Page 58 of Illicit Illustration

“But I wasn’t talking to another guy who was part of the experiment, I was talking to Reid, who didn’t even participate.”

Something flickered across her expression, but it was gone before I could interpret it. “Whatever. Same thing. Seven knew you didn’t have any obligations to him, and he doesn’t get to have an opinion on you talking to another guy—regardless of if he was involved in the experiment. Speaking of…has anyone else been texting you?”

“Like I could handle anyone else with Seven and Reid taking up all the available real estate in my brain.” Although now that I was thinking about it. Christian, the baseball player who I’d been talking to after the Halloween party, had been sending me texts this week. I hadn’t really thought anything about it because I’d been so distracted by other things, but…

“What’s that look about?” she asked, amusement clear in her expression.

“Well, there has been someone else texting me, but I kind of blew him off.”

“As long as you didn’t blow him like you—”

“Shut it!” I interrupted her before she said it, because even though it was through his boxer briefs, Ihadgiven Reid a very unconventional blow job. Figures that I couldn’t even give my first blow job like a normal person.

She mimed zipping her lips and reached down to snag one pillow off the floor, hugging it to her chest, but thankfully it wasn’t the same kind that I’d used the night before last. Because she would definitely want to know why I was prying a pillow out of her arms and throwing it out the window.

When I didn’t start talking right away, she made a rolling motion with her hand and gave me an impatient look. “Do tell. I shouldn’t have to pry it out of you.”

“You know that baseball player who I was talking to in the fall who things kind of fizzled out with? He started texting me, too.”

Charley laughed, but I still didn’t see why that was so funny.

“What? What is so amusing about this situation? I’d rather go back to being invisible. You know I don’t like this kind of attention.”

“Hate to break it to you, Haz, but you’ve never been invisible. Oblivious maybe, but definitely not invisible.”

“Whatever. How do I make it stop? I don’t like feeling like this.”

Her expression sobered, and she nodded, seeing that the last few weeks had essentially ripped me out of my little bubble of solitude. “What do you want? Do you want all of them to leave you alone?”

Thinking about how each of them made me feel, I wasn’t sure that was what I wanted either. “No, not exactly.”

“Then you just let things unfold naturally. If Seven wants to pursue something with you, he’ll step up his game. No amount of freaking out is going to help the situation until you have an actual conversation with him face to face.”

I nodded, absorbing her words before she spoke again.

“And Christian?”

“I don’t know. He’s cute, and he was nice to talk to. He’d definitely be the safer choice if he really was interested and not just being friendly.”

“Doesn’t exactly sound like animal attraction going on there.”

“Well, animal attraction has only managed to complicate things more than I’m prepared to deal with, so…”

“So, you’re not planning to ride off into the sunset with Reid?” she asked, making me think of what it’d felt like to be on the back of his bike.

Being with him like that had felt right. Like I fit there. But it wasn’t the attraction part I was struggling with regarding Reid. It was the feelings part. Like I was developing actual feelings for him, and he was only showing how much he wanted the benefits portion of our rekindled friendship.

“I don’t think it really matters. It’d never work out, anyway. I’m me, and he’s Reid, it’s not like we’re even in the same league.”

Charley frowned, throwing the pillow in her hands at my face. I batted it away, but she was still giving me a look like I’d offended her.

“That’s bullshit. If anything, he’s not in your league if he doesn’t realize how fucking amazing you are. And if he really wants more, he needs to man the fuck up because he’s doing a shitty job of showing you how he feels about you.”

“Pretty sure his feelings are clear. He wants to add a benefits package to our friendship.”

She shook her head, not convinced. “I wouldn’t go jumping to any conclusions just yet. See how things work out with Seven onceyou see him in person and then go from there. Sometimes people can surprise you with how they really feel.”

“That’s pretty much what Reid told me before I left his place.”

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