Maybe This Time (Maybe #1)(12)

“He’s back there,” I tell her, gesturing to the office. “Go right in.”

Fuck, I’m a bastard.





Summer


“Oh my god,” I gasp in embarrassment, as I open the door to their office. Ryan is here alright. He’s currently got a woman up against the wall. She's fully naked, and he has his jeans around his ankles. The man has a great ass, and it’s in full view for me to see.

“Fuck,” I hear him grunt as he sees me. He opens his mouth to say something, but I quickly turn around and leave before I can hear what he has to say. I don’t look in Reid’s direction as I walk back to our table.

“Everything okay?” Xander asks me.

“Fine,” I huff.

“Then why are you blushing?” he asks, lifting up his beer and taking a long sip.

“Don’t make me say it,” I groan. Xander and Dash both sit forward, obviously not going to let this go.

“I went into the office to talk to Ryan, and let’s just say, he’s… busy,” I say, rushing the words out. My face feels like it’s on fire.

“Rookie mistake, Sum, never go into that office,” he says, chuckling.

“I’ll definitely remember that.” Lesson learnt. Why did Reid send me there? He must have wanted to embarrass me, and he sure as hell succeeded.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Dash drawls, pulling me in closer to him. I relax my shoulders and try to forget what I just witnessed, which is hard to do when Ryan walks over about twenty minutes later and sits next to me.

“Like what you saw?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows. He doesn't seem that embarrassed, which makes it just a little more bearable.

“I think your technique could improve,” I quip, smiling when everyone bursts into laughter.

“Is that right?” he drawls, smiling. He doesn’t even get offended, which means he must be a stallion in bed.

“Definitely, maybe you should practice some more,” I say, pursing my lips together to try and keep a serious face.

“That’s a great idea. You wanna dance?” he asks me. I shrug, why not? When I stand he chuckles, and I can tell he thought I would turn him down. I did just catch him screwing another woman, but I have no interest in Ryan other than friendship.

“Look after her,” Xander calls out, but I can see his attention is on a girl sitting in the corner.

I walk to the small, crowded dance floor, and Ryan pulls me closer, making a grinding motion with his hips. When he adds in a thrusting move, I burst out laughing.

“See, I can practise right here on the dance floor,” he says, leaning closer so I can hear him. He smells like cologne and sex, and I wrinkle my nose at him. He smiles and puts his hands on my hips, as I swivel them seductively. He doesn’t come too close, or move his hands anywhere inappropriate. This is just us dancing as friends, and I find myself having fun.

Ryan spins me around, and we're both laughing by the end of the song. We're walking back to the table when I see Reid staring daggers at me. Then he turns, looking around the bar until his eyes come across a stunning blonde. He waits until her eyes meet his, then tilts his head slightly towards the office. She smiles seductively, and walks towards the office, her hips shaking with each step. She opens the office door and walks in, Reid following her, and closing the door behind him. Ryan heads to the bar, taking over.

I swallow and look away, taking my seat at the table. I skull the rest of my drink, not even wanting to contemplate why I'm reacting the way I am. Reid and I are nothing, not even friends. I don’t know how much time passes, but I distract myself with talking to Dash, Ryan and Xander, and having a few more drinks. The bar empties, so Ryan sits with me at the table.

When someone stands at the table, I can tell it’s him without even having to look up. It’s like he has some sort of pull over me, some sort of energy that attracts me.

I can feel him, without even touching him.

Ryan laughs at his brother. “'Bout time you got some action brother.”

I swallow hard, still not looking up at Reid, waiting for him to leave.

Needing him to leave.

But he still stands there. I look at my brother instead, smiling shyly across the room at the mysterious girl.

“Summer.”

Why can’t he just leave? Now he wants to talk?

“Yeah?” I say, reluctantly looking up at him. He looks angry, for some reason. Like it was me that just screwed some random person in the office, like we didn’t share that kiss.

“Did you ask Ryan whatever you needed to?” he asks with a smirk.

I look at Ryan. “Oh, right. I was wondering if you had any job openings?”

Reid looks surprised for a moment, but I don’t have it in me to care why right now.

“Sure, you can work in the bar,” Ryan offers, giving me a smile. Ryan is so easy to be around, I’ll be glad to have him as my boss. Reid, on the other hand…

He watches me carefully, as if looking for a reaction from his little office romp. But he isn’t gonna get it. My body reacts to Reid, that much is certain, but I’m not one to play these games. I may not have that much experience, but I know I deserve better than this.

I ignore Reid for the rest of the night, but I can feel him watching me. I’m doing a shot with Ryan and Dash when Xander walks over, looking sheepish. He rubs his jaw, looking at me.