Page 111 of Neighbors With Benefits

Cat stared at me. “Seriously?”

I threw up my hands. “I know! I’ve been thinking about it since it happened. I don’t understand.”

“Maybe you scared him off with that weird face you make when you come.”

I gave a start. “You don’t know what my o-face looks like.”

“No,” she replied, “but I’ve seen the face you make when you take the first bite of red velvet cake. I’m assuming it’s the same.”

“You’re… not wrong,” I admitted.

Cat clapped her hands together. “I’m so happy for you, Jazz! You’ve accepted your inner slut! You’re sleeping with all three of your neighborsat the same time!Three men who can take care of your every need!”

“Except one of themdidn’ttake care of all of my needs,” I pointed out. “He abruptly stopped, and won’t tell me why.”

“He got you off, didn’t he?” she asked.

“But I wanted more than that!”

“Patience, dear,” she said. “You have to round third base before you can score. Maybe he’s just playing hard to get.”

“Dante doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who plays those games.”

“Well, you shouldn’t worry about it. It will resolve itself.”

“Will it, Cat? How do you know?”

She leaned back in her chair and sighed wistfully. “Three men. Sharing you. I’m so jealous right now, I kind of want to kill you, wear your skin, and take your place.”

Laughing, I said, “If anyone else said that to me, I’d block their number.”

“Which one would have the most attractive babies?” she asked. “Bash and Aiden would both give you sexy little children. But I haven’t seen Dante yet.”

“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” I quickly said. “Things are just casual between us.”

“Sure,” she said with a wink.

“I’m serious! We’re just friends… whose genitals sometimes connect.”

Cat laughed. “It may be casual now, but I don’t think you’re the kind of woman who can have a physical relationship without developing feelings.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I know that you’ve been missing Aiden and Bash,” she said pointedly.

“Of course I miss them. We have fun together. And I’m not just talking about the sex.”

She raised an eyebrow at me.

“It’s fine!” I insisted. “Casual is good. We all agreed to keep it that way.”

“Right. And people have never changed their minds about things before. Especially not matters of the heart. Don’t get me wrong, Jazzy—I’m thrilled that you’re having no-strings-attached sex. I’m proud of you! But I also don’t want you to get hurt.”

Before I could respond that I was fine, there came a knock on my door. Brandi stuck her head in. “Sorry to bother you, Ms. Barnes, but there’s someone here to see you.”

I glanced at the clock. “Ugh. The beer distributor wasn’t supposed to get here until one. He’s always early.”

Brandi cleared her throat. “It’s actually someone else. He says he’s your neighbor…?”

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