Page 87 of Adorkable

“Who’d you hear that from, I wonder?” Ash looked pleased. “Tell me, was he crying when he told you? Did he get down on one knee right there, sweep you into his arms, and ask you to forgive him for being such a loser?”

“Hey,” I said, “no calling Becks a loser. We talked about this.”

“Alright, alright,” he said. “I’m working on it.”

“He’s my best friend, Ash. And if we’re going to be friends, you need to work harder.”

“I said okay.” Ash crossed his arms. “So I assume this means you’re still in love with—”

“Shhh!” I hissed, clapping a hand over his mouth. “He might hear you.”

Ash stared at me balefully until I removed my hand. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he mumbled.

A second later Becks was there at my side, drawing me into my second sticky hug of the day. Despite the sweat, I closed my eyes, couldn’t bring myself to pull away, sinking into him like home. It’d been a while since Becks touched me.

“Hey, Sal,” Becks murmured, tightening his hold.

“Becks,” I sighed. He really did give the best hugs.

Who knows how long I might’ve stayed there (probably forever) if Ash hadn’t chosen that moment to grunt, a loud and piercing sound that cut through my Becks haze.

Shaking myself out of his embrace, I tried to stop the blush from stealing up my cheeks. From Becks’s smile and Ash’s faint look of disapproval, I could tell I was unsuccessful.

“Mount Tabor doesn’t stand a chance,” I said to fill the awkward silence. “You guys look really great out there.”

“Why thank you, Spitz.” Ash smiled. “You’re looking good yourself.”

“I-I didn’t—”

“No need to stutter.” Looking down at himself, he flexed which brought even more heat to my face. “Many a woman has admired my physique.”

Becks snorted, crossing his arms, his own muscles contracting with the movement.

The cheerleaders threw catcalls our way; a couple nearly swooned and I couldn’t even blame them. I was about to pass out myself. I kept switching from Becks to Ash, Ash to Becks, chest to chest, but no matter where I looked there was more skin. With that much excellent male flesh on display, what’s a girl to do?

Ash was smirking at me, and Becks didn’t seem too thrilled about it.

Looking between us, one eyebrow cocked, Becks said, “You two are pretty close then, huh?”

He’d addressed the question to me, so I answered, “Yeah, we’re getting there.”

“Very close,” Ash agreed, coming up beside me, placing a hand on my back. He dropped a quick kiss to my hair, and Becks winced.

“How’s that going?” was Becks’s next question.

“Great.” I gulped. No need to tell him Ash was turning out to be more of a friend than a boyfriend. There was absolutely no need to tell Becks there was no spark. Not like I’d felt with him.

“Great,” he repeated, staring me down. “It’s strange don’t you think? How quick you two came together.”

“Sometimes you just know,” Ash said.

Becks grunted.

I was still having hallucinations from all the nakedness, so I was glad Ash was on top of things.

“Spitz has everything I’m looking for,” Ash went on. “She’s way too smart for me, but I love her quirky sense of humor. It doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful.”

Stupidly, I felt flattered. Sure, it was a bunch of crap, but crap or not, Ash was good at flattery.

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