Page 10 of Laila Manning
I groaned and rolled my eyes, cringing at the whole endeavor.
“Carly.”
“What?” she asked innocently. “I mean, he’s not my first pick of a friend for you. But you could do worse.”
“Worse?” I shook my head. “The man no doubt has a little black book filled with names of hookups right next to the names of people he’s killed.”
Her brows rose, and a smirk covered her lips, “You’re thinking about women he’s slept with?”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “You’re exhausting.”
“Okay, let me ask you a better question.” She hurried on, ignoring my discomfort. Because to be honest, it was a different discomfort than we were used to dealing with between us. This was theembarrassing uneasiness that people tried to avoid, not the physical pain kind of discomfort I was usually in when I was outside of my apartment.
“I’d prefer if you didn’t.”
“Zeke.” She said effortlessly, like that was the entire sentence.
The flush of even more embarrassment crawled up my chest, and I fought the urge to run from the room completely.
“That’s not a question,” I said, and she opened her mouth to butt in, “Or a topic I’m willing to discuss.”
She smiled knowingly, “Yet that answers so much, all on its own.”
“You’re insufferable,” I murmured and took a sip of my tea, letting the gentle taste soothe the wounds inside of my throat that were no longer there, yet permanently marked in my mind.
“You love me anyway.” She winked and crossed her legs under her like a kid at school on the story rug.
Before I could reply, movement outside caught my eye, and I turned and watched Ellie walking up the path with baby Gavin in her arms. A soft black blanket, fit for the world’s most prized possessions, cradled him.
“Ah,” Carly smirked as she waved to Ellie through the window, “Seems Ryker misinterpreted the message this morning.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” I questioned her as the front door opened, but Elora’s frustrated voice rang out, interrupting Carly’s chance to clarify.
“That man is the most unbearable man in the entire world!” Elora complained, slamming the door behind her and kicking off her shoes as she rounded the corner. “Work.” She huffed, “Can you believe he turned me down? For work!” She yelled.
Gavin babbled in her arms excitedly, picking up on the heightened energy surrounding him as he twisted around to see who was on the other side of his warm blanket still snuggling him.
Carly giggled and raised an eyebrow at her best friend with a knowing look. “I told you they were doing something important. I haven’t seen Jed for over five minutes in days.” She looked across at me. “Has Zeke been as MIA as our men have been ?”
“How would I know?” I questioned, even as a blush warmed my cheeks. Elora’s shoulders relaxed as she chuckled and came into the warm living room.
“I thought you’d hear him come and go, is all.” Carly shrugged, holding her hands out for Gavin as Ellie handed him off to his favorite aunt. “Considering Jed said he found him half naked in your room at three am the other night.”
“What?” Ellie gasped, pulling off her sweater and throwing herself down on the couch with excitement in her eyes. “Why am I just hearing about this?”
Carly shrugged, ignoring her overly eager friend to keep her eyes onme. “Care to share with the class?”
“There’s nothing to share.” I bit out a bit more forcefully than I planned and cringed. I never raised my voice or yelled, especially not at Carly.
Never at Carly.
“Why was he in your room, then?” She challenged me, pushing me further out of my comfort zone. She always knew what boundaries to push and which ones to avoid.
“I was having a dream.” I stammered, “He said he could hear me screaming.” Overwhelmed by the urge to sidetrack myself with my favorite chubby-cheeked distraction, I shrugged and stared down at my tea. My resolve lasted an entire five seconds before I put my mug on the table and slid down to the floor, instantly getting what I wanted.
Gavin squirmed in Carly’s arms when he saw me on the floor, and she smirked as she set him on the floor at her feet. He quickly crawled across the space and threw himself into my lap like he had been wanting it as badly as I did.
“What kind of dream?” Elora asked, pushing the conversation on. And with her sweet little baby in my arms, I could almost ignore the normal anxiety that talking gave me, leaving me able to do it without a second thought.
