Page 124 of Finance Bros

What’s stressful is that he runs so hot and cold. One minute all he wants to do is talk about the project—the next, he’s all over me, and I can’t tell what I did to get him there. If I had it my way, I’d glue him to me. Our conversations however, since Saturday night, haven’t been deep. Not that I’m knocking them, we’ve laughed a lot, but I don’t feel any closer to knowing what makes him tick—or more importantly—what it would take to get him to choose me over Seattle. Which means I have to assume what he told me that night still holds true.

This is just for the summer, and he doesn’t know how to trust me. And how the fuck do I overcome that? He doesn’t seem to have believed me when I told him I love him. Or he blew it off as a heat of the moment thing. He hasn’t said anything close. And I don’t count how many times he said he wanted me. I mean—I did count—it was four times—a mere fraction of the times I said it to him—but it’s not the same as the feeling of not being able to breathe for the fear of losing him all over again.

Isla is being very short with me today, so I don’t ask too many questions. She’s been harder on me since I turned into a vapor trail that night at happy hour. I get it. I led her on, and didn’t put out. It was a shameful lapse of judgement, both because of Kaylin and because I think I embarrassed Isla, which she didn’t deserve.

If she were interested in actually getting to know me, maybe she’d understand, but I get the feeling my mentor is just as big of a mess about what she wants as I am.

I get a return text from Ryan around 9:30 which says he wants to have lunch with me and Bailey and asks if I mind if Miguel joins.

I respond with a totally chill,What the fuck is going on?

He responds with,Meet us at Big Bites.

Us?Us?He and Miguel are anus?

There goes what was left of my focus.

At eleven, I get up to grab a coffee. When I pass the unisex bathroom on my way back to the workroom, I hear grunting on the other side of the door. A man’s grunt. Asexgrunt.

I nearly have a heart attack until I find Ryan seated on the couch with Charlie, right where I left him. Isla’s missing, though.

I sit down, sip my coffee, and scan the room to see who else isn’t here.

No Piper and no Lisette, but their mentors aren’t out here either. Nathan is missing, but his mentor is at the communal worktable on a call. There are a few other men unaccounted for, both senior analysts. If someone’s fucking in the unisex bathroom, fuck if I can figure out who it is. But damn, it makes me horny knowing it’s happening.

I text Ryan that I have a better plan for how to spend our lunch hour.

I can practically feel his smirk when I get his message.

Ryan

Miss me, golden boy?

Me

Do you have a problem with that?

Ryan

I have a problem with the way you keep flashing your ankles

I light the fuck up. He’s thinking about me.

Me

Why’s that?

Ryan

It makes you look like a slut.

I cross my legs, trying to disguise the hard on rapidly tenting my pants, and also exposing my ankles even more.

Me

I get so hard when you talk like that

Ryan

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