Page 47 of Sweet Rivals

“Anyone in there?” came the muffled voice from the other side of the door.

“Oh my God,” I hissed as I adjusted my clothes and patted down my hair. I had no idea how disheveled I looked, but my anxiety was convinced that anyone who looked at me would know exactly what had just happened between Jared and me.

Before I could even glance in Jared’s direction, the door swung open, bright light spilling in making me squint. I blinked several times before I saw Joel standing there, staring at us.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Jared brushed past Joel and me, disappearing into the kitchen while I tried desperately to not give away what had just happened on my face. It was likely a losing prospect. I typically couldn’t hide my emotions. I wish I had gotten to see Jared’s expression. How did he feel about what had just happened? How did I feel about what had just happened? What would PotatoBake888 think of what just happened? With a sick, sinking feeling, I suddenly felt like a cheater. It was a stupid feeling, PotatoBake888 was only words on the screen, but when I let myself be honest, he was so much more than that to me, and now here I was fooling around in the walk-in with the man I’m supposed to hate. What the hell was my life?

“I don’t envy you, being locked in there with Jared,” Joel laughed.

“It was something,” I said. See, I’m bad at this.

“Well, I’m glad I came when I did.”

“Me too. Thanks for saving us,” I said.

“I can tell Jared is really appreciative.”

I shrugged. I was tempted to defend his brother, but I didn’t want to give away my suddenly softer feelings. Besides, who knows if Jared was appreciative or not. Had he been just as swept away in the moment? Why the hell had we crossed boundaries so epically? A new flush came over my face.

“You ready for that Foie Gras?” he asked, completely oblivious to my frazzled state.

Again, I found myself at a loss for words. Did I want Joel to cook for me? We had been flirting causally at dinner. He had led me to believe that he was on my side at least to some extent with this bakery endeavor. But did I want to continue whatever this thing with Joel was? Was it anything at all, or was I overthinking and projecting feelings onto Joel that didn’t exist? Would it be like a betrayal to Jared or PotatoBake888?

“Sure,” I said because I didn’t know how to say no. That was a skill I had to start working on. How many things had I been roped into because I didn’t know how to say no? Because if I said no, I would have to watch their face change ever so slightly into one of discomfort and disappointment. Because then they would think I wasn’t agreeable or easy-going. Then maybe I didn’t have value at all.

Is that what had happened in the walk-in? Did I just not know how to say no to Jared? As soon as the question popped into my head, I knew that wasn’t the case. I had wanted that. My broken brain had wanted Jared to do that. At no point did I want to say no. Besides, I didn’t seem to have a problem saying no to Jared under normal circumstances.

“Let me just get warmed up a bit,” I said.

“No problem. Just shoot me a text when you are on your way back. I’ll be here spying on Jared,” he said with a smirk.

“Right,” I said with a half-laugh that probably didn’t come close to genuine, but God forbid he find me disagreeable. Ugh. What was wrong with me?

I gave an awkward half-wave that was entirely unnecessary and turned away.

Finally, he walked away. I needed a lifetime to process what had happened. That was, if I didn’t die of embarrassment first. Had his brother been a minute earlier, he would have seen a lot. I shook my head and hurried to the bathroom. I had to collect myself before my walk home.

I pushed open the bathroom door and let it slam closed behind me, taking a deep, calming breath before I realized I had walked in on someone. I froze, mouth open, body running hot as I saw Jared standing in front of me. Thankfully, he wasn’t using the bathroom for its intended purpose, but what he was doing may have been worse. I couldn’t get my brain to function long enough to make that determination.

In front of me, Jared’s eyes were closed, his head leaned back slightly, his pants unbuttoned, and his fingers wrapped around his hard, thick cock. My mouth hung open as I took in the sight, frozen in place, both turned on and mortified at the same time. I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from him. A tight warmth grew between my legs that left me replaying what had happened in the walk-in. Suddenly, instead of feeling embarrassed, I ached with need all over again. Jared’s free hand was braced against the counter as his fist pumped up and down along the length of his thick shaft. The muscles of his biceps strained against his t-shirt while his forearms tensed with effort and excitement.

Shit, shit, shit. I thought.

“Oh fuck,” he said when his eyes opened, and he realized he had an audience. The words were somewhere between a moan and a shout.

His hand slowed but didn’t stop as he drank in the sight of me, clearly making a decision. He reached for me with his free hand and grabbed my ass so hard I thought he might leave a bruise. For half a second, I thought he might undress me right there in the bathroom, but instead he pressed the thick length of himself against me. His smooth, impossibly hard cock burned warm against my bare stomach as he moved his hips against me before his whole body tensed. His fingers digging into my ass and hips as he thrust against me. He let out a groan, wrapping his arms around me and molding his body against mine as his cock pulsed and hot sticky cum spread across my stomach.

His eyes were locked on mine with a heated gaze as I stared at him with shock and bewilderment.

“I … I should go,” I whispered.

“I’m sorry,” he said, letting me go. I watched, dumbfounded and paralyzed as he zipped his pants before grabbing paper towels and gently cleaning up my stomach. “Maybe we should talk,” he said when he was finished.

“No,” I shook my head forcefully. “We definitely shouldn’t talk. I’ve got to go.” I turned on my heels and darted out of the bathroom. I prayed I wouldn’t see Joel. I wished I could simply drop dead from embarrassment.

Chapter Thirty-Three

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