Page 82 of Neighbors With Benefits

“Obviously,” she replied, “you’re going to have a threesome with Aiden and Bash.”

“Obviously? Why is that obvious?”

She looked at me like I was insane. “Because that’s thedream, Jazz! It’s the dream!”

“Really?Thedream? Like, the dream Martin Luther King Jr. talked about in his speech?”

“Stop being dramatic. You know what I mean. I’d kill to be in your position right now. If you’re not interested, tell them I’ll take your place.Enthusiastically.”

“What happened to focusing on female partners?”

“I’ve had four bad dates in the last month,” she replied. “I’m ready to switch back to dicks.Plural. Do you know how hard it is to initiate a threesome with two guys? It’s almost impossible. Men don’t even like sharing their Legos, let alone women.” She leaned back in her chair and shook her head. “Oh, they’llsaythey’re into it, but as soon as the clothes come off and dicks are out, they get all weird about it.”

She spread her arms wide. “But you don’t have that problem, Jazz! You have two guys ready and willing to double-team you, and they liveright next door to you!”

There was a knock at the door, and Brandi walked in with our lunches. She gave me a sad look, patted my shoulder, and then closed the door behind her.

“What was that about?” Cat asked.

“She thinks my grandma is sick. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Aiden and Bash hid all of this from me. And to maintain the secret, they lied to me.

“Of course they did!” Cat said, digging into the salad. “Would you have been open to it if they led with that from the start? Welcome to the neighborhood, Jazz! Here’s a pie. Oh, by the way: we want to gangbang you.”

“You may have a point.”

“Of course I do. I’m brilliant beyond my twenty-one years.”

“You’re thirty-one.”

“Sometimes we lie, Jazz,” she replied. “Aiden messed up and texted you something that was meant for a different woman. The only way he could get out of that pickle and maintain his dignity was to lie about it.”

“But then hekeptlying about it,” I insisted. “We became friends, then started having sex. And he still kept it from me.”

Cat swallowed a mouthful and then gestured with her fork. “At what point was he supposed to reveal his big fuck-up? When would you have received that information andnotfreaked out about it?”

“I don’t know. Once I was involved with Bash?”

She nodded emphatically. “Exactly! That’s when the information became the most relevant. And he said he was going to admit it all to you at dinner, but it blew up right before that. Do you believe him?”

That was one question I had considered the most over the past twelve hours. “I think I do. I think he was going to come clean about everything at dinner last night. Bash alluded to it, and Aiden was acting like he had something big to tell me.”

“Boom,” Cat said, raising her fork out at arm’s length and then dropping it on the table.

“What was that?”

“I didn’t have a microphone to drop, so I did my best with the options available.” She picked up the fork and resumed eating. “You seem more relaxed. I untied your mental knot. I can tell. I’m the best friend in the world!”

“And modest, too,” I teased.

Cat rolled her eyes.

“So what do I do now?” I asked. “Tell them I’m interested in the two of them?”

“You’re not interested in the third guy?” Cat asked. “Is he hot?”

“He’s… not unattractive,” I admitted. “But he’s not my type. He rides a motorcycle, and he’s kind of an asshole.”

Cat stared at me while she chewed and swallowed.

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