Page 113 of In Plain Sight

Ivy and I might not have been spouses in the strictest sense, but even when things were at their worst between us, we still supported each other. We still made the conscious choice to talk things out and be there for each other, even when we were confused and hurt and trying to figure out who we were as individuals.

I’d missed that since our divorce. We were still best friends, but the emotional intimacy we shared for years was gone. She found it again with Mark, and now I had it with Luka.

That terrified me as much as it excited me.

Luka was quickly becoming my closest friend, and the more time I spent with him, the harder it was to deny that there was something real between us. Something that went beyond sexual compatibility and simply getting along.

I was falling for him, and I was going to be devastated if he decided this wasn’t worth it.

That I wasn’t worth it.

“Fuck me sideways,” Luka groaned from his workstation, staring at his phone like it had just assigned him math homework.

I nearly choked on the sip of water I’d just taken as memories of that afternoon invaded my senses. I’d fucked him on his side when he came over before work today. He’d been in his head about some stuff, so I blindfolded him and tied his wrist to my bed frame to help him relax.

It wasn’t the first time we’d played with restraints or blindfolds, but it was the first time we used them together, and we both came so hard it had taken us a good twenty minutes of recovery time before we were able to roll our asses out of my bed and get ready for our shift.

“That probably wasn’t the best choice of words.” Luka shot me a wicked grin. “Even if it was a fun time.”

“Brat.” I covertly adjusted myself. We were alone in the back of the shop, but I really didn’t need to be popping wood right then.

He winked, but I could tell something was off.

“Is everything okay?”

He sighed. “Yeah. Dean texted. Him and Elle got back together, and he invited me to go with them to a club.”

“Do you want to go?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

Luka hadn’t spent much time with his friends lately, and even though he pretended it was what he wanted, I could tell it bothered him. I wasn’t sure if he was avoiding them because of the disconnect he’d been feeling or if it was because of whatever was going on between us.

Lying to people wasn’t easy, even if it was a lie of omission. It dragged you down, and it made it hard to engage with people you cared about without feeling like an asshole. Plus, there was always the fear that they’d somehow figure it out and you’d have to either tell them the truth or keep lying to them.

He'd also told me about how he wasn’t sure if his friends would be okay with his sexuality, and I knew that was weighing on him.

“No.” He raked a hand through his hair distractedly.

“Are you sure?” I asked, an ugly feeling curling in my gut.

It wasn’t jealousy, not really. I just didn’t like that Dean’s invitation was cutting into some of the only time we got to have together.

Our time before work today had been an anomaly. We usually didn’t see each other outside of work during the week, and we only spent an hour or so together on Friday nights and a few hours together on Saturday nights after we got off. Sundays were better, but between our family obligations and just dealing with life, we had limited time then too.

“Yeah.” He typed something out on his phone. “A club is the last place I want to be tonight.”

Bzzzz bzzzz bzzzz.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked my notifications. “Awesome,” I muttered, unlocking my phone.

“Your mom?” he asked as he tucked his phone away.

“Yeah.” I opened our text thread.

Mom: Agatha told me that Emmaline broke up with Christopher, and she’s been asking about you. You should call her. Do you need her number?

Zander: I have it, but I won’t be calling her

Zander: Emmaline is a nice girl, and she’ll make someone very happy, but that person isn’t me

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