Page 31 of Don't Fall For Your Best Friend

As soon as I’m freed, Paxton has me in his arms, running his fingers over me, looking for the cut. It’s at this point I realize the blood isn’t mine.

It’s his.

“Paxton, you cut yourself.”

He holds up his thumb as blood leaks from the deep wound on it. “Fuck.”

Chapter Ten

Paxton

My finger throbs as I step into Atta Boy. Three stitches hold together the bloody wound I inflicted upon myself last night at Hartford’s. I couldn’t tell the hospital how I injured myself, so the storyline is that I was attempting home improvements.

The truth—I was so turned on that all my focus was on my hard dick and not the sharp knife in my hand. I’m surprised there was any blood left in my thumb, but the uncontrollable bleeding proved me wrong. It also made my hard dick vanish pretty damn fast.

Once again, things did not go as expected.

“Hey,” Brock says as I step behind the bar.

“Hey.”

“What happened to you?”

I glance down at my finger and shrug. “Decided to give home improvements a shot. Didn’t go so well.”

He crosses his arms, lifting an eyebrow. “What kind of home improvements?”

I should’ve come up with something more believable. They all know I don’t do home improvements. I contract someone else to do it.

I grin. “I was changing the mirror in the bathroom and it broke. Glass cut my finger. No big deal.”

He doesn’t appear to be buying my story at all, but he folds his arms over his chest. “Maybe Hartford can give you a sponge bath.”

Griffin laughs behind me, and I spin around. Griffin’s our head chef. He’s tight with Callum and Shepherd and like another brother to us. Growing up, he was at our house as much as we were.

“Oh, you think it’s funny, Griff?” I hold up my bandaged finger so he can get a look at it.

He holds his hands up, chuckling. “Cutting your finger? No. The thought of Hartford giving you a sponge bath? Yep.”

“At least I’d have someone to give me a sponge bath.”

Griffin shrugs as Brock wraps his arms around himself.

“I could get a sponge bath, but not from someone who I’m secretly in love with,” Griffin says, as he leans against the bar.

“I’m not secretly in love with her. We’re friends. Best friends. I don’t know how many times I need to clarify our situation to everyone.” I push past Griffin, done with the direction of this conversation.

“Pax, wait,” Griffin says, grabbing my arm so I don’t leave.

I spin around and raise an eyebrow. “What?”

“Your reaction to the teasing is why we do it. You know that, right?”

“My annoyed reaction to you guys thinking it’s unreasonable for a man and woman to have a relationship that doesn’t include sexual feelings? Just because we are always together and she’s the only person I trust with my deepest, darkest secrets, you think it can’t possibly be friendship? And the only reason I need her is because I want her?” I take a breath, shaking my head. “Yeah, Griff, it gets fucking annoying.”

He gives a quick nod with a small grin on his face. “Got it, Pax.” As I walk away, he continues, “But when you defend it that hard, it comes across another way.”

I hate that he’s right. I hate feeling like I’m back in high school again, wanting her and having no one here I can talk to about it. My brothers wouldn’t understand, and even if they did, they would tease me relentlessly. It’s just how we are with each other.

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