Once Upon a Sure Thing (Heartbreakers #2)(46)

I imitate a ruler, standing straight and tall.

My man?

He means my friend, right?

He rubs the pad of his thumb across my cheek, taking my focus away from dissecting the finer meanings of his words. “How about we take a quick shower and grab a bagel? You can feed me that way.”

I nod quickly. That, I understand. Bagels are what we’ve always done. That’s the breakfast of friends.

I glance at the time on the stove. “Let’s be speedy. Chloe should be back in an hour, then I’m taking her to Brooklyn to spend the day with Kirby and Macy while I finish some work.”

He points to the bathroom. “Get your cute little ass in the shower.”



*

As he washes my hair with strong but tender hands, the questions return.

Are these the hands of my man?

Or my friend?

Or my temporary man?

My head says “friends with benefits,” but my heart screams something else entirely. Something I can’t quite make out over the rushing of the hot water.

When he rinses my hair, I decide to broach the subject in a roundabout way. “I like the hair washing. Is this another benefit?”

I turn my head, meeting his gaze briefly. He blinks, furrowing his brow, then he flashes a smile. “Of course.”

And that’s no help.

In the back of my mind, I hear the clock ticking. We haven’t discussed an end date to this arrangement. But there has to be one. “Friends with benefits” comes with an expiration.

Just like our band does.

My heart sinks as I put two and two together. I’ve known this all along. But I never let myself truly consider when this newfangled deal would end.

Miller is a short-term kind of guy. He didn’t even want to commit to singing with me for longer than a month, so it’s no surprise that this deal will be incredibly short too.

He clearly didn’t mean anything more when he said he was my man. Just like when he turns me against the wall, pushes my palms to the tiles, and slides his fingers between my legs—that doesn’t mean anything more than a fast track to temporary bliss.

Even as he whispers sweet nothings in my ear.

You feel so good.

I could do this over and over.

This is the best way to wake up.

They are merely weightless words. They have no anchor to tie them to the future. They’re part of our deal, and deals always end.

Even so, his words try to trick me, so I do my best to quell the riot in my heart when he whispers, Love the way you feel in my arms. Fortunately, forgetfulness is easier when an orgasm overwhelms me, pulling me into its euphoric haze.

After we get dressed, we head down the stairs. Wrapping my scarf tightly around my neck to brace against the chill, I let the door to the building fall shut behind me and walk straight into Chloe.

And Hailey.

And Hailey’s mother.

“Hi, Ally.” Hailey speaks first.

I freeze on the sidewalk, my eyes widening like saucers as I regard the three of them. Am I wearing a sign that says “I got laid last night when my kid slept at your kid’s house”?

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

But still. It’s kind of . . . tacky.

Shucking off the invisible slut-shaming sign, I call on my best rogue princess warrior, raise my chin, and say good morning to Hailey’s mom, who I met the other night. “Good to see you again, Jesse.”

“Good to see you too.”

“Mom, Ally taught me how to use chopsticks the other night,” Hailey says.

“That’s great,” the equally blonde and just as waif-life Jesse says with a smile.

“And Hailey, this is Miller. He taught me how to make a castle.” That’s Chloe’s contribution. She squeezes Miller’s arm, and he drapes it around her shoulders, squeezing back.

“Good to see you, Monkey.”

Jesse’s eyes stray to the man by my side. He’s wearing jeans, boots, a sweater, and a telltale sign that he’s not just a friend.

The ends of his hair are wet.

I pat his shoulder, drawing on my best cool confidence. “Miller’s a good friend.”

It feels like the truth, so help me God.

But it’s also a two-faced lie.

“Nice to meet you, Miller,” Jesse says, extending a hand, and the two shake and exchange brief pleasantries.

Jesse turns to me. “I’m sorry to bring her back so early, but I forgot I have to take Hailey to the dentist. You know how it is with winter break. You try to jam everything in. I tried to text you to let you know we’d be coming early.” She smiles sweetly. “The message must not have gone through.”

She’s the most darling woman, covering for my fuck-up. She has to know I missed the message because I was getting busy with the man I introduced as a friend.

“I must’ve missed the text,” I say with a gulp.

“No worries. I’m glad we caught you. We’ll see you again soon.” Jesse turns to Miller, then me, and lowers her voice. “Are they, or aren’t they?” she whispers, wiggling her eyebrows, and I wait for the sidewalk to open up and suck me into an underground pit of embarrassment. She returns to a normal volume. “I saw your videos. They’re so good. Like those ice dancers.” She blows out a stream of air and fans her face, as if she’s burning up.