Page 43 of Neighbors With Benefits

I gawked at her. “You’ve gone on two dates with a woman without fucking her? How will you ever survive?”

She threw her hands up. “I DON’T KNOW!”

“I was joking.”

“I’m not,” she complained. “I don’t like to wait this long. What if I get emotionally attached and it turns out we have no chemistry in bed? Ugh, just take me out back and shoot me.”

“I think you’ll survive,” I reassured her.

“Speaking of bedroom chemistry, why did you invite me over on a Tuesday? Isn’t this when you have nerdy board game sex with your neighbor?”

“We play board games andthenhave sex. Two completely separate activities.”

Cat cleared her throat. “You told me about your Scrabble blowjob. That is nerdy board game sex.”

“Oh, yeah.” I let out a chuckle. “I guess you’re right. But that’s actually why I invited you over for dinner. To tell you that Aiden is out of town for the next two weeks.”

“Ouch,” Cat said. “You have to go to bed sexually frustrated like the rest of us.”

“I know!” I whined. “Two weeks isn’t very long, but I’ve gotten used to seeing him three times a week.”

“Seeing him? Or fucking him?”

“Yes,” I replied.

Both of us giggled.

“Is that what’s really bothering you?” Cat prodded. “You seem annoyed by the situation, and not just because you can’tbuy a vowelon his cock.”

I scowled at Cat. “Was that supposed to be word-game innuendo?”

“I tried. Clearly it didn’t work, so let’s just move on. What’s really bothering you?”

I stirred the remains of my Thai food. “I don’t know. He waited until yesterday to tell me. Less than a day’s notice. It felt so abrupt.”

“Maybe he didn’t know about the trip until the last minute?”

I shook my head. “He said he meant to tell me Sunday, and I have a feeling he knew about it long before that. It just feels like…”

“Like what?”

“I know this is just a fling,” I explained. “He and I both agreed it was casual. We’re on the same page there. But I still felt like he should have told me sooner.”

Cat narrowed her eyes at me. “The way a boyfriend would have?”

Sighing, I said, “Yes.”

“This is why you’ve never had a one-night stand before. You always catch feelings.”

“I’m not catching feelings!”

She started ticking off points on her fingers. “You see this guy three times a week. You aren’t just hooking up—you’re hanging out. Having dinner. Playing games together.”

“So what? We’re friends, too.”

“Those aredates, Jazzy. Dinner, games, and then sex.”

“Bash is there too!”

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