Page 54 of Most Likely to Deny Love

I sat in my car for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts before heading inside. The clock on my dashboard read 6:17 AM. With a pathetic sigh, I grabbed my things and eased out of the car. With any luck, Emily would still be asleep, sparing me the interrogation about why I hadn’t come home last night. Because fuck knows, I could not face that right now.

The front door creaked as I eased it open, making me wince. I slipped off my fuzzy slippers and padded in my socks across theentryway, holding my breath as I passed Emily’s closed bedroom door. When I finally reached my room, I exhaled in relief, closing the door softly behind me.

I leaned against it, sliding down until I sat on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest. The enormity of my feelings for Jack crashed over me. It didn’t matter how many times I told myself he was just being kind, just fulfilling our arrangement. My heart refused to listen to reason.

But I couldn’t risk ruining everything. I couldn’t risk the humiliation of Jack gently explaining that while he liked me as a friend, he wasn’t physically attracted to me. I wouldn’t survive it.

So yeah, avoiding him was the only possible solution. At least until I could look at him without remembering the feel of him hard in my hand, the low groan that had escaped his lips, the sleepy heat in his eyes before reality had crashed down on us both.

Jesus fuck.I buried my face in my hands and let the tears finally fall.

JACK

My eyes drifted once again to Mia’s office across the floor. She sat hunched over her computer, dark hair falling forward to curtain her face as she determinedly avoided looking in my direction. Just like she’d been doing all fucking week.

The knot in my stomach tightened. I’d called her twice over the weekend, hoping to clear the air after her hasty retreat from my house. Both calls had gone straight to voicemail. A crystal clear message that she wanted nothing to do with me.

I rubbed a hand over my face, exhaustion pulling at me. I’d barely slept since she’d left, replaying that moment over and over. The way she’d jerked away from me, horror written across her face. The frantic way she’d gathered her things, desperate to escape. I should have stopped her, explained that I wasn’t upset, that I’d wanted her touch. That I wanted her, period. That I’d dreamed of her hands on me more times than I could count.

But I’d been too stunned, too slow, and she’d bolted before I could form the words.

A soft knock on my door made me look up. Emily stood there with another stack of folders clutched against her chest, herexpression carefully neutral. The third batch of paperwork that should have been brought by Mia.

She crossed to the sideboard and set the folders down with the others, the sound sharper than necessary in the quiet office. For a moment she hesitated, her hand still resting on the stack, like she was debating whether to say something. Then she seemed to think better of it and turned toward the door.

“Emily.”

She stopped, one hand on the doorframe, and looked back at me with raised eyebrows. I opened my mouth, then closed it again, having absolutely no idea what I’d planned to say. I had no way of knowing what she already knew, if anything, about what had happened. So what was I supposed to tell her? That Mia and I had accidentally fallen asleep and I’d woken up with her hand wrapped around my dick? That I’d frozen like an idiot instead of reassuring her it was okay?

Emily studied my face, taking in what I could only imagine was the general look of a man who’d been hit by a truck. After a long moment, she stepped back into the office and closed the door.

She crossed her arms. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two. Mia hasn’t said a word since she got back from your place. But she’s clearly upset, and beyond reassuring me that you didn’t do anything you shouldn’t have, she won’t talk to me about it.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “But you should.”

With that, she opened the door and left, but not before giving me a look that clearly saidfix this, you idiot.

I sat back in my chair, Emily’s words echoing in my head.But you should.She was right, of course. Sitting here spiraling wasn’t solving anything. The growing distance between us felt like a physical ache, a hollowness that spread through my chest with each hour Mia avoided my gaze.

I picked up my phone, Emily’s advice pushing me toward action. My thumb hovered over Mia’s contact information. Okay, this was fucking stupid. There was no way I could just call her, in the middle of the work day. I’d have to do it discreetly. No easy feat, since she was utterly stonewalling me.

But I’d royally fucked up, that much was clear and it was on me to fix it.

Across the floor, Mia reached up to gather her hair and pull it over her shoulder, her movements tight and controlled. She looked as exhausted as I felt, dark circles shadowing her eyes. The urge to go to her, to pull her into my arms and erase that tension from her shoulders, was almost overwhelming.

But I had to tread very, very lightly, or she’d run again. I needed a plan.

MIA

Well, Operation Unfuck Jack’s Day had royally fucked up my week and probably my whole life. Yeah, maybe that sounded dramatic, but I’d never felt so shit. It didn’t help that Emily just wouldn’t quit. I’d finally caved and told her exactly what had happened.

Her blonde ponytail swished as she kept pace beside me around the lake path. “It’s been three days of this weird avoidance dance. You’re making yourself miserable. I still don’t understand why you won’t just talk to him.”

“I told you why,” I hissed, glancing around to make sure no one was within earshot. The walking path around the golf course lake was a popular lunch spot, but thankfully there was no one in hearing distance.

“Right. Because you accidentally grabbed his morning wood while half asleep on his couch.” Emily’s voice was far too loud for my comfort. “And then ran away like your ass was on fire.”

“Jesus, Em,” I groaned, feeling heat creep into my cheeks for the thousandth time since that humiliating morning. “Could you maybe not announce that to the entire golf course?”

“There’s literally no one around but some ducks,” she pointed out, gesturing to a small family of mallards paddling nearby. “And they don’t care about your sex life.”

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