Page 10 of Just Between Us

I nodded.

“Yeah, I can’t say I’m best pleased either. But it’s her life. Not my mistake to make.”

“How can you be so accepting of it, though? The guy is a douche. He’s always been one, and now he’s even more of a twathead.”

Rich snorted and handed me an open bottle of beer. “You sound more like her parent than I do. But what can I do, love? She’s an adult, and he’s not being an actual bellend to her right now. The second he is, that’s different, but let’s face it, we all know what we want, don’t we?”

He meant it as an innocent question; I couldn’t help but stare at him as he took a swig from his beer bottle. I did know what I wanted, and I was looking right at it.

“Yes, we do.” I swallowed hard and summoned up some courage. “Look, this you and me thing. There are three areas I’m worried about. One, you and I get together and Annie hates us for it. I don’t want that. Two, you and I get together, and then break up, and neither of us wants to see each other again. Obviously, that’s going to make my relationship with Annie difficult. I don’t want to lose her as a friend. Three, we do nothing and being Annie’s friend is really fucking hard because Imight have to watch you getting involved with someone else, and I’m not sure I can handle that.”

Rich’s eyes widened and I looked away, taking a long drink of ice-cold beer.

“Straight in there, huh?” He smiled at me. “Okay, let’s go through them one by one. Number one, I think Annie is mature enough to handle the fact that we want to be in a relationship. Sure, she might have issues to begin with. There are things that have crossed my mind that she might say about it. But ultimately, I think it’ll be okay.”

I nodded, and he continued.

“As for number two. After everything that happened with Annie’s mum, I can hardly say we’ll get together and then everything will be peachy forever because nothing in this life is a guarantee. However, we can try our best to make any breakup that might happen as easy on everyone involved as it can be. Sure, there will probably be a time after when neither of us wants to see each other, but we can try to make it as amicable as possible. We can promise to make sure we’re open and honest with each other. That way we don’t end up in a situation where one of us being surprised at what’s happening.”

He took another d gulp of his beer.

“As for number three, that’s irrelevant. Something already has started, so it’s too late for not doing anything.”

The look of lust and determination on his face as he said his last comment gave me goosebumps. The desire, the need on the man’s face was unmistakeable, and it was setting me on fire. Goosebumps rose over my skin, my heart beat faster, and I was practically salivating at the thought of being on the receiving end of that need.

“Okay. So, you think we should do this. That's what I’m hearing?” It should have been a statement, but I wanted to leave it as a question and gain ultimate clarification.

“I think we’re two consenting adults who are attracted to each other. As long as we are careful and respectful, why not?”

Fuck. Was this really going to happen now? I swallowed more beer and thought about what I wanted to do next.

“Okay,” I replied, my voice coming out in almost a squeak.Very unsexy. I nodded, embarrassed my nerves had sounded so clearly in my response.

Rich smirked and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Right, Deliveroo time. What do you fancy?” He glanced at me when he said the words. “I meant to eat.” His grin deepened.

“You choose. I trust you.”

Rich smiled and turned his attention to putting an order in on his phone.

CHAPTER TEN

RICH

I knewLucy wanted to be prepared and have answers to things, but the truth was neither of us knew for sure what was going on with us. Neither of us knew how Annie would handle it if I told her I wanted to try dating her best friend.

I had some idea of the comments she might come out with about it: my age and Lucy’s, that I’d known her since childhood. Wasn’t that a little creepy, and why did I have to pick her best friend. But I didn’t pick Lucy. It hadn’t been my intention.

Some of those things had been through my own mind. A few of them I had answers for, others I wasn’t so sure about.

Maybe it was a bit weird. But it wasn’t something I had thought about long-term. Nor had I encouraged her in any way. Hell, I hadn’t given a single thought about her until that night in the garden the day they came back from uni. In my mind, that helped take the creepy off it, and I could only hope Annie believed me.

I considered the fact that Lucy had thought about us breaking up before we’d had a chance to begin. Something in that really got to me. It scared me a little. There was a pang in my chest at the notion of not being around her. Was I already thinking of her that much? Was this already so full-on that afterone kiss that the idea of breaking up something that wasn’t even a relationship yet pulled on my heartstrings?

It worried me. None of us knew what was going to happen, sure. We knew what we hoped would, but if my divorce had taught me anything, it was that nothing in life came with a guarantee. We were all here to do our thing and hope for the best. When I added that this was the first relationship I had even considered since my ex-wife, things made more sense. It all made me a little nervous that I was thinking about it more seriously than I should have been so early on.

“Penny for them?” Lucy asked, sitting beside me on the sofa as she took a bite of the food I’d ordered from Wagamama.

Dismissing the thoughts, I shook my head. “Oh, just stuff and nonsense,” I replied with a smile.

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