Page 27 of The Virgin
Spencer looked at Greta, and for a minute he thought about trying to play it off as nothing but she was as perceptive as she was artistic. One carefully arched eyebrow was all it took to make Spencer admit defeat.
He couldn’t tell her everything, though, not without betraying Jonah’s confidence, and he’d rather eat those pop tabs than ever do that. “We’ve been doing things together. In bed.”
While Greta climbed the ladder with an agility and grace that Spencer admired, he spilled his guts. He told Greta all about the recent shift in his relationship with Jonah, but not the details of why it had come about. It was a temporary arrangement. A friend helping a friend. Only now, Spencer’s thoughts about Jonah were more than friendly.
“It sucks that you have such phenomenal chemistry with your best friend. How hard it must be for you to be sexually compatible with someone you have a genuine affection for already.” Greta finished fixing one end of each chain to the ceiling and came back down the ladder. “Men are so dumb. Tell him that you like him. If you can’t tell him, you’re both high school teachers. Write him a note. Ask him to go steady, check yes or no.”
Spencer scoffed at Greta, earning him a dirty look. She shoved a strand of hair out of her face and shrugged. She had a point. One simple conversation could change everything. But what if it changed things in the other direction? Nope. Spencer wasn’t going there. He’d stick to the plan, and he wouldn’t think about it until they were there.
They avoided the subject for the rest of the day, but Spencer knew Greta was curious. She was too perceptive and wasn’t nearly half as unconcerned as she pretended to be. Spencer found her looking at him when she thought he wasn’t aware. He never called her on it, though. He’d let her have her concerns. It wasn’t like he didn’t know why she felt that way.
Spencer had precious few friends. There was Greta, Damon, Jonah, and, by extension, Jonah’s family, who tended to gather people into their fold. It was probably a byproduct of raising three boys on his own, but Jonah’s dad Ethan never met a stranger who didn’t become a friend. Being a diner owner suited him down to the fabric of his being.
It took them a few hours and more trips up the ladder than Spencer liked, but eventually Greta’s vision of her ladder-light came to reality. She flicked all the other lights in the apartment off and left that one on. It wasn’t dark outside yet, but the day had clouded over and the light cast a nice cozy glow over the space.
“It’s even better than I imagined.” Greta came to stand next to Spencer. She knocked her arm into his. “Even though you overpaid for it.”
“I—”
“Save it. I saw the sticker. I will pay you back for this.”
“I’m not worried about it. You wanted one, and I found one. I couldn’t leave without it.”
“I’d pay you back now, but I don’t have cash on me.”
“Save your money, Greta.” Spencer threw his arm over her shoulder, and they silently admired the light. Over the years, Greta’s warehouse conversion had taken on many different forms, but lately she was coming into her own, like she was discovering what she truly liked through trial and error.
“It looks great, doesn’t it?”
“It’s stunning,” Spencer agreed.
“You know you can tell me shit, right? And that I’m here for you?”
“I know you’re here for me. And I appreciate it, but I’ve got this under control.”
“Liar.” Greta elbowed him in the ribs, not hard enough to hurt, but he flinched anyway.
“Brat.” Spencer tried to ruffle her hair, but she spun away.
Things with Greta never would have worked because even though she was attractive, Spencer had thought of her more like a sister, a friend, than anything else. They’d approached the subject together one day shortly after they met and agreed that they were better as friends. That sometimes attraction was brief and flickered out. Burning hot but soon extinguished like a match.
He never regretted it. And he’d never regret allowing Jonah to become more to him than a simple friend. He might not be able to see what was coming around the corner, but he’d never look back and think that he could have or should have done things differently. Faced with the same choices, he knew he’d make all the same ones. He hoped they weren’t mistakes.
CHAPTER 15
JONAH
If the lackof sex in his life had plagued him before, the sudden uptick in sexual activity was all he could think about now. Spencer had become an addiction and Jonah itched to be close to him again. Even more than the kissing and the touching, it was the way Spencer was like a warm blanket, wrapping around Jonah to keep him safe, that affected him the most.
Not since Jonah was a hormonal teenager had he been so incredibly horny, but lately he struggled to control himself. Whenever he thought of Spencer, his blood ran hot and his body responded, plumping his stupid dick without regard for where he was.
A sharp kick in the shin reminded him of where he was.
“Really, Colby. That hurt.” Jonah resisted the urge to lean down and rub the spot on his lower leg that Colby had kicked.
“Where are you this morning? You’re a total space case.”
“Just thinking, that’s all.”
