunch or dinner this weekend?” I asked Jax as we both lay naked in her bed.
I needed to get up and ready for work, but it felt so good to be lying here with her. Starting my day with sex definitely wasn’t something I was complaining about, even if I was now going to have to rush to get ready.
Ever since our ski trip a week and a half ago, we had been going strong in bed. Any opportunity we had to rip each other’s clothes off, we took. That was why I wasn’t sure if Jax would be okay with me having people over during our potential alone time. I wanted to make sure Annika knew that I valued this friendship though, and the only way to do that was by making time for her.
“That sounds great!” Jax said excitedly. “I work early both days, so I can do dinner either night.” She hesitated for a moment, suddenly looking shy. “That is, if you want me here when they come over. If you just wanted time alone with your friends, I completely get it.”
I grabbed Jax’s hand. “Of course I want you here.”
“Good.” Jax leaned in and gave me a kiss. “Now, go get ready for work. I don’t want to be the reason you get fired.”
***
I was oddly nervous walking up to Annika to ask her about coming to dinner at my apartment. Rationally, I knew it was no big deal. She was my friend. I had spent time at her house. It was only right she would spend time at mine as well. It was just different for me, and even though I knew it was a goodthing, it was way outside of my comfort zone. Unless she was busy, I didn’t think Annika would say no, but the fear of rejection still had me on edge.
“Anything I can do for you?” Annika asked with a laugh.
Shit.I hadn’t even realized I was standing right in front of her. “I was just wondering if you and Wren were free this weekend.”
“Totally free. We have nothing going on at all.” Annika tilted her head at me. “Did you have something in mind?”
I nodded, but it took me a few seconds to speak again. “I was wondering if you two wanted to come to my apartment for dinner on Saturday night.”
Since she said she was free all weekend, I didn’t want to mention Sunday since that was my prep day. Even Jax had learned the hard way that no sex was happening on Sunday until I had everything sorted out for the week.
“Of course! That sounds wonderful.” She lifted an eyebrow and smirked. “Is your roommate going to be there?”
“Yes. Jax will be there.” I took a deep breath. “There’s actually been somedevelopmentswith that.”
Annika looked across the room and back at me. “It’s late so you probably already ate lunch, but do you have time for a fifteen-minute snack and gossip break?”
I looked back at the clock and realized it was already past two. I was so caught up in my work, I had totally forgotten about eating lunch. “I actually didn’t take my lunch break yet.”
“We can’t have that. If you end up having a mental breakdown from working too hard, yours truly is the one who has to deal with it.” She quickly stood from her seat. “Plus, I know I won’t get any work done until I hear what thesedevelopmentsare.”
We each filled our trays with food and found a table in the cafeteria, which wasn’t hard now that the lunch crowd haddispersed. My butt had barely hit the seat when Annika waved her hand at me. “Spill. I’ve been very patient. I need you to start talking.”
“Well,” I stared down at my tray. My face warmed as I thought about everything Jax and I had done together. I had to figure out how to censor it enough to make it appropriate to talk about at work. Plus, the details of what had happened would always remain between me and Jax. I was sure my face was beet red as I thought about the different person I became when I was naked with Jax. “We had sex.”
My head shot up in response to Annika’s squeal. She clapped her hands together and danced in her seat. Thank God the cafeteria was fairly empty, or else she definitely would have caused a scene with her reaction. “That’s so amazing! Who’s idea was it? Was it good? When did this happen? Have you done it since? Are you two, like, a thing now? If I’m overstepping, you can tell me to shut up at any time.”
I laughed at her excitement. “You’re not overstepping. I’m just trying to keep track of everything you asked so I can answer your questions. It was my idea. It happened for thefirst timethe weekend after Thanksgiving and has happened many times since.” I racked my brain trying to remember what else she asked. “Oh yes. It’s very good. Jax is… well, yeah. It’s great.”
“And you two are…”
I shook my head as a knot formed in my gut. I was sure Annika would be just as disappointed with my answer as I was. “It’s just supposed to be a fling.”
