Page 35 of Clueless Romeo

That wasn't the response I'd expected. And it was a good question I'd need to examine, but not here. Not now.

My gaze lowered to his mouth. It would be so easy to lean forward, taste him, and slip my tongue between his lips. I just didn't understand why I wanted to. Andfuuuck, I wanted to.

"Did you kiss her?" CJ whispered, breaking my trance.

My gaze shot up, colliding with his again. Ice-blue eyes filled with smoldering heat—a contrast that made my balls throb and my hands itch to reach between us to ease the ache. I swallowed hard, and my voice roughened. "No."

"But you want to kiss me," he stated as if he could peer straight into my thoughts.

My breathing slowed, and I battled my thoughts and body, which was a useless exercise. CJ was right. I did. And that made no sense. Nothing about the last twenty-four hours made any fucking sense, and yet it didn't change the fact that I wanted more than a kiss. I wanted to shove my tongue down his fucking throat.

"I don't." The lie was little more than a croak because it was all I could manage. Even if it killed me not to sample the forbidden fruit standing in front of me, I still had rules about messing around with people I saw regularly. Then there was the fact that CJ was all man, and I was straight. Or at least I'd thought so until recently.

CJ's tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip. A growl crawled up my throat, and my fingers flexed against the wall. He was not helping the situation.

"Now who's lying?" He inched closer to my lips, and I didn't stop him. I couldn't because I was frozen in place, wanting and needing his mouth on mine. Consequences be damned.

But then the soft brush of his lips on mine shot a bolt of fear and confusion up my spine. It felt good. Too damn good.

I jerked back, eyes wide as I searched for the right words to explain why we shouldn't do this, even though I wanted it so much it was painful. "CJ—"

He swore and shoved me, sending me stumbling a step back. "You know what, Roman? I think I will go out with Nate—on a real date, actually. You were right. He's fuckable as hell. So do your thing and set it up."

My spine stiffened as the words penetrated. CJ was goading me, and it was working.

Before I could act on it by doing something stupid—like slamming my mouth down on his to erase those words—and fuck everything up, I stepped back. Clearing my throat, I attempted to cover the mass of unexpected, raging emotions whipping around inside my head. "That's good to hear. I'll let him know."

"Can't wait," he gritted out, pasting on a fake smile. Fake like my enthusiasm for hooking the pair up at all.

Maybe it was too late, and things between us would remain awkward and tense. That was the last thing I wanted. But I'd screwed up. Big time.

Picturing Nate taking my place, my lungs struggled for air as my pulse quickened from confusion. He would have kissed him. Hell, who knows how far it would have gone. My jaw clenched as I tried to dispel the unwanted mental images. I needed to figure this out.

I stepped back further, creating more space, but it didn't help me breathe any easier. If anything, it caused me to question everything even more. Suddenly it felt wrong to walk away from CJ. And that's exactly why I replied, "He'll be happy to hear that."

His eyes narrowed, anger burning hot in them. "I'm already looking forward to it."

His words kept hitting the sore spot forming in my chest. I needed to get the fuck out of here and shake off…whatever the hell this was. "I'll let you know when and where."

"Perfect." He turned and eyed the door beside him, a not-so-subtle hint for me to get the fuck out.

I swallowed and offered a stiff nod before escaping outside. Only when his door clicked shut, and the lock snapped into place with a finality that rang clear in my head, was I able to steady my breathing.

Muttering a curse because I didn't know what else to do, I strode the few feet to my place and, after unlocking and opening the door, burst into the lobby. Not pausing or giving myself time to second guess what I was about to do, I went straight to my office and collapsed into the chair behind my desk.

I powered on my computer and tapped my desk in an agitated rhythm as it booted up. The instant it loaded, I pulled up my email and typed out a quick message to Nate. It was too late to give him a call tonight, and I needed to get the ball rolling so I could remove myself from the situation.

Subject: CJ Bradley

Hey, Nate. Good news. CJ wants to meet up. When you get a chance, give me a call.

-Roman

I reread the email and quickly hit send before I could change my mind. The swish told me the email had been sent, and I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my eyes. There were so many unexpected issues I needed to sort out, questions about myself I never would have guessed I'd encounter. Now that no one was watching—

The almost instant ding from my inbox jolted me, and I opened my eyes, spotting a reply from Nate. I frowned. That had been faster than I'd anticipated, and I hadn't had time to process the whole situation yet.

Curious and dreading the response, I clicked the email.

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