Page 33 of Hardcore Vanilla
"So how long have you been banging my brother?" Lexie demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Sharon. At least she didn’t look upset, just excited. Although that might not be much better considering the situation.
Groaning, Sharon grabbed a couch cushion and held it over her face. Maybe she could suffocate herself into unconsciousness.
******
The heavy knocking at Jake's door on Sunday afternoon was not entirely unexpected, even though Jake hadn't invited anyone over. He was not at all surprised to find Patrick standing there, a six-pack in hand and a wide grin on his face.
"Hey there, best friend," Patrick said, practically shouldering Jake out of the way as he pushed into the apartment. "How are you? I feel like we haven't had appropriate male bonding time recently and I'm missing out on things in your life."
"You could have just called," Jake muttered, closing the door behind him.
"Yeah, but then I wouldn't be able to see your face," Patrick retorted as he stepped into the kitchen and pulled two beers out of the box. Holding the caps against the table, he quickly opened both of them and handed one to Jake before putting the rest in the fridge. Leaning back against the counter, he crossed his arms over his chest, holding the beer close enough to his face to sip from and raised one eyebrow at Jake. "So? Talk."
Sighing, Jake took a sip of his own beer - a nice, smooth ale; Patrick had picked up his favorite - before replying.
"No judgment allowed," he said finally. Patrick nodded. "No opinions unless I ask for them. No advice."
"Got it."
Jake knew Patrick would hold himself to that, even if it killed him a little inside. He was pretty good about that kind of thing anyway, but Jake just wanted it laid out before he fessed up.
"Sharon and I have been fuck buddies since New Years' Eve." He watched Patrick closely to see his friend's reaction.
Patrick's jaw clenched, a little muscle moving up and down. The scar near his eye - which Jake had given to him years ago when they were playing with swords - twitched. His lips pressed together.
Finally, he cleared his throat. "I will admit... I did not see that coming."
"But you knew something was going on."
"Oh, I knew something was going on, but I thought you two were just flirting or finally admitting that you're attracted to each other... Maybe that you'd kissed, but... fuck buddies?" Patrick shook his head slowly. "Did not see that coming."
"Why not?" Jake wanted to know. He was just curious how it looked from the outside. Wondered if Patrick thought he and Sharon wouldn’t work together… and if was for the same reasons Jake didn’t really see them working together long-term.
"Well, for one, she's definitely not your type," Patrick said, and Jake nodded. "Normally you go for women who are more reserved, more soft-spoken... you know, kind of quiet and restrained."
Now Jake was frowning. Somehow when Patrick said it, it sounded different than how Jake thought about it. Like Patrick didn't like the women Jake normally went for.
"And that's a bad thing?" he asked, a little defensively.
"Not necessarily," Patrick said, shrugging. "None of them seem to have stuck long with you though. It's interesting that you're going for something different now, is all."
"I'm not going for her, we're just... you know, having sex."
A lot of sex. Sure, they'd started hanging out a bit too, in between the sex, and they were texting, and he was going to her cousin's wedding but... That was all just because they were also connected through their friends. They weren't dating. They were just exclusive fuck buddies.
Even in his own head, he knew how stupid he sounded, which was why he didn't bother saying any of it out loud.
Sure, he liked her more than he used to, now that he spent time with her, but he still didn't think they would work. Not long-term. It was best not to get anyone's expectations up. Including his own. Eventually whatever this insane attraction was between them would have to die down and then they'd probably go back to bothering each other the way they had before.
"Yeah, that's the other thing," Patrick drawled, interrupting Jake's inner excuse train. "You are not a fuck-buddy type person. In fact, I can't remember you ever having a fuck-buddy before, because you're not very good at casual. As evidenced by the fact that you don't want your fuck buddy going to a wedding with someone else."
Jake scowled, knowing his best friend had a point.
Dammit, he was getting attached to Sharon. Despite the fact that she wasn't his type. Despite the fact that she annoyed and entertained him in equal measure - and sometimes for the same reason. Despite the fact that they'd agreed to keep things casual.
Well, that wasn't good.
Although... She hadn't seemed unhappy about him demanding to be her wedding date. A little unhappy that he'd done so in front all of their friends, but it wasn't like he'd had a choice since she'd been about to ask her ex.
