Page 61 of Manny

MANNY

I stareat the asswipe across from me, unable to tear my gaze away. Does he have to be so damn gorgeous while he’s being an ass? His denial and his anger are more than telling. He’s the guy. He’s the one who wanted a threesome, who wants to experiment, and now he’s trying to back out of it.

“The fact is, Lace wants us both, and if we don’t come to some kind of compromise, then one of us will have to walk away,” I say.

“I bet that won’t be you,” Bandit grumbles. “Now that you have her under your roof.”

“Are you telling me that you don’t find Bandit attractive?” Lace fires at me. I open my mouth, but no words come out. “Be honest.”

“I already told you what I thought about sleeping with him, and I’d go one better; I’d rather hack my dick off.” I shoot him a satisfied smirk.

“Drama queen,” Bandit has the nerve to throw at me. “I’ve seen you lookin’.”

I snort. “Right? And you didn’t check me out in that tank the other day in the kitchen.”

I saw in the window's reflection. He looked. He fucking looked.

“In your dreams.”

“Just admit it, you find me attractive,” I sing-song. “Then we can all go home and be happy little humans. That is right, isn’t it, Lace? You were seeing some mystery man who wanted to play with you and another man. Am I getting this wrong somewhere?” Screw him. He can sit there and suffer after the things he said to Lace tonight.

“I, uh,” she starts. “Um, yeah, but I mean, we had been drinking…”

I wag a finger at her. “Don’t try and stick up for him.” I swing my head Bandit’s way, aware he could very well leap over the table and pound me into next week if I keep pushing. But he brought this on himself. And if he isn’t attracted to me, why was he checking me out? “He needs to admit that he’s curious, that he wasn’t just drunk that night.”

“Will that make you feel better,Princess?”Bandit smirks.

“Oh, very.”

“You’ve got some balls thinkin’ I’d be attracted to you,” his voice lowers. “Your hair has its own zip code.”

“Glad you’ve noticed.”

“Not like I could miss it. What do you use, anyway? Hairspray?”

“Textured spray first, it’s all about teasing it into place.” I give him a chin lift. “Why? Thinking about growing yours out?” His hair is short and clipped close to his head. It suits him. Then again, with his face, he’d probably suit any kind of hairstyle.

Lace palms her forehead. “This feels more like foreplay than a conversation,” she mutters.

Bandit’s head jerks in her direction, as if just remembering he’s supposed to hate me. “The point is, I’m not attracted tohim.” He turns back to me, shrugging. “Sorry to burst your bubble, dude.”

I’m a cocky son of a bitch, though, and I know what I saw. I tsk. “Denial is a terrible thing,Jonah.It eats you up inside. It festers, and then when you’re all empty inside, you’ll wonder why you couldn’t just be honest with yourself and take what you want.”

He leans across the table, his jaw set. “Ididtake what I wanted, several times, and if it weren’t for your dumb fuck rules, I would’ve taken her on your kitchen countertop, too.”

I want to push his fucking buttons, just like he’s pushing mine. “With me watching?”

His eyes narrow. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

“Bandit, calm the fuck down,” Lace interjects. “We all know now that the two of you know about one another, and Manny is clearly aware you’ve never been with another man before.”

“Because I like pussy,” he bleats.

“Deny, deny,” I mutter, sitting back in the booth.

“I said I’d agree to watch, and given that I want Lace too, that’s pretty fuckin’ generous,” he barks. “But I’m not so sure I wanna watchyouand my girl together. Unless, of course, she knows how to shut that mouth of yours up.”

It’s my turn to narrow my eyes. “Very funny, I’ll have you know she’s a very big fan of my mouth.”

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