Gabe

“So, you ran over his foot with your car?” Julian laughs.

“Yeah.” Speedy winces, a small smile on her lips.

“And broke his foot?”

“Yep.”

“Her car is huge.” I size out with my hands.

“What car do you have?” Julian looks at Speedy.

She glances at me, a smile creeping onto her face.

Don’t you fucking dare, babe.

“A tank.”

Julian looks at me and then back at Speedy, and then he bursts out laughing. “God, she must like you if she’s willing to lie for you!”

“Vaughn, the fucking asshole.” I narrow my eyes.

“Of course he called me to tell me you got your foot broken by a tiny car!”

“They might look small, but they weigh a fucking ton!”

Julian is belly-laughing, and Speedy joins in with him.

“Bastards.” I frown. “The pair of you are total bastards.”

“Aw, babe. We’re just teasing.” Speedy leans over and plants a kiss on my cheek.

I see Julian’s brows go up in question.

I haven’t told him that Speedy and I are sleeping together. Well, dating. That she’s my girlfriend. Not that I’ve told her that. I mean, asked her.

Fuck. Am I back in high school?

When he arrived, I introduced them, and Julian remembered her from that time we all met in the club—you know, the meeting I pretended to forget—which made me feel like a total shit when I saw how happy it made her that Julian had remembered her. And that was it. They were off gossiping together like a pair of long-lost friends.

Turns out, Speedy is a big fan of his show. Her friend Logan got her into it.

Good thing Julian likes dick, or I might be getting jealous with how well they’re getting along.

The pizza is gone, and the game has finished, but I hardly got to watch it because Speedy and Julian were too busy talking. But, honestly, I didn’t even mind, which is weird because I hate it when I watch a game and it gets interrupted.

What is this woman doing to me?

“So, you two are dating?” Julian says to us both.

Speedy looks at me, a question in her eyes.

I keep my eyes on her. “Yeah, we are.”

The smile that lifts her lips lights up my insides. And my dick instantly wants to party with her pussy.

Saying those words out loud has just made this thing I have with her even more real. And I like it. A fuck of a lot.

I turn to Julian. “Speedy is my girlfriend.”

And I sound like a teenage boy.

The grin on Julian’s face tells me I’m going to get the ribbing of my life because of that comment. But you know what? I don’t give a fuck.

See what she’s doing to me? Turning me into one of those guys who goes brainless over his girl.

“You do realize that you’ve got your hands full with him, right?” Julian says to her.

“Oh, yeah, totally.” She giggles.

“Hey! I’m an easy guy to get along with.”

She snorts.

I look at her. “What?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head, smiling innocently. “Right, boys, as much fun as this night has been, this girl is tired, so I’m gonna hit the hay.” She squeezes my thigh with her hand and then softly kisses my lips. “Night, babe,” she whispers.

My dick instantly perks up.

Not yet, big fella.

“It was really nice to meet you, Julian.”

She gets up and goes over to him. He gets to his feet and kisses her on the cheek.

“Thanks for the pizza.”

“Anytime.” She waves him off. “Hope to see you again soon.”

“You definitely will.” He smiles.

“Come on, Gucci.”

She pats her thigh, and Gucci looks up from her spot by Julian’s feet, not seeming to want to move.

“I’ll bring her through when I come to bed.”

“Oh, okay.” She smiles.

“Night, babe.” I watch her leave the room, her gorgeous ass swaying in her skirt as she walks. My cock begs to get up and follow her.

“So…she’s your girlfriend,” Julian says in a singsong voice.

I flip him off, and he laughs.

“Smoke?” I say, suddenly needing a cigarette.

“Sure.”

Julian never used to smoke. He only started up a few years ago when he was getting clean from his addiction. Yeah, Julian’s the friend who was addicted to painkillers. It’s not uncommon for addicts to replace one addiction with another. Lesser of the two evils. They’ll both kill you in the end. It’ll just take the smokes longer to send you to the grave, and you won’t lose everything because of them.

We head out onto the terrace, and Gucci follows.

I take a seat on one of the chairs at the table and pass Julian a cigarette. I light my own up and then hand him the lighter.

Gucci parks her butt next to Julian’s chair.

“I can’t believe you have a fucking goat living in your apartment.” Julian chuckles, reaching down to scratch Gucci on the head.

“I know. But she comes with Speedy. They’re a package, so what can I do?”

“I like her.”

“Speedy or the goat?”

“Well, Gucci’s cute. But I meant Ava.”

“Yeah. She’s great.” I smile and then take a drag of my cigarette.

“And she makes great fucking pizza.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

We’re silent a moment, and then he says, “You look real happy, Gabe.”

“Don’t I always?”

“Nah, you’re a moody fucker, and you know it. But, now, you seem…I don’t know…different. Lighter. Less tense.”

He’s right; I am. And it’s because of Speedy.

“She’s good for you, Gabe.”

“Yeah, I guess she is.” I smile.

“It’s about time you found someone to love your sorry ass.”

And that knocks me back in my chair.

“Whoa! What? Love? Calm yourself the fuck down. We’re just dating. Well, fucking. I mean, we haven’t actually even been out on a date.”

Shit. I haven’t even taken her out on a date. What kind of boyfriend am I? The clueless-shit kind obviously.

He raises a brow. “A minute ago, she was your girlfriend. And, not to point out the obvious, but you do have her living in your house.”

“She is my girlfriend. And she only lives here because of circumstances,” I protest. “With my broken foot, I’ve needed help, and she needs a place to stay.”

“You still need help?”

“Well…no, not anymore, as I can take it off to bathe now. But she hasn’t found a place to stay yet. She can’t find anywhere in her price range that takes pets.”

“Mmhmm.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He’s watching me with an amused look on his face. “I just think Gabe doth protest too much.”

“Don’t fucking quote Shakespeare to me, you douche. And I don’t love Speedy. Sure, I love fucking her. She’s hot as fuck. She’s funny and smart, and she cooks amazing food. I like having her around. Like,” I emphasize. “I like her. Not love.”

“I never said you did. I said, it’s good that you have someone to love you. But, now, I’m thinking that you do love her.”

I flip him off, and he laughs.

Why is this bothering me so much?

I don’t care what he thinks. I know I’m not in love with Speedy, and she’s not in love with me.

We’re just having fun.

Right?

Right.

Julian stubs his cigarette out and gets to his feet. “I’m gonna head off. I’ve got an early start in the morning.”

“You going back to Vancouver?”

“Day after tomorrow. Got a meeting with the studio heads first thing. I’ll catch you before I head back to Vancouver though.”

“Sure thing.”

I stub my cigarette out and go to get up to see him out, but he pats me on the shoulder.

“Don’t get up. I’ll see myself out.”

“Okay. Later, man.”

He gives Gucci a stroke and then leaves.

I light up another cigarette and stare out at the night sky and the city moving below me.

I can’t believe Julian thinks I’m in love with Speedy.

I’ve never loved a woman in my life, and I don’t intend to change that.

The only person I’ve ever loved in my life is Tate. Well, I loved my parents once, but that died a long time ago.

But do I love Speedy? No. No way.

I like her, sure. But not love.

Fucking Julian, winding me up.

I finish my cigarette and make sure that Gucci has done her pissing and shitting for the night. Then, I take her inside with me.

She follows me to my bedroom. I push the door open, and Gucci runs in and jumps on her chair.

Speedy is asleep. The lamp is on, and her Kindle is facedown on her chest. She must have fallen asleep while reading.

She looks beautiful.

My heart starts to beat faster.

But I don’t love her.

I’m just in like with her.

I go over, pick the Kindle up, and put it on the nightstand. Then, I turn the lamp off and go into the bathroom to take a piss and brush my teeth.

When I’m done, I climb in bed. Speedy rolls toward me in her sleep, her arm sliding over my waist, and it makes me smile.

“Speedy?”

“Mmhmm?”

“You awake?”

“Mmhmm.”

I scoot down the bed, so my face is closer to hers.

“I need to tell you something.”

One of her eyes pops open.

“I lied to you. The day you ran me over, I said I didn’t remember you from the club. I lied. I did remember you.”

She opens her other eye. “Why did you lie?”

“Because I’m a jackass.”

“Yeah, I think we’ve already established that.”

She’s silent a moment.

“You mad at me?”

“No, of course not. I just…” She exhales. “You don’t have to say you remembered me to make me feel better. I know Julian remembered me, but—”

“You were wearing a red dress that showed off your gorgeous legs. Your lips were painted red to match. I remember thinking how much I’d like to see that red lipstick smeared all over my cock. Your hair was down and curled. And you were the most beautiful girl in the room.”

The expression that my words put on her face makes me feel like a fucking king.

“So, why didn’t you hit on me that night?” she asks softly.

“Because you had a boyfriend.”

“I told you that?” She screws her face up.

“Yeah, you did.”

“It must have been to remind myself that you were off-limits because I wanted you so bad that night.”

“I wanted you, too, Speedy. And I wanted you when you ran over my foot even though I wanted to strangle you.”

She laughs the sweetest sound.

“And I want you now. I always want you.”

“Me, too,” she whispers.

She moves in closer, hugging me. I wrap my arms around her and press a kiss to her hair.

“Thank you for telling me. I’m glad that you were honest with me. I don’t want any secrets between us.”

I roughly swallow down.

There are secrets. Things I can’t tell her.

Things that, if she knew, she’d never look at me the same again. And she sure as hell wouldn’t want me anymore.