Page 18 of Choosing Me

The woman quirks her brow at me, tapping her fingers on the desk. She looks completely unamused by me, but I don’t really care. I can’t seem to focus on anything other than how wrong it is to see someone else behind that desk. I ignore the fire burning in my chest that’s whispering that that’sWilson’sdesk. I must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed or something.

“He called in sick.”

The smile drops off my face. “Is he okay?”

“I’m sure he’s fine. He’ll be out for this week because he had to get his wisdom teeth out. Apparently it was giving him lots of issues.”

I run my hand over my face, processing this news. I knew his tooth was giving him problems but I didn’t realize it was so bad he’d have to go in and get it removed. Fuck. I’m usually Mr. Go-With-The-Flow but right now my stomach sinks with worry. I feel completely out of my element right now.

“Thanks for letting me know,” I say before heading further into the building.

My mind and my body work on auto-pilot, taking me to the locker room and getting myself changed. Wilson’s coffee sits by the sink, slowly melting. The bigger the puddle of condensation becomes, the more it feels like the coffee itself is taunting me. A small voice in my head keeps wondering why the fuck I’m so worried but the bigger part of my brain reminds me that Wilson’s myfriend, I’m allowed to worry about him.

Today’s scene flies by without me even truly taking it in, without truly registering what’s going on. It’s a fun scene where Harrison and I flip fuck. There’s no lines to remember or script, it’s just the two of us fucking each other. It’s easy and something I’ve done enough times that it’s basically second nature.

And yet my mind keeps drifting off to Wilson. Is he okay? Does he need anything? Does he needme?

Once the floodgates are open it’s hard to shut down. First I’m worrying about Wilson and then I’m gripping Harrison’s hips, wishing it was Wilson’s dark skin under my hands instead of Harrison’s. When we kiss, I close my eyes and just barely keep my nose from wrinkling because it’s not quiteright. Harrison’s voice isn’t as deep as Wilson’s. Fuck, I need to get my head in the game and stop thinking about my fuck buddy and get on withmy job.

Afterwards, when everything is filmed and done, Harrison corners me in the locker room. Not a good sign.

And to think, I thought today was going to be a good day. I guess everyone is wrong every once in a while. Even me.

“What’s going on?”

I shake my head and give Harrison a little shrug. “No idea what you could mean.”

“You were so stuck in your head today I felt like I was fucking a stranger instead of my friend.” Harrison pauses, his nose scrunching up as he replays his own words in his head. “Okay, that sounded kinda weird but you know what I mean.”

“Nope,” I say, popping the p, “I’m just as clueless as you.”

“Just spill the beans. Or I’ll tell Derek to skip your massage.”

I gasp, clutching my chest. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me,” he says, raising his brow.

I let out a long breath, hiding my smirk. “Sucks to suck because I was planning on skipping my massage anyway!” I pull my shirt over my head quickly. Then I turn my back to Harrison, grabbing my hair tie out of my locker and quickly putting my hair into a bun on the top of my head. It’s wet and messy but I don’t care. The sooner I can swing by the store and grab supplies, the sooner I can head over to Wilson’s house. It’s what any friend would do.

“Wait a minute,” Harrison says, putting his hand on my shoulder and stopping me. “No way. You’re going over to Mr. Wilson’s house, aren’t you?”

I freeze like a deer caught in headlights. “What?” I squeak out, cursing my voice for pitching up so high.

Harrison’s eyes narrow. “You totally are!”

“You can’t prove it!” I say dramatically, darting towards the door. Harrison is faster, jumping between me and my exit.

“What the fuck is going on? Why are you acting so fucking weird?”

“I’m not even acting weird, Harrison! I’m just trying to get home. I have to uh, you know,” I snap my fingers, trying to think. “Study!”

Harrison puts his hand on my chest, stopping me. “Spill. The. Beans.”

We stare at each other for a long moment, the air around us going stilted before finally I break. “I hate you,” I say and Harrison’s lips perk up into a smirk, knowing he’s won. “I’m just gonna head over to Wilson’s and make sure he’s okay. Apparently he had his wisdom teeth taken out.”

“Ah,” Harrison says, his voice going soft. I instantly hate it. “That explains a lot.”

“It explains nothing.”

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