Page 34 of Awakened
“We should also keep this low commitment. You’re a great guy, but I can’t imagine having feelings for anyone right now.”
At least not good ones.
Zach nodded. “Agreed. Neither of us is relationship material right now.”
I wondered what happened to this funny, sweet man. In time, I hoped he would tell me and let me be there for him. I already considered Zach a good friend and knew I could be his comfort if he let me.
“Understatement of the year. So, to recap: One—no tearful hookups. Two—low commitment, high reward. And three—allphones and communication devices are to be silenced at the door.”
“I accept your terms,” Zach added in a business-like tone, but his big, silly grin ruined the bit.
That was the first night Zach slept over. Sadly, no sex was had.
EIGHT
After that night, things settled into a pretty nice routine.
Wake up—Go to work—Eat lunch with Zach—Come home—Have dinner made by Michael and Zach—Fool around with Zach—Talk to Zach—Sleep next to Zach—Repeat.
I’m not going to lie. I was getting frustrated. Zach was holding out on me, giving me the worst case of blue ovaries in history, and the only cure was brain-melting, dirty, sweaty sex with a hottie rocking lickable abs.
Friday evening, Michael and Zach were busy preparing their last dinner for us while Sarah and I sat in the living room, knocking back a few beers.
“I can’t wait for the gang to get here.” Sarah hadn’t stopped smiling since we got home from work.
“Me neither.” I placed a hand on her knee. “Can you stop bouncing your leg? You’re shaking the whole couch.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Taking another swig of her beer, she leaned in and lowered her voice. “So, what’s going on with you and our lovely sous chef in there?”
“Shh.” I slapped her thigh.
“Ow. That was uncalled for.” She drank the last of her beer and set it on the coffee table. “You can’t blame me forbeing curious. You’re about to have two suitors in the same house. One that you’ve been dry humping like a teenager all week. The other you’ve been lusting after for years. Shit’s about to get real.”
“Okay, first, you need to relax.”
She pursed her lips, barely concealing a smile.
“Second . . . suitors? Who the hell are you? And third, you said dry humping. Gross.”
“I notice you didn’t deny your Seth lust.” She tilted her head and lifted her eyebrows.
Wow, this woman won’t let up.
“Sarah, we’ve been over this. He isn’t into me. Even if he was, Seth is too important to just bang. He deserves more. He could be?—”
“Can I get you ladies a fresh beer?” Michael’s face peeked out of the kitchen.
“Ah, yeah. Thanks, babe,” Sarah responded while I looked the other way.
Once Michael ducked back into the kitchen, I released the breath I’d sucked in when he popped into our conversation. “Shit, Sarah. Can we table this for another time when there aren’t men milling about the house? Specifically, the one I’m in an undefined friends-with-limited-benefits situation with?”
She held her hands up. “Tabled.”
The feast that night was a homemade pizza—a beautiful, thick crust with a from-scratch sauce, pepperoni, spinach, green peppers, and so much cheese. There was also a salad that I completely ignored.
Who needs salad when you have pizza and beer?
“When are your friends getting here?” Zach asked, his mouth full of food.
