Page 31 of Wicked Flirt
Someone was ridiculous and it wasn’t Marcus. He kept that to himself because Josh, like always, had come through.
“Thanks, man.”
Josh grunted.
Marcus texted Hailey, who responded right away,I’m on it! Sounds fun!Then he texted Lexi to invite her.
Lexi:Are you going to run away after the party?
His neck burned.I didn’t run tonight. You’re special. That means we take it slow.
Majorly inconvenient I got a reformed bad boy yanking my chain. Get ready for an ass kicking in pool.
He barked out a laugh. He’d definitely made the right move. A special date, taking it slow. No girly stuff, either, and Lexi was on board.
See you then, he texted.
You live down the hall. I’m sure I’ll see you before then.
How about lunch with my mom tomorrow?
Sure. Are we always going to do stuff with other people?
He smiled some more and texted back.For now.
Guess my vibrator will get a workout.
He chuckled.I would like to see that.
Come on over.
Not yet, darling.
Don’t you darling me!
Not yet, horny woman.
Truthfact.
He smiled and caught Josh’s knowing look. “She’s funny,” he told him.
“And…” Josh drawled, “he joins the ranks of the undead.”
“Undead?”
Josh nodded sagely. “Ever notice how the guys resemble zombies once they’re hooked? Yes, dear, whatever you want. I like what you like, honey.” His lip curled. “Pathetic.”
Marcus couldn’t stop smiling, thrilled to be included with the love zombies. He was smart enough not to mention Josh had done the whole yoga and green drink thing for his woman. Instead he pointed at Josh. “And then there was one.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Josh said. “Last man standing. The only guy with his head on straight.”
“For now.”
Josh gave him a light slap on the cheek. “Idiot.”
~ ~ ~
Lexi floated through her week, all thanks to Marcus. He was just so much better than the kind of guys she was used to dating. He spent zero time bragging about how great he was and never even made a move on her. It was like he just wanted to spend time with her. On Monday after their lunch at his mom’s house, he’d bought her a coffee at Something’s Brewing Café back in town, and they’d just talked and talked. He told her about growing up with the Campbells, about some of the crazy shit that had gone down on Wall Street, and about how much he loved owning The Burrow. She told him all about her previous job and the ideas she had for going beyond event planning to party planning for busy professionals. On Tuesday they shared takeout for lunch at her place, talking over her business plan. And now today, Wednesday, he was taking her out to lunch before he had to drive back to the city for work, where he’d stay through the rest of the week. He was only living part-time in Clover Park. She’d see him at The Burrow tomorrow night too for his party.
