Chapter Five
Trent
Oh. My. God. That. So. Hadn’t been a friends kiss.
What the hell had I been thinking? Declan was out of the question, no chance, not permitted, absolutely not dateable, just no. No!
But his lips had felt sooooo good. I shivered at the memory and couldn’t help but wonder what they would feel like all over my—
No! Stop it. He’s unavailable. You’ll only get your heart broken. So not worth it. He is a friend. Nothing else.
But. Those. Lips.
“Trent?”
Hearing Declan’s deep voice snapped my attention to him. “Huh?”
His brow furrowed. “You alright over there? You look… flustered.”
So embarrassing. I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just,” I cleared my throat again, “hot in here.” His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and I almost groaned at the sight. Maybe it’d be a little bit worth it.
He tilted his head and asked, “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yep. I’m good,” I squeaked.
He eyed me, but let me get away with it. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”
“Uh, yeah.” I willed my voice to go back to normal. “I’m going to a bride’s house at noon to take pics of the wedding party getting ready. I think the wedding starts at, like, six, so it’ll be a late night. Why? Do you have to work?”
“No, I don’t typically work on Saturdays. Would you want to grab a movie when we get done here tonight? Or we could rent one back at my place or something?” he asked.
I could only blink at him. Was he? Surely he wasn’t asking to hook up with me, right? I said slowly, “You want to watch a movie with me at your place?”
“Sure. I think Kade and his girlfriend are coming back, but they don’t spend a lot of time in the living room.” He wrinkled his nose.
So not a date, then. Or a hookup. But definitely not a date. I bit my lip to hide my irrational disappointment, even though there was nothing to be disappointed about, and said, “Sure, that would be fun.”
He smiled at me and his eyes lit up, making the ridiculous disappointment vanish.
After we finished eating some tasty dessert that I refused to admit to him was delicious—though my moans of pleasure as I’d inhaled it, likely gave me away—we said our goodbyes and Declan drove us back to his apartment.
And when we got there, we picked out a movie… and actually watched it. He didn’t make a move. He didn’t flirt. He didn’t even sit on the same couch as me. Apparently, he’d really meant it to be a friends hanging out type of thing. I was truly beginning to believe that his reputation was overexaggerated. I mean, how could a guy that had such a terrible reputation turn out to be so sweet? I liked him, a lot. As a friend.
I just needed to forget about that stupid kiss.
After the movie, I was going to call for a ride, but Declan insisted on driving me home. And he walked me to my door… and still didn’t try to kiss me. I couldn’t decide if I was relieved or disappointed. Maybe I was both?
He was a friend, I didn’t want him to kiss me. It would be weird and awkward.
But those damn lips.
Ughhhhhhh!
***
It’d been two weeks since Dec and I hung out, but we’d been texting each other daily and even spoke on the phone several times. Unfortunately, our schedules hadn’t meshed enough for us to hang out again since I’d had several weddings to photograph. I’d even had to skip that hockey game, or whatever it was. When my phone rang on a Wednesday afternoon, I smiled and walked into the break room at work to answer.
“Hello?” I looked in a cabinet for some food to steal.
“Hey, Trent. How’s it going?”
“You mean how’s it going since I last texted you thirty minutes ago?”
He huffed out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. “Do you always have to be such a smartass?”
“Yes.” He sighed again and I chuckled, then asked, “What about you? How’s it going over there? Anything interesting happen in the last half hour?”
“Actually, yes, that’s why I’m calling. Reese and Caleb are forcing me to go to dinner with them tonight because they’re convinced I’m lonely or some stupid shit. Anyway, I was wondering if you’d come with me? I hate feeling like the third wheel.”
“Ooohhhh, Declan Parnell is asking me on a date!”
He snorted out a laugh. “Shut up, no I’m not.”
“A double date!”
“Why am I friends with you again? You’re a pain in the ass.”
“You love it,” I said with a smile as I rummaged through the refrigerator for something to munch on. “And I’d love to be your date tonight.”
He sighed. “So not a date, but I’ll take it. Thank you. We’re going to Timmy’s.”
“Oh, I love that place. What time?”
“Seven, if that works for you.”
“Uh.” I ran a hand through my hair. “That should give me enough time to go home and change, so yeah, that works.”
“I’m sure you look fine in whatever you’re wearing now.”
I looked down at myself in my purple shirt, tight jeans, and black boots. “Of course, I do, but I’m gonna change, anyway.”
“Well, I’m probably going straight there from work, so I—”
“Oooh,” I cut him off. “I get to see you in a suit.”
“Shit, I see the lunch brigade coming to attack me; I better go.”
I smiled. “Okay, I’ll see you at seven.”
“See you then.” After a pause, he added, “And thanks, Trent. It’ll be a lot better with you there.” Then he hung up without another word.
I stared at the phone for a moment, then shook my head and took a breath as I put it in my back pocket.
“You have a date!”
I turned toward the door of the break room and huffed at Levi standing there. “I do not. How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to know that you have a huge crush on whoever that was on the other side of the phone.”
“Not true.” I opened the fridge again, even though I already knew there wasn’t anything good in there. “You know, your husband has really brought down the quality of snacks available in this establishment. I think we need to boycott him and bring in everything unhealthy again. What happened to all my string cheeses and puddings? If he threw them away, that’s stealing!”
“Don’t change the subject,” Levi said, still blocking the door and my escape. “Andy only threw away the expired stuff, anyway.” I turned to face him and frowned. He lifted an eyebrow and chuckled at me. “Who were you talking to?”
“I’m not telling you.”
His eyes went wide. “That means I know him! Oh my god, you have to tell me who it is! Tristan? Ollie? Hunter? Jasper? Trip? Matty? Declan? Come on, tell me!”
“Oh my god, Levi, chill the fuck out. I’m just meeting some friends for dinner. I swear it’s not a date,” I said with wide eyes. He was hyper as fuck.
He pouted. “That’s no fun. And maybe it’s not a date, but you want it to be.”
I sighed and ran a hand over my face. “No, I don’t.” Maybe I should tell him it’s Declan. His brother’s gonna be there, he’ll find out, anyway. I opened my mouth, but chickened out and said, “I’m going to check if my next appointment showed up yet.” Then I squeezed by him and through the door, making my escape.
Telling Levi that I was hanging out with his ex was not something I wanted to do. Even if Dec and I were only friends, I didn’t want Levi, a person I’d been friends with for years, to be upset or pissed at me. Ugh. My phone beeped with an incoming text, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Declan: The lunch brigade is dragging me to the café. If I don’t text within the hour, send help!
Me: You are such a dork.
Declan: Takes one to know one.
I chuckled at that but had to greet a customer before I could respond back.