Page 59 of Gin and Lava

“And this is to make your ex-boyfriend jealous?”

I shrug. “I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Okay, fine,” I say, stomping my foot. “Yes. It’s to make my ex-boyfriend jealous.” I grab Mason by his shirt and pull him toward me. “It’s to make him realize he threw away a damn good thing, and I’m doing amazing without him.”

“He broke up with you?”

I get quiet, looking away from Mason. “He did.”

Mason shakes his head. “Fucking idiot.”

“Thank you,” I reply, smoothing out the buttons of his shirt. “And for the record, Shauri took his side. So, they both need to know I’m doing wonderful now.”

“Bitch,” he admonishes.

I smile at how quickly he defends me. “See, you’re already great at this fake boyfriend thing.”

“Why are you still going to Shauri’s wedding, and letting her use your beach house, and whatever else she was talking about if she took his side?”

I play with his buttons.

“Because we’re still friends,” I say quietly. “We went to college together, and she just doesn’t know what really happened between me and Sam.”

“So …” Mason fishes. “Whatreally happenedbetween you and Sam?”

I look up at him with a tight smile. “Are you going to do this fake boyfriend thing or not?” I ask, avoiding the question.

“Do we still get to have sex?”

“You wouldn’t be an awesome fake boyfriend if I wasn’t orgasming so loudly they can hear me through the walls of my beach house, now would you?”

“Are we going to do that?” Mason dons a naughty smile.

“Probably not.”

“But there’s a chance?” Mason’s lip hitches.

“To answer the original question,” I say, admonishing him with a flirty glower. “Yes, we can still have sex.”

“Sounds fun,” Mason says with a shrug.

“Really?”

“Well, I’m shit at lying,” Mason admits. “So you’re going to have to tell me what our BS love story is. Not to mention, some of the sensitive shit you’re avoiding.” He means what happened with Sam. “Cause otherwise, I’m going to tell everyone you have the herp.”

“That’s the opposite of the effect I’m hoping for,” I point out.

“Sensitive shit it is then.”

“Okay, but later,” I agree. “I really have to go back to work. I’m probably getting written up as we speak.”

“Well, in that case, if you’re already in trouble ... ” Mason takes my hands off his shirt and wraps them around the back of his neck. “I’ve got some fake boyfriend shit to practice.”

He leans in his weight and kisses me, pushing me up against the wall of the hallway. I don’t know why it’s so easy to fall in line with him, but he’s smoother at this than he thinks he is. I moan into his embrace, his hands cupping my chin, the heat of our mouths shooting electricity across my skin. I can’t deny it, our sexual chemistry is on fire.

“Is that a yes?” I ask when he releases my lips.

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