Page 3 of Forbidden Lust

She was right. When Josh was going out with someone for dinner, he would scour the menu online in advance so he’d know what to order. He didn’t want to come across as indecisive. He’d grown up with a fairly bland food pallet – his mother had not been the most adventurous cook, and was a big one for casseroles and hearty one-pot food. They’d rarely eaten out, because they couldn’t afford it, and if they did, it had been fast food. Josh had become more adventurous with food as he’d gotten older, and it helped to work in the city so he could try new things. Planning made sure he came across as adventurous. The last thing hewanted was for a guy to think he was vanilla with everything.

“He ordered for me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Erm...” He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “He knew the restaurant better than I did.”

“Clearly not well enough if he made you ill.”

“I don’t think it was Neo’s fault.”

“Excuse me? His name is Neo? As in...”

“Yes, his mum is a fan of the films.”

“Wow. That’s an ‘I want my child to be bullied’ choice right there.”

Josh laughed and then groaned. His stomach was still churning.

“I’ll get you some water,” said Carly, jumping up and going to their kitchenette, which was in the same room.

“I don’t want to drink anything. I’ll probably just throw it back up.”

“You need to keep hydrated, and it’ll be better than throwing the lining of your stomach up.”

She had a point. Besides, he was feeling too crappy to argue with her. His stomach hurt, his arse was still tender, and he had a splitting headache. Josh was rarely unwell, but when he was, Carly liked to take care of him. He knew it was her way of paying him back. She didn’t need to pay him back for anything, but right now, he’d let her do whatever she wanted if it meant he didn’t have to move off this sofa.

The next day, Josh still felt like crap, but dragged himself into the shower anyway. Thankfully, he’d stopped throwing up at four o’clock in the morning, and it hadonlybeen vomiting. If things had headed south, he wasn’t sure how that would have ended after Neo’s energetic treatment of his hole. He was going to put dating on the back burner for a while.Maybe he’d wait until February... but then it would be Valentine’s Day, which added more pressure, so... March? Was there anything in that month that would cause problems? He couldn’t think right now.

He’d left Carly asleep on the sofa after she’d insisted he take the bed last night. They only had one bedroom – because that was all they could afford on top of tuition fees and living expenses – and Josh usually slept on the sofa. It was comfy, but he had appreciated having a bed for the night. He wanted Carly to have a social life at university, because this is where she would make potential lifelong friends, and he didn’t want her to miss out on that. It had come at the expense of his own friendships, though, as he and his friends drifted further apart. They wanted to go clubbing, or to the theatre and other activities, but it all cost money. The irony was that he earned more money that most of his friends, but it was all accounted for. Oscar already paid him well over the odds for someone who had his limited experience. He could never ask for more.

Once he got into the office, the benefits of the shower had worn off and he was struggling to focus. But it was the start of the year and a busy time for the business, Oscar needed Josh to be here, so he would muddle through. He didn’t want to let Oscar down.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked the man himself.

“Just a bit tired.”

“You look awful.”

“I’m fine.”

“Josh,” he said, with a serious look on his face. People called it his “boss” face.

“I think I just ate something dodgy the other night. Nothing contagious.”

“Why are you here?”

“I work here.”

Oscar raised an eyebrow, but smiled. “Were you just sarcastic?”

Josh felt embarrassed. Was Oscar upset with him?

“Relax, Josh. Just a joke. Go home and rest. I’ll see you Monday.”

“It’s Wednesday.”

“Just focus on getting better. I don’t expect to see you again until Monday. Get a cab home on the company account.”

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