Page 53 of I'm Not in Love (I Promise)

A thump and groan from the living room has me springing up and out the door. Leon has Damon’s head sandwiched between his thighs while Damon swings his arms, attempting to land a gut punch. Motionless in White is playing from someone’s phone, loud enough that it’s distracting.

“Tap out already,” Leon groans, adjusting his position. “You know I won, just say it.”

“And let you lord it over my head? Fuck no.” Damon squirms, bucking his legs.

With my hands on my hips, I stand there observing like I’m at a zoo enclosure. “What’s going on out here?” I finally ask.

Jasper strolls in from his bedroom in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. Maybe it’s wrong, but I can’t help but ogle him for a few seconds. Damn, he’s buff. Like jumped off the pages of a magazine buff. Those abs, that Adonis belt… I need to look away.

“Blake, you wanna judge?” he asks, stretching his arms out in front of him.

“Oh, I’m already judging… You didn’t have to ask.” Leon loosens his grip and Damon mounts him, landing a punch to his face. “What the?—”

“Nice hit,” Jasper says through a burst of laughter. Then he turns to me, “It’s fight club night. Someone’s gotta keep score.”

Is he serious?

“I’m not going to sit here and watch you guys beat the shit out of each other.” But as the words leave my lips, Leon calls time. They break apart, panting heavily, strip off their shirts and grab sips of beer. They’re sweaty and tattooed and there’s abs… So many abs.

Okay, maybe I can watch for a few minutes.

“Right now they’re in a time-out but anything goes. Except biting… Leon has a hard limit against that. Oh, and we can only use knives that are less than three inches long. Keeps us from hitting anything important.”

They’re all crazy. Every one of them.

“Wait? You’re not going to fight, are you? Your shoulder isn’t fully healed,” I ask Jasper, glancing behind him at the other two, who’ve started grappling again.

“Of course I am. I always fight the winner.” He leans in and whispers, “Because I’m the undisputed champion of fight night. Except for this one time… Actually, I’ll save that story.” He ruffles my hair and chugs his beer, swiping his hand over his wet lips. “Come on D, finish him,” he yells.

Leon groans. “Hey, fucker, why are you rooting for him?”

“Gotta keep things interesting,” he answers, shrugging. “Plus, I want to kick his ass in front of his girlfriend.”

I open a window to air out the pungent scent of sweat that’s now filled the apartment and suck a deep breath in.

“Jesus fuck,” Damon yells as Leon gets a hit in.

Jasper’s laughing like a hyena, Leon’s making suggestive groaning noises, and Damon’s cursing while dabbing at his busted lip.

Do I let this continue? On one hand it is mildly entertaining. But on the other these man children will most definitely injure themselves. And I don’t have time to stitch them up. I have assignments to finish.

Seems like I should intervene.

Damon’s straddling Leon, choking him out with Jasper to their side, yelling, “Tap out! I need in.”

Bending over, I whisper in Damon’s ear. “I need you inside me.” Then I brush a kiss along his lobe and walk slowly toward his bedroom, looking over my shoulder when I reach the door.

He jumps off Leon and pats Jasper on the shoulder. “He’s all yours, brother. My girl needs me.”

“Fuck yeah,” Jasper yells while Leon starfishes, groaning. “But who’s gonna keep score?”

“Couldn’t care less. I have better things to do.” Damon comes up behind me and wraps me in his arms. He bends to whisper in my ear. “I’m going to rinse off. Get on that bed on your hands and knees. I’m hungry for dessert.”

He swats my ass, leaving me standing at the doorway, breathing like I just conquered a flight of stairs.

“If Blake needs some warming up, I volunteer,” Jasper yells to Damon’s retreating frame. He flashes me a salacious grin and adds, “Just say the word, and I’m in.”

I let loose an awkward laugh. “Damon would cut your penis off.”

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