Page 41 of Whiskey Neat

“How was the shopping expedition?” Indy asks.

“Good. I’m glad Lowen came. He taught me a lot, so in the future I can handle it myself.”

“Did he find what he wanted?”

“He did. One store had a great selection.” I lean in a little closer. “Low tells me you’re a whiskey neat kind of guy?”

“Yep.” He nods. “I don’t want anything watering it down.”

“You’ll have to introduce me. I’ve never had it other than in a whiskey and coke.”

He scrunches his nose in disgust. “It can’t be cheap whiskey though. I’d be happy to share my preferences with you.”

“Cool.”

“We should get some food before these animals clear it out.”

I laugh softly. “Good call. The chicken parm has been luring me the whole ride back.”

“They have the best at Giovanni’s.”

“I agree.”

Before I can walk off, Indy slides his arm around my waist, pressing his chest to my back.

“Come over tonight,” he whispers, subtly nuzzling my hair. “I need more of you.”

Swallowing hard, I nod, unable to speak as my body heats and my cock jerks in my jeans.

He releases me, saying, “Good,” as he passes me to the food tables.

I grip the back of a chair to steady myself, Lowen’s warning replaying in my head. People fall for him against their wishes, and I’m starting to see why. The man is sexy, but there’s something deeper and more addictive to his allure that draws me in.

I just have to keep my defenses up and remember that no matter what he says or how amazing his dick is, this is just sex between… friends? Let’s go with that.

No hearts, just dicks. I can do that. I have to.

THIRTEEN

INDIANA

I haven’t stopped visually stalking Salem since he walked in with Lowen. Seeing him chatting and laughing with my friends has my stomach twisting in knots. It’s rare that a guy I’m messing around with even meets them, much less hangs out. It’s kind of… nice.

But the realization that he’s entangled in two aspects of my life is sobering. When this comes to an end—and it will—I can only hope he’s as well-adjusted and detached as he claims to be. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been duped, banging away for months of carefree orgasms only to have a clinging, needy mess on my hands proclaiming their love for me. A shiver runs down my back. Fuck, don’t let Salem be like that.

From what I can tell so far, he seems authentic. He was willing to walk away on the first night, which is a good sign. I’ll have to get the rundown from Lowen on how their time together went. He’s a good judge of character.

“Since you’re all here,” Oakley says, “this is a good time to discuss the renovation. I don’t recommend trying to live there, especially since we’ll be tearing up your kitchen too.”

“Oh.” Lowen pulls his phone out of the stylish bag he has slung across his body. “I found a few short-term rentals we can check out.”

“I have an idea,” Kit says, and I can already tell from the grin on his face that it’s going to be wild. “Me and Rid went down to the basement a couple of nights ago. It’s… rough, but doable.”

Ridley nods, finishing his bite of linguine. “It’s a big open space but it’s in good shape. There’s a bathroom down there as well as the one on the main floor. You said it’s a couple of months tops, right?” he asks Oakley.

Oakley nods. “Barring unforeseen issues.”

“Which there always are,” Lowen says, his brow creased. “How rough is rough?”

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