Page 116 of Neighbors With Benefits

“What about Aiden and Bash? Have you told them that we’ve hooked up?

“Not yet,” he said. “Why don’t we tell them together?”

“Before you fuck my brains out?” I asked. “Or after?”

His grin turned evil. “I was thinkingduring.”

44

Aiden

I usually loved my job.

But right now, Ihatedit.

My timing couldn’t have been worse. Starting a new relationship right before going out of town for several weeks? What was I thinking?

I wasn’t thinking. I was doing what felt right. And so far that had steered me in the right direction, despite my momentary frustration.

Fortunately, I wasn’t working late tonight. I was finally leaving our new acquisition at a reasonable hour, returning to my hotel room with a cheeseburger and fries from the lobby restaurant.

Jazz had promised we would have a phone date tonight. It was all I could think about. An hour ago she promised she would call me when she was free. I couldn’t wait.

There was also the message Dante had sent last night. I re-read the text thread while biting into a handful of fries.

Dante: Let’s pretend I was interested in our neighbor girl…

Bash: Uh oh. Our special boy has caught the Jazz Flu.

Aiden: YES. I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist forever. Have you guys hooked up? Or are you still just flirting?

Dante: This is why I don’t share things. You two make a big deal out of fucking everything. Forget I said anything.

Bash: Aww, come on. Tell us about your neighbor crush.

Aiden: Tell us! Tell us!

Dante: Fuck off. I’ll update you another time.

Bash: BOOOOOO

Aiden: Great. You scared him off. Now we’ll get six more weeks of not hearing from Dante.

Bash: He is extremely groundhog-like, isn’t he?

Aiden: Furry and moody? Very much so.

Dante: Fuck you guys.

Bash: Love you too, buddy!

Aiden: <3

Fucking with Dante was one of our favorite hobbies. It also helped lighten the mood a bit. He took things too seriously, so we tried to balance him out with jokes.

But I was extremely curious to know why he had texted us. I suspected he hadn’t done anything with her yet. More likely he was finally coming around to the idea of sharing her withme and Bash. That text was his way of letting us know he was considering it.

I wanted to ask Jazz about it, but there were two reasons not to. First of all, I didn’t want to jump the gun and scare her. If she was going to get involved with Dante too, it needed to happen naturally without any pressure from us.

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