Page 45 of Accidentally Falling For My Best Friend
“It would be kind of weird to blow off our parents for our roommate,” Aspen says apologetically.
Oak looks to me, eyes wide and brows scrunched together, clearly concerned about the idea. But the girls are right. As much as I hate thinking about giving up any holidays with him, it’s not like we’re dating. Aspen assured me that during this visit she should be able to talk her dad into selling his shares of her company and that meeting me in person would hold her family over until she’s ready to cut them out of her life for good.
So, I try to play it off like it’s not a big deal that we’ll be missing our first holiday together in twenty-one years, shrugging before I move my hand to squeeze his thigh under the table, wanting to touch him in some way, to show him that we’re in this together. “We’ll still have Thanksgiving,” I remind him, and he relaxes slightly.
“Yeah, that's fine, I guess,” Oakley finally agrees.
“Fantastic, I’ll let them know we’ll be there for Christmas then!”
I’m at work,going over yet another email from our Bora Bora interior designer requesting a budget increase to accommodate Oakley’s new plans. They seem to have trouble saying no to him, and I’ve had to help them compromise on more cost-effective alternatives. I know that Oak can get set in his ways when he gets excited about a new idea, and that he listens to me more than other people, so I don’t mind. But I still need to coordinate with the designers to find out what cheaper options exist to suggest to him.
“Knock, knoooock,” Adrian sings as he walks right into my office. “Did you forget I was coming for lunch today?” he asks, holding his hand over his heart and scrunching up his face, pretending to be offended.
“No, sorry, I just lost track of time,” I apologize.
“Well, I’m here and I brought your favorite sandwich, so your workaholic-ass doesn’t even need to leave the office!” he says, holding up a takeout bag like he’s showing off a prize on a gameshow, clearly back to his normal peppy self.
“You work just as much as I do,” I say with a laugh.
“Don’t call me out on my bullshit like that, it isn’t polite,” he teases.
Adrian and I have always been friendly, with our best friends being brothers we’ve spent a lot of time together over the years, but we’ve only recently started hanging out outside of the group. Adrian and I helped Cody out a few months ago by making a fake company for him to “invest” in to trick his old boss into approving money transfers. The money was all Cody’s so there wasn’t anything illegal about it, but his boss had access to his accounts and he needed an excuse to move it into a bank that his boss wasn’t an authorized user on.
Adrian and I posed as the fake company’s founders and made a whole pretend online presence to back up the story. We had a lot of fun putting it all together, and since then, he’sdecided we’re “besties” and has shown up at least once a week to drag me to lunch.Not that I don’t appreciate the effort.I really do enjoy spending time with him, and I know if Adrian didn’t force his friendship on me I probably wouldn’t think to initiate anything myself, so I’m thankful he does.
“So, what’s new with you?” he asks, pulling out my wrapped sandwich and putting it on my desk in front of me. I know there is absolutely no way for him to actually know anything has changed between me and Oakley, but of course that’s where my mind immediately goes, and I can feel my cheeks heating.
Last night Oakley bet that he could make me come first from a blowjob, and we ended up laying next to each other in his bed with our heads on opposite ends in a sixty-nine position so that we could blow each other at the same time to find out. He was right, and I finished first, but having his cock in my mouth turns me on way more than I would have ever guessed. I love knowing I’m the reason he’s so hard, that he’s moaning and clearly feeling so much pleasurebecause of me. All of that combined with his mouth on my dick, and I was a goner.
No wonder people think about sex so much if it feels that good when you’re actually into the other person.
“Well, what the fuck are you looking all embarrassed about?” Adrian asks excitedly, folding himself into the seat across from me, abandoning his food and propping his face in his hands to bat his eyelashes as he leans in.
“Nothing,” I insist, trying to focus on slow, even breaths in an attempt to appear normal. “How’s living with your favorite hockey player?” I ask, clearly trying to change the subject. He recently had the Werewolves’ captain move in with him after Hudson’s wife very publicly served him divorce papers. Hudson was worried about paparazzi following him if he tried to stay in a hotel, and Adrian was there when it happened, so he offered his place.
“Nope, we’re talking about you. You do notblush like a schoolgirl over nothing! Spill.”
Fuck.I know I’m going to have to tell him something, but I have no idea what to say without exposing Oakley, and I definitely don’t want to do that. I trust Adrian not to say anything to Beckett if I ask him not to, but I still don’t want to feel like I’m betraying Oak in any way. I take a few more deep breaths, as I attempt to gather my thoughts, and realize that Adrian might actually be the perfect person to talk through some of my more confusing emotions with. “Have you always known you’re gay?” I ask quietly.
I think my question throws him because he doesn’t immediately respond. Instead, he sits back in his chair and furrows his brow, looking confused, but eventually his expression softens into a reassuring smile. “I’ve always been pretty fabulous. People assumed I was gay before I even knew what being gay meant, and a lot of them weren’t happy about it,” he finally says with a shrug. I nod because I know some of the details about what Adrian had to deal with growing up as the only out gay kid at his school. There’s a reason he hasn’t been back to Arkansas since.
“I’m sorry people are assholes. You deserved better,” I tell him. I know it’s my turn to say something, but I’m not sure how to even begin to explain what I’ve been questioning.
“Did something happen?” he prompts when I don’t say anything else. “We don’t have to use any details or names, but I’m here if you need to talk to someone.”
I nod, liking that plan. I’m sure he’ll guess who I’m talking about, but I feel better not actually saying it. “I’ve always assumed that I’m straight…” I trail off, shifting in my seat, hesitant to admit the next part aloud. I can’t look at him, so I focus on the view out my window as I force myself to go on. “But dating and sex in general have never been a huge priority tome. Something happened recently that has me questioning if I’ve ever actually been attracted to anyone before now, though.”
“Oh, Parker,” he says, pushing up and out of his chair to round my desk. He wraps his arms around me from the side in a hug, squeezing me tightly, despite the somewhat awkward angle.
“Why are you hugging me?” I finally ask when it seems to go on for far longer than the average embrace.
“Because, you’ve clearly been dealing with these feelings by yourself, and I don’t want you to forget that you aren’t alone, duh.”
“Um, thanks?” I mutter, unsure of what I can say to get him to stop hugging me.
Eventually he lets go and returns to his seat across from me, still giving me that supportive smile. “Okay, I don’t want to overstep or ask specifics because I promised I wouldn’t, but I just want to make sure I understand what you’re saying so that I can support you properly.” I nod, giving him permission to continue. “So, something happened recently where youdidfeel sexual attraction? And that was a new experience for you?” I nod, not wanting to say more than that.
“Have you ever heard of the Ace spectrum?” he asks. I shake my head slowly, trying to recall if I’ve ever heard the phrase. “That’s okay. Do you know what the A stands for in LGBTQIA+?”
