The Rules of Dating(111)

Colby was only half-smiling, so I couldn’t tell if he was mad or not.

“It wasn’t a date—I promise you that. Eddie’s just a friend and always will be. He helped me get over my anger after running into you at the subway.”

“He may be your friend…” Colby rolled his eyes. “But there’s no way he’s not trying to get into your pants. I don’t care what you say.”

I shrugged. He was probably right. “Anyway, I felt bad that Brayden saw me saying goodbye to him. I was afraid you’d get the wrong idea.”

“I knew deep down that you wouldn’t cheat on me. But like you said, it reminded me of what I was missing. When Brayden told me he saw you, I punched a hole in my bedroom wall.”

I covered my mouth. “Oh my God.”

“Yeah. Holden was pissed. He said I’m only allowed to wreck the walls again if it’s during sex.”

“I’m sorry you got upset.”

“It’s all good now.”

Colby’s phone buzzed. He looked down at it for a few seconds. “Jesus,” he muttered.

“What’s going on? Who is it?”

“Brayden.” He turned the phone toward me so I could read it.

Brayden: I know you guys must be “busy,” but Saylor keeps asking if she’s gonna get to say goodnight to Billie. I think she’s still a little paranoid about Billie not coming back. Not sure if you guys want me to keep her up or not so you can say goodnight. Also, everything is fine, but we had a little incident where Saylor grabbed my phone while I was in the bathroom and started looking through my photos. She happened to come across a nude selfie this chick sent me. So, I lied and told her I was taking a medical school class and had been studying anatomy. She didn’t question the fact that I am not in medical school. But as a result of our discussion, I am now desperately in need of a stiff drink, so if you feel like putting me out of my misery, I’d be game.

“Oh, Lord.” I shook my head.

“Well, it could’ve been worse. It could’ve been Holden’s phone.” Colby laughed.

I sighed. “That’s very true.”

“What do you think?” he asked. “We should probably go save him, huh?”

“Yeah.” I smiled. “I think we should go tuck Saylor in together. I want to read her a story.”

“She’ll love that so much.” He smiled.

“And then I want to tuck you in after that.” I winked.

He kissed my neck. “I definitely have something to tuck inside you.”





CHAPTER 33


Colby



Three weeks had passed since Maya left, and things finally started to return to normal.

True to her word, she’d left signed divorce papers with her attorney and disappeared without a trace, just like she had four years ago. While I didn’t wish her any harm, I also hoped this time she stayed gone from my life for good.

Billie and I had spent a lot of time reconnecting. We were pretty solid now, but I knew something that would really help move things to the next level. Billie thought that something was out of our hands. But she didn’t know the power of Holden’s dick…

I stepped off the elevator on my buddy’s floor and knocked on his door. As always, it took a while for him to answer. When he did, he looked completely disheveled and blinked at the sunlight like it was an intruder. “What time is it?”

I helped myself inside his apartment. “Nine AM. Sorry to wake you at the time normal people get up, but I couldn’t wait anymore. Were you able to get it?”

Holden padded over to his kitchen table and picked up a manila envelope. “Would I let you down?”

I pulled him into a bear hug. “Holy shit! I can’t believe you were able to get this done. You’re the best. Does that dick of yours have a tickler on the end of it or something? You just take it out of your pants and women do whatever the hell you want?”

One night last week, Holden and I had been hanging out having a beer. He’d asked how things were going between Billie and me. I’d said good, but it would be better if the wait for a judge to sign the no-fault divorce papers I’d submitted wasn’t a minimum of three months. Holden had asked what courthouse they’d been filed in. I told him Centre Street, and he said he used to hook up with a clerk who worked there. They hadn’t talked in a while, but he offered to reach out to see if she could do anything to expedite the processing. I’d said sure, but didn’t really expect anything to come of it—until a few days ago, when Holden texted me that he’d had lunch with the woman, and she’d said she could probably get the file pulled and signed within a few days.

I slipped the papers out of the envelope and read the signed divorce decree. “I don’t know how to thank you, man.”

Holden grinned. “No thanks needed. Tessa thanked me in a stall in the ladies’ room when I stopped into the courthouse to pick up the papers yesterday afternoon.”

I shook my head. “Only you can get laid and a divorce finalized in one outing, my friend.”

He laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. “Glad I could be of service. Now get the fuck out of my apartment so I can go back to sleep, and go tell your girl the good news.”

“I’m gonna give these to her…but not until later. So if you happen to see her at some point today, don’t mention this, okay?”