Page 131 of The Manny

He grunted and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

“Are you going to shower?” I asked. “You have time.”

“Why?”

I laughed. “Uh, no reason. I’m just making conversation.”

“I’ll shower in a bit.” He twisted the lid off of the bottle and tossed it in the trash. Instead of leaving the room and going out on the back patio as expected, he moved closer.

My stomach fluttered as he came to stand beside me. I hated that my hands shook a little as he looked on. “How was work?” I asked.

“Fine.” He took a long drink from the bottle.

My phone buzzed and vibrated on the granite, and I glanced at it uneasily. Crispin had responded to me again, and my heart jumped as Jack’s gaze fell to the lighted screen of my phone.

Hope I didn’t shock you. I can’t help wanting to sleep with you. You’re sexy AF.

Jack’s face hardened and he flicked his gaze to mine. “Let me guess, that text is from Crispin?”

“Uhhh.” There was really no point in lying. “Yes.”

He shook his head, looking annoyed. “All that guy wants from you is sex. I hope you’re smart enough to know that.”

“Not sure howyou’dknow that.”

“He’s a type.”

“Everyone is a type.”

He set his beer down. “He’s a slutty type.”

I gritted my teeth. “I enjoy his company.”

“Yeah, I know. That was obvious.” He shook his head. “How did you even meet him?”

I set the knife down. “Jack, why do you care?”

“I… I don’t care.” He picked up his beer again. “I just can’t figure how you two would end up together.”

I sighed and went back to slicing the vegetables. “I had a blind date last night. The guy was a complete disaster. Crispin happened to witness the whole thing, and after my date stormed off, we started talking.”

“Your date stormed off?” He widened his eyes.

“It’s a long story.”

“Right.” He gave a gruff laugh. “And Crispin just happened to be in the wings?

“Yep.”

“So, he rescued you.” Jack gave a derisive laugh. “Unreal.”

Exhaling with frustration, I said, “Say the word, Jack, and I’ll tell Crispin I’m already seeing someone.”

He watched me warily. “You’d turn him down to be with me?”

“At the moment, yes.”

“What does that mean?”

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