Page 117 of Love, Luck & Clusterf*ck

“So, I’ve seen this guy around you twice now, Perry. I thought you didn’t date?”

I ignored him. “Oh, by the way, Stefanie called for you at the house earlier. She’ll be in town the next two days and wants you to meet her at the hotel. Said you’d know which one.”

“Yeah. She reached me at work.”

Well, wasn’t she tenacious? A regular old Little Miss Engine That Could. She must need to get laid really fucking badly for as hard as she was trying to get a hold of him. My skin was going to burst open just recalling the stick-up-her-butt voice. I bet she was one of those who thought she was better than everyone. I hated those people.

“And what business does she have with you?” I had crossed over the ‘trying to hide my jealousy’ point; I was way too jacked up for that. “She didn’t even care if you had a girlfriend.” That was exactly how I took it.

“Did you tell her that you were my girlfriend?”

“No, of course not. Who is she?”

“Someone I hook up with every few months.”

His response was so blasé I wanted to pummel him. How was it okay that he could go off and fuck someone, but I couldn’t sit on someone’s lap? What the hell?

“Every few months? I thought you lose interest after sleeping with them?” How the fuck did she rate?

“And I thought you didn’t date.”

Man, I was seething. “What’s the problem here, Stephen? Weren’t you the one who said I should get right back on the horse?”

I stormed into the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out some hard peach cider thing he’d brought home that I hadn’t tried yet. As long as it had alcohol and was sweet, that was all I needed to know. I slammed it shut and almost spun around straight into his chest.

He put two hands on the fridge, blocking me against it. “Is that what this is about? Did you go out tonight to get back at me for Stefanie calling?”

I glanced between the forearms that were on either side of my head. I was still fuming but it had kicked down a notch, evened out by my breath rate which had hiked up. I didn’t look into his face, staring directly ahead where his tattoo would be visible if his shirt were off.

“What? No. I already had these plans before Miss Every Few Months’ Hookup called.”

“Who’s the guy, Perry?”

“Are you going to fuck her this weekend?”

“No. Who’s the guy?”

“Haven’t I already made that clear? He’s afriend.”

“I can’t recall you ever sitting on my lap like that.”

He moved in a little closer and I swallowed hard. I was still clutching the bottle in my hand, and I wanted to roll it over me to cool down both my heated skin and my temper.

“You….”You’ve never asked. “Who is this woman to you since you’ve seen her more than once?”

I wasn’t making eye contact because I knew that would make me dissolve completely. He’d been closer to me before when we’d hugged, but this was something else entirely. This did not feel innocent.

“And I’ve made myself clear as well. She’s no more than a hookup to me, and I’m the same to her. Do you need to know more?”

The heat radiating off him was making me sweat. Even the cold door against my back wasn’t helping. He had to know what he was doing to me. Was my presence affecting him the same? If so, God, I wanted to feel that. Badly.

“Do you need to know more?” he asked again.

“Yes,” I said softly.

“She lives out of state, and when she comes here for business we meet up if I’m available. It’s as no-strings as you can get, and that’s why I’ve seen her more than once. Now it’s your turn.”

“What?”

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