The Matchmaker's Playbook

Gabi pointed at me, while I pointed at Blake, who pointed back at me.

Lex frowned. “So you either both got laid or you hooked up. Which is it?”

“Uh . . . hooked up,” Blake announced, casting a shy glance my way and then winking. “And it was everything the girls write about on the bathroom stalls.”

“Ha ha.” I smacked her ass and started pulling out plates.

“Um . . .” Lex coughed. “You do realize you can’t hook up with clients.”

“Oh, that.” I nodded. “I’m pretty sure our contract was terminated the minute she screamed my name.”

“So”—Gabi eyed both of us—“no David?”

“No,” I said while Blake said, “Yes.”

All talking ceased.

I whipped around so fast I nearly collided with the open fridge door. “What the hell do you mean, ‘yes’?”

“He’s still a friend!” Blake laughed nervously. “I need to at least meet with him for dinner. Like I said, he’s a friend.”

“Um, I was a friend and we ended up screwing four times last night. Sorry if I’m not exactly confident in your ability to keep friends at arm’s length!”

Blake gasped.

Lex muttered an “oh shit.” And looked like he wanted to high-five me, or bow down to me, or maybe just challenge me to an endurance run.

Gabi cackled behind her coffee cup.

“Is that all it was to you? Blake crossed her arms. A quick hookup?”

“Hell no,” I yelled, stalking toward her. “Which is another reason the last thing I want is for you to hang out with Douchepants!”

“He has a name!”

“Yeah, it’s Douchepants!”

Blake rolled her eyes. “I’ve known him my whole life. It would be rude to suddenly cancel. Tell you what. If it makes you feel better, you can drop me off and pick me up.”

“Oooo, rent a minivan like a soccer mom!” This from Lex.

“Lex, not helping,” I said quickly. “Ask Gabs about getting fired.”

“How do you even know that?” Gabi yelled while Lex turned on her with venom in his eyes.

“Sleep with the boss?” Lex said in a harsh voice.

“Ah! I hate you guys!” Gabi smacked Lex on the arm while I turned back to Blake.

“Ian.” She said my name like she was disappointed in the fact that I was jealous. “I promise it will be fine, okay?”

She reached for my arms.

I didn’t budge.

With a sigh, she whispered in my ear. “You know I could take the day off . . . but I do still have to go to volleyball practice.” She finished the whisper with a slight lick on my ear.

The lick decided it for me.

I was locking her in the room with me.

And I was going to do everything within my power to make sure that when she did meet with David, my name was the only one on her lips.

“We’ll be back!” I yelled loud enough for everyone to hear and then tossed her over my shoulder and carried her up the stairs into her room.

CHAPTER THIRTY

“Must. Get. Water.” With a hoarse groan, I shuffled toward the bathroom and turned on the faucet, splashing my face, then cupping my hands underneath so I could drink.

“Your cardio needs work.” Blake came up behind me and turned on the shower.

I glowered at her in the mirror. “I kicked your ass!”

“Oh, is that what you did? When you said you had to stop because your ankle hurt?”

With a yelp, she moved out of the way as I snapped a towel in her direction. “Just because I suck at sprints doesn’t mean my cardio needs work. Maybe if you wore more clothes while working out, I wouldn’t get so distracted.”

“So you almost coughed up a lung because you were distracted?”

“Right.” I nodded and pulled my shirt over my head, tossing it onto the floor. “Distraction messes with my breathing, and if you don’t breathe right, you gas.” I winked.

She rolled her eyes and pushed me out of the bathroom.

“Hey!” I yelled when the door slammed in my face. “I thought if I went on a jog with you, I was allowed shower time. Wasn’t there a sticker chart? With sexual favors each time I hit a goal?”

The door cracked open. “You’re insane, you know that?”

“Insanely hot?” I crooked my eyebrow at her and inched the door open farther. “Insanely . . . satisfying? So insane that you had not one, not two, but three orgasms, all within a five-hour period, was it?”

Her face blazed red.

I smirked.

The door slammed back against me again, and this time the lock turned.

“Fine,” I said against the door. “A girl needs some privacy—I get it. I’ll just be out here sitting in my own sweat while I wait!”

“You were complaining about being behind.” Blake’s voice carried through the door. “Get some work done! Sit on the floor and stop complaining!”

I loved that bossy attitude.

After spending that first day in bed together, we decided that we needed to venture out into society and actually go to school. I told her I was 90 percent sure we could still pass all our classes even if we just stopped going halfway through the semester, but Blake was on scholarship, and honestly I really did enjoy school. So I decided the best way to go about it was to go for a run with her, placate her with coffee, then explain my Wingmen Inc. schedule to her, as well as my duties, in a way that wouldn’t make her fly off the handle.