Page 31 of Mr. Hook-up

How had things changed so drastically in the little time since we’d launched Hooked?

How hadIchanged so much?

I didn’t even feel like the same person.

The guy who had developed an app to make women more accessible, to make one-night stands less daunting. The guy who had a fishing hook tattooed on the inside of his bicep to signify the way we’d founded Hooked.

Yet here was the same guy about to admit something he never had before. “Yes.” I sighed. “I really like her.”

“And you’re worried we’re going to give you shit for admitting something we’ve already assumed,” Grayson teased.

“Worried?” I mocked. “I knowyou’re going to give me shit.”

Grayson smiled before he shoved in the rest of the sandwich. “You’re damn right about that.” He finished chewing before he continued, “Just like you’d give me shit if I got locked down by a chick.” He kicked his feet onto the coffee table. “But you got the hardest part of the battle out of the way. You’ve told us—or me, since this one”—he nodded toward Holden—“is loving every second of this. Now share all the details, so I can amp up the level of shit I’m going to give you.”

“Asshole,” I barked.

“Just ignore him,” Holden said to me. “I’m the nice one, remember? The forever romantic who wants you locked down. So just tell me and pretend he’s not here.”

I raked my hand through my hair, the gel sticking to my skin. “The whole thing is honestly wild. Like I said, we’ve texted a ton, we’ve spoken on the phone—things I never do with women. And then we met up at the party, and the fire between us”—I let out a hissing sound—“it was so fucking hot. We’ve been trying to get together again, and it just hasn’t worked out. I mean, aside from some phone sex. But ...”

“But you’ve got feelings for her that you can’t explain,” Grayson said, scratching his beard. “And it’s so unlike you and you’ve never feltthis way and she’s different than any girl you’ve ever been with.” He paused. “Am I on the right track?”

“You nailed it.”

“I know,” Grayson replied. “I see it all over your face.”

Those same strands on my head, I now pulled. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. This isn’t me. I don’t even recognize myself.” I rested my elbows on my bent knees. “I told her how she’s changing me, and now here I am, already whipped and thinking about her non-fucking-stop.”

A few seconds of silence passed before Holden rubbed his hands together and said, “I’m going to say something pretty bold.”

I sucked in my bottom lip, bit it, then finally released it to reply, “All right. I’m listening.”

“I said it before, but I really mean it this time: maybe Hooked was created so you could meet her.”

I let that set in. “You really think so?”

Holden looked at Grayson. “We know how many women you’ve been with, and we’ve seen you after every hook-up. You’ve never acted like this before. So whatever the reason is, it doesn’t even matter. You’ve found her. And, my man, I’m so happy to see it.”

I glanced between them. “I’m lost. This is unknown territory for me. I have no idea what I’m doing.” I got up and moved to the window, placing my back against it, my hands on the warm, sunbathed glass. “Not too long ago, she asked me if I was married to this town, hinting that she was going to be leaving it soon.”

“I hope you said yes,” Grayson shot back. “Leave? No. Fuck that. You’re BostonLifer for a reason. All three of us are.”

I glanced between them. “She’s on the verge of graduating and already has a job. What if it’s taking her away?”

“The fact that you’re even thinking of that just proves how real this is,” Holden said.

His words hit.

And then they hit harder.

My brain conjured up an image of me holding hands with Love, walking toward a coffee shop that wasn’t in the Back Bay, placing an order, and joining her at the table, where I whispered something into her ear. The skyline above us was one I didn’t recognize, and part of me was okay with that.

I wrapped my hands over my stomach, the ache already there even though she wasn’t gone. “What do I do?”

“That’s easy,” Holden said. “You don’t let her go.”

CHAPTER TEN

---