Page 22 of Secret Squirrel

“Not this one. She’s like a defective woman or something.”

He snorted, then shook his head. “Yeah, I wouldn’t let her hear you say that.”

I pulled out the stool and sat across from him. After spending all day in the hospital, I was drained. I fucking hated hospitals, and seeing Rae lying in a bed had a strange effect on me. I would never admit this to Bowie, but our flirtation took a hard right today. When I saw her injured and not waking up, I had a moment of panic. And not like,Oh shit, I forgot to take out the garbage.No, I realized in those first few minutes after walking into the hospital that I had stronger feelings for Rae than I realized, which was insane because I didn’t see her often enough to really develop feelings.

“Shit,” Bowie said, letting his fork fall to the plate.

“What?” I asked, pulling out of my reverie.

“You really like her.”

My face pulled in a frown as I stared at him. “You already knew that.”

“Yeah, but I thought it was like…you wanted to get her into bed. Youreallylike this chick.”

“Yes, I really like her. Is that a problem?”

“For you? Definitely. When she finds out you screw anything in sight, she’s not going to come within ten feet of you.”

“Would you stop that? I haven’t slept with anyone in…”

“Uh-huh, since Carly,” he grinned. “Did I tell you she stopped by again today?”

I scrubbed a hand over my face. Fuck, this was bad. “Yeah, she wanted to know if you’d be around later so she could stop by.”

“And what did you tell her?”

His smirk grew. “That if she wanted to see you, she should see for herself.”

“You didn’t.”

He pulled the sleeve up on his sweatshirt and looked at his watch. “I did. In fact—”

He was cut off by the sound of the doorbell. I wanted to punch that smile right off his face.

“You fucker.”

“Hey, how was I supposed to know you’d bring home the woman you really wanted tonight?” he asked with a laugh.

Pushing up from the stool, I walked to the door and prepared myself for the onslaught of perfume and fake tits. “Hey,” I said, resting my hand against the doorframe so she couldn’t let herself in.

“Dukey.”

I cringed at the high-pitched voice and the terrible nickname. “Hey, Carly.”

“So,” she said, stepping forward and running her finger down my chest. “I thought we could have a little fun tonight.”

“Uh…I sort of have company.”

She looked past me to Bowie and waved. “He can join in if he wants.”

I nearly choked on my spit. Bowie did choke. “Yeah, we’re not really into that.”

She shrugged. “So, it’ll just be you and me, lover.”

“Lover?”

I closed my eyes as Rae’s voice slid over my skin. Then her hands were wrapped around me from behind, encircling me.

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