Page 10 of More Than a Spark

“Okay.” He put a colander into the sink, then poured the pasta and hot water into it.

“I got the rest of this. You go sit down.” With a chuckle, I bumped into his side, moving him from the pasta. “I mean it. I told you I’d make you dinner and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Fine.” He gave me smirk, then headed to the table and dropped into a chair at the head of it.

As I mixed the pasta in with the chicken, his phone buzzed on the table. “Who’s that?” I plated our food, brought it out with silverware and napkins, then took the chair next to his.

He furrowed his brows at his phone. “Oh, nothing.” He set it on the table, display down.

“Something you don’t want me to see?” I arched a brow, holding my fork in my hand. “Some guy texting you?” A dull ache flickered over my heart, but I forced a grin. Hopefully it wasn’t that hookup app he’d been using. I wasn’t sure how safe that shit was, and he wasn’t a big guy who could fight off a jerk.

With a huff, he said, “Yeah. There’s a guy I’ve hooked up with a few times. He wants to know if I’m busy tonight.” He rolled his eyes. “He wants to startdating.” His gaze wound to mine. “I’ll tell him I’m busy in a minute. He can wait.”

My gut squeezed and I fought to breathe for a second. Milo had dudes on the hook. I’d always known he had guys he went out with. I mean, why wouldn’t he? He was hot. But it had never been in my face like this before. I had to play it cool. We were just friends, remember? “S-so, are you, uh, going to start dating this guy?” I stabbed a piece of chicken with my fork and twirled it in the pasta. Why hadn’t he told me about this guy already?

“I don’t know.” He ate a bite of pasta and moaned, shutting his eyes. “Damn, Ryder, this is fucking good.”

“Thanks.” I squirmed in my seat, my dick twitching in my shorts. The sound he made was doing things to me. I was seriously losing my mind. “So, ah, does this guy have a name?” I huffed a laugh. For some reason, I wanted to know everything about this dude now.

Leaning across the table with a mischievous grin, he said, “Yes, he has a name.”

I stuffed noodles and chicken into my mouth, then motioned with my hand for him to continue. I wanted to see a picture of the dude, too.

“His name is Archer.” He ate more of his food, then downed it with a sip of beer.

“Archer? Is he good with a bow and arrow?” I snickered. Who the hell named their kidArcher?

Milo lifted his brows. “What?”

“Ah, never mind.” I pushed my food around on my plate. The joke was a bust. “You going to let me see what this guy looks like?” I threw a peek at him, then ate some food. If the dude was really hot, I was not going to react in a negative way, I wasn’t.

“I suppose.” While chewing, he turned his phone over on the table, then tapped a few times. “Here.” He pushed the phone toward me and watched me.

I slid it closer to me. The photo of a guy with mid-length, wavy blond hair, smiled at me. His brown eyes were surrounded by thick black lashes and the angle of his jawline saidmale modelall over it. “This guy a model or something?” I swiped and a body shot popped up. The guy was all muscle with tattoos running down one arm. Fuck, he was hot. I clenched my jaw.

Milo blew out a sharp laugh. “No, he’s not a model. He’s on the ASU hockey team though.” As he stuffed more pasta into his mouth, he widened his eyes at me.

“Hockey player, huh?” As heat crept into my chest, I pressed my lips together. ThisArchermust be a player.Settle down, Ryder. “Is he gay or?—”

“He’s bi.” Milo straightened and eyed me. “He seems like a decent enough guy.”

“So, you like him?” A sting pierced my heart, and I set my fork on my plate. Fuck, I didn’t like this. But what, did I think Milo would be single forever? Why did this bother me so much?

He dipped his gaze and circled his index finger on the table. “I guess so. He’s a nice enough guy. I’m just…” He blew out a breath.

“You’re just what?” I stared at him, a knot forming in my stomach. Milo found faults with all the guys he’d dated. I was supposed to be supportive here and not let Milo go down that path. But fuck, I wanted to hear this guy’s faults. I wanted to revel in them.

“I’m so busy with my job and the band right now. We’re getting casino gigs like every other weekend.” With a sigh, he slumped his shoulders. “I don’t know if I have time for a relationship.”

I let his words rumble through my brain. If he didn’t have time for a relationship, would he have time for me? Time for us to be close again like we used to be? God, I was turning into a demanding fucker.

“What do you think?” His gaze darted over my face, and he frowned. “You don’t seem to date much, either.”

Why was he making this about me? “Yeah, I know.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I just never found the right girl.” But I’d found a guy to hook up with. “I do uh, date though.” Should I tell him about Tate? I raked my teeth over my lower lip, my heart racing. Fuck, I couldn’t.

With a smirk, he wound his fork in his pasta. “So, tell me about the last girl you dated.”

“Oh, okay.” I threaded my fingers through my bangs, then drank some beer. Tate’s words rang out in my head,if my best straight friend turned out to be queer, I’d want to know. Not yet. Maybe things would go back to normal between us if I kept my mouth shut. “So, the last girl I dated was Morgan. I told you about her, right?” I ate my food.

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