Page 105 of Face Off
“I do notloveher,” Reid counters, not bothering to look up from his phone.
Dallas snorts. “Are you sure? You talk about her an awful lot.”
“She annoys me to no end, and if I ever meet her, I’m going to give her a goddamn earful,” he says. “I get it. She’s good at her job. The videos she posts on social media get thousands of likes, and even people who aren’t football fans follow the accounts. I just wish she would tone it down. It’s making me look bad.”
“Maybe you should step it up,” I say, and I pluck a handful of grapes from the grazing board on the coffee table. “How’s wedding planning going, Dal?”
“Good. Maven told me she found a dress, and I’m tempted to cancel the fancy party so I can see what she looks like in it tomorrow.” He sighs dreamily, and Reid pretends to gag. “I’m the luckiest bastard in the world.”
“You really are. That woman is incredible. Mark my words, Lansfield. If you ever do anything to hurt her, I’ll come for you,” I tell him.
He waves me off and heads for the kitchen. “I leveled up,” he calls out. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“We need to plan his bachelor party,” I say to Reid when we’re alone. “Their wedding is next fall, so maybe summer?”
“Sure. Things will be slow at work, and I’ll be able to get away for a few days without any issues. What do you want to do? Acruise? An island filled with women? Somewhere we can play a round of golf?”
I wrinkle my nose. “Women are not a requirement.”
“Since when?”
“Don’t know. Today?”
Reid stares at me and narrows his eyes. He reaches out and pulls the collar of my shirt to the side, inspecting my neck. “You don’t want women, but you have a hickey? Something you need to tell us, Mav? I hope you know we’re not going to judge you.”
“I do know that, but it’s not what you’re thinking.” I scoot away from him and use my hand to cover up the marks Emerson left behind. “I’m, uh, sort of friends with benefits with someone, and we agreed not to sleep with anyone else.”
“How does one becomesort offriends with benefits? It’s either all dick, or no dick, right?”
“Valid point. I’m definitely in a friends-with-benefits arrangement with someone, and I’m not sleeping with anyone else.”
“Dallas,” Reid barks out, and I jump. “Get in here.”
“What the hell is going on?” Dallas stands in the entryway wearing a pink apron and holding a flowered spatula.
“Maverick has a girlfriend,” Reid says.
“I don’t have a girlfriend. I have a fuck buddy,” I clarify. “There’s a big difference.”
“Hang on. Is that why you haven’t been texting in the group chat and June’s been asking where you are? Because you’re sleeping with someone?” Dallas asks.
“We don’t need to make it a big deal. We’re just two adults who fuck each other. It’s no different from what I’ve done in the past with the dozens of other women I’ve been with.”
“You never sleep with the same woman twice,” Reid points out. “Why this one?”
I shrug. “Because she’s fun and smart and I have a good time when I’m with her. Neither of us is looking for anything serious, and our schedules line up well enough to ensure we’ll both get what we want out of each other before moving on with our lives. It’s a mutually beneficial setup.”
“Wow. I never thought I’d see the day,” Dallas says. “Maverick Miller is locked down.”
“I am not locked down. There aren’t any flowers or poems or anything like that. It’s just sex.”
Reid scoffs. “Until it isn’t.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means there’s always some sort of emotion associated with a physical relationship. It might just be sex right now, but eventually, one of you is going to fall for the other, and things are going to get messy.”
I laugh. “Trust me. That is not going to happen. The woman likes me for one thing, and one thing only.”
