Page 22 of Blind Date with the Billionaire

Gavin follows me. “Laugh all you want, but I wear these for a reason. They help when I’m working out and catch the ladies’ eyes.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” I shake my head with a chuckle. Those shorts are glorified nut-huggers. Fuck that shit. The only thing missing is a white half-shirt and a damn mullet.

“Oh, I will,” he says with a shit-eating grin. “I didn’t know you were on call last night. Don’t you usually have Fridays off?”

“I wasn’t working. Well, I ended up working, but I wasn’t supposed to.” On Fridays, Gavin and I usually hang out, but it isn’t a fixture in our lives. There are a few locations we like to frequent, Amelio’s being one of them.

“Got called in? That fucking sucks. Hope they didn’t interrupt anything.”

“I went to get a quick drink.”

“And a possible lay?” Gavin asks.

“Let’s just say, I wasn’t there very long.”

At that, Gavin’s eyebrows shoot up, and he grins. “Fuck yeah, man. What’s her name? Any good in the sack?”

Collapsing onto my couch, I lean my head against the armrest, and I give him a stern look. “Let’s keep the conversation on a more respectable level, shall we? Real men don’t need a scoreboard. We let our actions do the talking. Maybe take a lesson or two in subtlety, my man. Her name is Lizzie, and she’s actually an old friend. We knew each other in high school.”

“Nice. So, you gonna see her again?”

I shrug. “Not sure.”

He crosses his arms, waggling his eyebrows. “Ah, so just for fun then?”

I don’t respond right away, really not in the mood to explain the whole situation. “We both have shit to do. Speaking of, you got nothing on your plate?”

Getting up, Gavin rolls his eyes and walks to the door. “Get some sleep. We’ll grab a beer later, and you can tell me what went down.”

He leaves, and I take a minute to just bask in the silence. New York is busy and loud, so when I bought my place, I spent a good chunk of money fixing the insulation and making it as quiet as I could. Even bought out the upstairs floor so I wouldn’t have to hear any neighbors walking around all the time. Gavin was pissed I got to it before him, but hey, it’s New York real estate. You have to be quick to get what you want.

And what I wanted was a huge two-story apartment at the top of an NYC tower with the best views in the building. Can’t get much better than that.

I would have passed out on the couch, but I want to sleep in my own bed. Between great sex and an intense delivery at the hospital, I need rest to feel even slightly human again, and my bed calls to me upstairs. So, I haul myself up there, stripping off my clothes as I go. Normally, I don’t like leaving clothes on the floor, but I’m willing to make an exception so I can get to sleep fast. I know as soon as I hit the pillow, I’ll be out for hours.

It’s later than I think it’ll be when I finally open my eyes again. It takes me a second to wake up, groggy and sore. Geez Louise. I hadn’t closed the black-out curtains, so the sunset fills my room with rays of oranges and pinks. Swearing, I feel around the nightstand for my remote, hitting the button that will bring down the window shades. It would be so damn easy just to roll over and go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, my grumbling stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten anything. Not to mention, I’m sweaty and feeling gross. I’d only been able to take a two-minute shower at the hospital when I arrived, and that certainly hasn’t sufficed. With a yawn, I get up and stretch before checking my phone.

Still nothing from Lizzie. A few messages from a couple of buddies, Gavin and Cal, but not from her.

“Shower and food, then think about your old crush who just waltzed into your life and waltzed back out,” I mutter, tossing my phone on the bed.

After a long hot shower, I wander into the kitchen to try and figure out what to eat. There isn’t much in the refrigerator, since most nights I’m too lazy to cook. Work keeps me busy during meals, and I don’t have the time nor the patience to make something myself.

I decide to break my healthy eating habits for the evening and order pizza. I’ve just grabbed a beer from the fridge when there’s a knock on the door. I don’t even have a chance to see who it is before Gavin lets himself right in.

“You should lock that door, or any idiot could walk right in,” he says, joining me in the kitchen.

“Live demonstration, right here.”

“Fair enough.” He laughs. “I brought that one on myself.”

“Besides, most people actually wait to be let in.”

“Waiting is overrated,” he argues. “Anyway, it’s part of the guy code. I’m allowed to just walk into your house, just like you’re allowed to feed and walk my dog when I’m away.” He chuckles, making himself comfortable at the counter.

Giving him a pointed look, I grab another beer and slide it down the counter to him. “Busy day?” I ask, popping the cap off mine.

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