Gentleman Nine(43)
“What’s up?”
“Your phone went off again. I peeked at it. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright…”
“It was Emily. Are you mad?”
Shit. Talk about a mood killer.
“Am I mad that you looked at my phone? No, and after the shit I pulled on you with Gentleman Nine, it wouldn’t be very fair of me to be mad, would it?”
“Anyway, she wants to know if you’re around tonight.”
“Well, I’m not, am I? I’m very busy, in fact.”
Her lips curved into a slight smile, but I could tell Amber was still preoccupied with thoughts of Emily. I couldn’t blame her. I hadn’t exactly made it clear what I was doing about that whole situation. I’d sort of temporarily abandoned it. There was certainly not enough mental energy in me to explore that issue tonight. All I really wanted to do was to go back to the room with Amber and forget about anything else.
My dick could not be tamed. I looked down again at the marks I’d left on her neck and chest and suddenly felt the urge to leave and make a few more.
Enclosing her legs with mine under the table, I said, “You feel like taking the food back to the hotel? I’m suddenly starving for something other than steak.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
* * *
AMBER
Channing said he would be working late Monday night, so it was the perfect opportunity to have Annabelle over for some girl time.
It didn’t feel right divulging to her everything that Channing and I had done. Even though I shared things with my best friend pretty openly, he and I had agreed not to talk about our business with other people. While Annabelle knew the general gist of what was happening between Channing and me, I chose not to discuss any explicit details with her, and she respected my decision, for the most part. That didn’t mean she didn’t try to get info.
She poured some wine for each of us. “You sure you don’t want to talk about Saturday?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay. But you’re good? Everything went okay?” She walked over to me, handing me a glass.
“Yes. Everything was amazing. Too amazing. The only downside of the night was when his phone went off during dinner. He’d gone to the bathroom. I couldn’t help flipping it over and taking a peek. It was Emily texting him. Jealousy crept in. And feeling that way made me think that I’ve really been kidding myself that we can just stay friends.”
“Okay, but you said you both agreed not to sleep with other people while this was going on, right? So, what are you worried about?”
“That doesn’t mean he can’t have feelings for someone else or even see her. It just means no sex. Anyway, I’m mad at myself for getting so worked up over it. That sort of defeats the purpose of the casual sex arrangement, doesn’t it?”
“Well, that’s the risk you take when you agree to something like this. I mean, he’s your friend. You care about him. When you add physical intimacy into the mix, those feelings are going to get all jumbled. You’re only human.”
Swirling my wine around in the glass, I stared mindlessly at it. “I don’t want to feel this way. I want to be able to enjoy the pleasure that being with him brings without letting in any of the complicated thoughts, but it’s hard.”
Annabelle took a sip of her wine and placed it down. “You’ll figure it out. I don’t envy you, though, and I do worry you’re going to end up getting hurt. But I’m not going to tell you to stop, because I don’t think I would be able to if I were you, either. You need this. I can only imagine that the sex is mind-blowing.”
God, yes, it was. I hadn’t been able to think of anything else.
“I’m pretty much going with it for the experience, knowing that I’ll probably get hurt and taking the risk anyway.”
“So much of what we do in life is like that.”
The front door opened, startling us. Channing was home from work. He wasn’t supposed to be back until much later. My heart started to pitter-patter. I wasn’t ready for this.
Annabelle was beaming at the sight of him. It was the first opportunity she’d had to meet him in person.
“Hey,” he said as he entered the living room. His eyes fell to the wine bottle and plate of cheese curls lying out on the coffee table.
“Channing, this is—”
“Annabelle.” He nodded, offering her his hand and a wide smile. “I know who you are. Really nice to meet you.”
“I guess my reputation precedes me?” Annabelle grinned. I could tell she was really impressed that he knew her name.
“Well, Amber’s mentioned you several times. I know you’re a good friend.”
“It’s amazing meeting you, as well. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“I’m certain you have,” Channing said as he took a seat on the couch. “Mind if I join in?”
I hesitated. “Um…sure.”
He poured himself a glass of wine before lying his head back. “Fuck. Today was a long day. I’m so glad to be home.”
“I thought you were supposed to be working late.”
“My meeting was cancelled. I was psyched about that. I’ve wanted nothing all day but to get home, eat a nice meal, and chillax.”