And what’s really weird? He leaves us.
Rule number three, Emma and I are supposed to cook a meal together once a week. This isn’t a threesome.
I finish making our drinks and give Emma hers. She takes a sip and quietly moans to herself as the liquid slips down her throat. Shit, she sounds so sweet.
“So good and a little strong. What are you trying to do, Tucker? Turn this into a drunken orgy?”
“Fuck, no. Way too much dick out there for that.”
She takes another sip from her glass and nods her head. “You’re right, it would be a bit of a sausage fest. Although, if I use every part of my body, I could make it work. Three holes and two hands. Hell, I could add one more guy to the mix.”
I spit out my drink, literally spit it out spraying the counter and the floor in the process. Whiskey drips from my chin as I look at my innocent, sweet friend. “What the ever-living fuck, Emma?”
Her laugh echoes through the kitchen. The sound is so pure to my ears, the crinkle in her eyes so beautiful, and the stretch of her smile, amusing.
“Oh my God, the look on your face.” She wipes joyful tears from under her eyes. “That was fantastic.”
Uh, so not fucking fantastic.
“Rule number seven, you’re not allowed to joke about orgies and all the holes you have.” I run my hand over my face with a towel. “Fuck.”
Still laughing, she says, “It seems like these rules are starting to become one-sided.”
I toss the towel at her, which she expertly catches. “My house, my rules, babe. Don’t forget, I’m still your landlord.”
“More like slumlord.”
I raise a questioning eyebrow at her. “Excuse me?”
Giggling to herself, she stirs the beef some more and then says, “I think we’re ready for the sauce.”
“I think your rent just went from one dollar to two after that slumlord comment.”
I hand her the opened jars of spaghetti sauce so she can pour them in the pan. “Pretty sure I can handle the increase, which is an absurd one-hundred percent upcharge in rent by the way.”
“Never said I was fair.”
I walk over to her, wrap my arm around her shoulders from behind, and kiss the top of her head. As she leans into my side, something about it feels so right. Easy. It feels as though we have been this affectionate for years. Weird.
“Hurry up with the sauce. I’m going to put in the garlic bread. I’m starving.”
Chapter Eleven
EMMA
I feel weird.
Not the kind of weird where I ate something wrong and not the kind of weird where I drank too much.
No, I feel a different kind of weird. A nervous, fluttery kind of weird. The kind of weird you get when an attractive man keeps smiling at you, making you laugh, and stealing touches when he can. The kind of weird you get when your friend is starting to make you feel things you know you shouldn’t feel.
And I’m not talking about Logan . . .
It’s all Tucker. Tucker freaking Jameson and his sexy side smile. Tucker Jameson and his deep, rumbly laugh. Tucker Jameson and his innocent, friendly touches that make me melt on the spot. To him, those touches are free of any kind of commitment, but to me, they feel like so much more. I want to ask him to stop because I’m worried my mind will get confused. I’m worried that I will fall for my best friend’s ex-boyfriend, her former everything and that terrifies me.
No wonder every girl our age fawned over the man; he’s magnetic. There’s no use denying the pull, because all you want to do when around him is cling to his side. And I’m having a hell of a time trying to detach myself.
Plates cleaned, drinks consumed, I’ve watched how effortlessly he’s engaged both his friends and Logan into conversation, never allowing a dull moment. And the whole time, all I could think of was how different he is from the boy I grew up with. He’s a man now, a confident man with experience under his belt, an addicting man you want to surround yourself with. It’s confusing. He confuses me.
For so long, I’ve been on the other side of the fence, listening to Sadie and her side of the relationship. It’s been so long since I’ve spent time with Tucker, that I’ve forgotten who he truly is. He was never Sadie’s shadow per se, but he was so connected to her, that I wonder if I ever met Tucker the individual. My image has been clouded from the past, but after last night, after tonight, the clouds are parting and I think I’m meeting Tucker Jameson the man for the first time. An effervescent man with a sexy smirk, ovary-splitting laugh, and killer eyes.
“Isn’t that right, Emma?” Funnily enough, around company, Tucker has referred to me as Emma, not babe.
“Ehh, what?”
“Sixth grade, your first kiss was with a guy who worshipped the black Power Ranger.”
“Daniel? Yeah, he was a bit obsessed. But despite his obsession, he tongued me up real nice.”
The table erupts. Well, apart from Tucker who gives me a pointed look that causes me to laugh. He wanted me to let loose. This is Emma let loose. She’s a little loose on the lips.
“Daniel sounds like a real winner.” Logan tips his bottle in my direction and takes a sip. I’m surprised with how much he’s been fitting in with the guys, especially since I hadn’t thought they would mesh well together. Tucker and his buddies are rugged, men’s men, whereas Logan runs the line of more sensitive.
“Oh shit, I could use a good tonguing, especially after sitting on this piece of trash seat all night.” Racer shifts and whacks Tucker on the arm. “Dude, splurge a bit and get a fucking couch. What is wrong with you?”
Tucker smiles over his glass, looking more at ease than he has in the last couple days. “I have everything I need in my bedroom.”
“I would say let’s take this up to your bedroom, but that would quickly divert this little gathering into a glorified sword fight, and I’m not drunk enough to start whipping my willy about.”
Smalls turns to Racer and asks, “Would you ever be drunk enough?”
Racer takes a moment to think about it and then shakes his head. “No, but for the right price, I would smack someone with my dick.”
Tucker shakes his head. “There is something seriously wrong with you.”
“Hey, I’ll take money anyway I can get.”
“Let’s play a game,” I say, interrupting the little battle of whit between Tucker and Racer.
“Yeah?” Tucker asks. “What did you have in mind?”
I hold up my finger and stand up, feeling a little shaky in my legs. Thank you, alcohol. “One second please.” Quickly, I run to my room, grab a deck of cards and my makeup case along with a little mirror. When I come back into the dining room, all four men give me confused looks.
Sitting back in his chair, arms crossed over his expansive chest, Tucker says, “No, we’re not playing that stupid game.”
I set my stuff on the table and take a seat. “Come on. I haven’t played in so long.”
“No.” Tucker stands his ground.
I jut out my bottom lip. “Pleeeease. It will be so much fun.”
“Yeah, for you.”