Page 27 of Handy

“Did you?” I can’t believe I manage to sound so casual when I’m right on the verge of a very dramatic squeal. Griff saw Jericho at my place? That has to mean he was looking, right? Oh my god, what if he’s been peeping at me just like I’ve been peeping at him?Breathe, Ledgie, stay calm.

“Mm,” he grunts. “You two were drunk, I think. Giggling really loud.” He’s still all frowny. I run my fingers up his spine and settle my hand on the back of his neck. Griff makes a quiet sound and presses into my hand. “It was late, so I figured he was staying the night.”

“He did.” I pick up the drink Sawyer sets in front of me and give him a nod of thanks. “On the couch.” I keep my tone breezy, so he won’t realize I’ve picked up on his adorable little nugget of jealousy.

Griff makes another noise in his throat and his shoulders relax. I twirl my finger in a little tuft of the hair on the back of his head and glance over at the group of his coworkers again. One of them looks over with a concerned furrow in his brow that turns into a startled smile when he sees that Griff isn’t alone.

“So, if it wasn’t your drink making you so grouchy, what’s the scowl about?” I ask.

“Nah, nothing.” He shakes his head.

“Okay.” I take one more sip of my drink and then drop my arm from the back of Griff’s chair. He makes a strangled sound that he tries to cover with a cough, but he’s not fooling me. Big bear wants me to keep petting him, but if he wants that, he’s going to have to put up with some forced socialization first. “Come on.”

I nudge him and the furrow in his forehead deepens.

“Where are we going?”

“You’re going to introduce me to your coworkers, and then I’m going to pool shark the hell out of them. It’ll be fun.”

Griff sputters a laugh, hesitating for only a second before he slides off his stool and follows me across the bar.

Chapter 11

GRIFF

Unsurprisingly, Ledger has noproblem sliding seamlessly into the group dynamics like he’s known these guys for ages instead of five minutes. I’ll never understand how some people can do it so easily, just walk right in and light up a room without even trying. Riley was always the same way. I never did figure out how I tricked him into sparing so much of that wattage for me, but damn if it didn’t feel good to bask in the glow.

His friend doesn’t seem to be having any trouble either, sitting at a table, chatting and drinking with Ren and Daniel.

“So, how do you know Griff?” West grins, glancing between Ledger and me while he chalks his pool cue.

I bite back a groan and tighten my grip on my own cue. I already know that the next time I go into the office one of those blank faces on the secret admirer suspects board is going to be replaced with a picture of Ledger. My gut tightens and I huff against the queasy, protective feeling and the urge to step in front of Ledger, as if blocking him from everyone’s view will keep them from making all kinds of wild assumptions.

Ledger just smiles right back though, all pearly white teeth and crinkled eyes.

“We’re neighbors. He basically saved my life when my pipes exploded and tried to drown me.” He leans over to line up his shot, and my eyes are immediately drawn to the lines of his shoulders and the curve of his ass in that position.

If I’m being honest, I haven’t missed sex as much as I thought I would. At first, I was too depressed and heartbroken to care, and over time, it was like my body just got used to the lack and I rarely thought about it. Until Ledger. I feel like he flipped a switch in me, like he reconnected the electricity in a long-abandoned building and suddenly everything is humming and alive again. I want to dig my fingers into his hips while he’s bent over like that and feel his tight ass clenching around my cock as he moans my name.

“It was nothing.” I huff again, shaking off the fantasy with an edge of amusement, hoping no one notices the stiffening bulge in my jeans. My lips twitch with a grin and I shake my head at Ledger’s dramatic description of the event.

“Wow, that’s pretty impressive,” Stone chimes in, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face too. I cast a helpless glance at his husband, leaning against one of the unused pool tables, wondering if there’s any chance he’ll rein his man in before he starts being all… Stone. But Dare is almost as good as I am at being the strong, silent type, just shaking his head and letting his husband carry on. “A heroic thing like that must inspire gratitude… maybe flowers?”

Subtle.

Ledger takes his shot, sending three balls ricocheting into different pockets. Stone curses and West frowns, and I bite back a genuine smile this time. This is our second game. During the first one Ledger held his cue the wrong way around twice and cheered enthusiastically when he sank the eight ball with allthe rest of our balls still on the table. West casually suggested double or nothing this round and, miraculously, his skills have improved a hell of a lot.

He straightens up and licks his teeth. “I’ve found a way to show Griff my appreciation.”

Is it hot in here, or is it just me?

I tug at the collar of my t-shirt and Stone arches an eyebrow at me as before he takes his turn. They’ve got it all wrong, but I’m not about to stand here at the bar and rattle off all the reasons I’m sure Ledger isn’t my secret admirer. It would sound too pathetically self-deprecating to point out that he’s young and hot and incredibly magnetic. He’s not sitting at home staring at my grumpy, middle-aged ass through the window, pining for me.

I rumble a laugh at the thought and Ledger looks over at me, cocking his head. I shake my head to brush off the unasked question. I don’t know if that silly rule of his applies to situations outside of sex, but I’m not going to risk potential future nakedness by pointing out the obvious—that he can do a hell of a lot better than me.

He shifts his weight to bring himself a few inches closer to me, not touching but close enough that I can feel the warmth of him, teasingly radiating through the space between us. My gut aches with a neediness that’s becoming all too familiar when he’s around, and my already half-hard cock gives an eager throb. I swallow down the rising urge to wrap my arms around him, plaster myself against him, generally rub up against him like a cat trying to scent its favorite person. Ledger’s attention is already back on the guys, laughing at a story Stone is telling about trying to get all of his goats to stop eating their Christmas sweaters long enough to take the photo for their holiday cards. As silly as it sounds, a prickle of irritation runs through me at having to share his attention like this, at having him close but with both his hands around his pool cue instead of on me.

I grind my teeth and grumble low in my throat, feeling like a petulant child. The sound is so quiet that I doubt anyone, including Ledger, can even hear it over the music and the din of the slowly filling bar, but he shifts a little more and brushes his arm against mine. The contact soothes me instantly, easing the tightness in my chest and turning the grumble into a contented, rumbling purr instead.

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