Page 64 of The Friend Zone

I keep kissing her for all I’m worth, savoring every precious, stolen moment. Our bodies are pressed together so closely that there’s no space between us. I fear the moment when I’ll have to step away, when I’ll have to learn to breathe again without her.

Bay however seems as lost in our kiss just as much as I am. She nips at my bottom lip every time I retreat, egging me on to keep kissing her.

I want nothing more and for a second I almost believe that we can keep doing this all night long, maybe even forever.

Just the thought is pure madness, I should know. But I’m to drunk on her to think rationally right now.

Reality though has a way of showing us that some dreams are destined to remain so.

In this particular case, reality takes the form of Topher.

Our kiss ends, but neither me nor Bay breaks it.

One second I’m lost in the hot sweetness of her mouth, with her soft body smashed against mine, but in the blink of an eye, she’s literally ripped away from me.

I open my eyes, blinking a few times in rapid succession to put the room into focus.

“What the—” there’s no need to ask the question on the tip of my tongue, because my eyes meet Topher’s furious gaze.

“That’s enough,” he seethes. “You had to kiss, not dry hump each other. Keep your dirty paws off my girl, Marshall.”

He grabbed Bay’s elbow and I’m about to sink my fist into his face like I’ve wanted to do for years, but Bay reacts faster than I can.

“Don’t you dare touch me, Topher!” she snaps, shoving him away from her. “I’m not your girl.”

The Gamma president doesn’t look deterred by his ex-girlfriend’s disgusted tone. “The fuck you aren’t. Look, I get it. I made a mistake. Message received. I’ve given you the chance to get your revenge, or to prove whatever point it is that you’re trying to make by hooking up with my teammates. But it’s over now. It’s time to work on repairing our relationship, Bay. You and I are the real deal and you know it.”

Bay’s gaze hardens. I can count the times I’ve seen that look on her face and I’m glad I’m not on the receiving end of that death stare.

“There is no relationship. Even if I wanted to forgive all the shitty things you’ve done to a lot of the people I love, I have too much self-respect to take you back. You made sure our relationship was beyond repair when you fucked Bianca in my bed andcameinside her after I caught you. That was worth more than a million words, Topher. That’s all I see every time I look at you. Besides, we both know your family doesn’t deem me worthy of your name. So cut your losses and don’t fight a battle you can’t win.”

If I loved Bay before, the way she put that motherfucker in his place makes me fall for her even more.

If that was me, I’d just walk away with my tail between my legs. But Topher doesn’t give up.

“Let me worry about my parents. Trust me Bay, they’ll come around. You’re the woman I love, my soulmate. Please don’tmake me beg, I know you love me too. Remember what we said last year on our anniversary? You and I are forever.”

As Topher inches closer to her, she crosses her arms over her chest, as if to put one extra barrier between herself and her ex. “We seem to be speaking two different languages, Toph. Let me be clear with you. No. I don’t want to be with you. I don’t love you. In case you hadn’t noticed, I have a boyfriend. I’m with Ryker.”

That hurts but at the same time, it makes me happy. If I can’t have Bay, I’d rather know she’s with someone who will respect her and treat her right. And that was never Topher.

Of course the douche doesn’t know when to quit. He insists. “Ryker? You’ve known him for five minutes. Sure he comes from money, but you and I have so much history, Bay. Ryker can’t give you what I can.”

My best friend laughs. “Oh you couldn’t be more wrong,babe.” Her eyes shine like two cold stars and I know that whatever she’s about to say is going to hit Topher where it hurts the most.

“Ryker can give me the one thing you never could.”

Narcissists have one thing in common. They think they’re the best, they have such a high opinion of themselves that they can’t even fathom that other people might ever find them lacking.

“I doubt it,” Topher sneers. “But I’ll humor you. What can Ryker give you that I haven’t?”

Bay’s lips twist in a victorious smile. “Orgasms. He can make me come over and over and over.”

As predictable, Topher doesn’t accept what his ex is telling him. “You’re just saying this to hurt me now. Fine, I deserve it. But lying doesn’t become you, sexy girl. We both know I gave you tons of orgasms in the three years we’ve been together.”

“Ha,” Bay laughs. “I’m sorry, Toph, but I was faking it. Every single time you and I had sex. I would fake an orgasm once I thought enough time had passed for it to be believable.”

Fury flickers in Topher’s eyes. “I don’t believe you,” he bites out.

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