Love Thy Neighbor (Friend-Zoned)(20)

Unwrapping my sub, I reply, “No shit, Sherlock. Why so glum? Porn not loading quick enough?”

A look of confusion crosses his face. I nod to his laptop. He smirks and replies, “Sugar, what makes you think I need porn?” He leans back in the booth, places his hands behind his head and looks smug. “Club ladies throw themselves at me all the time.” I roll my eyes and pretend to choke on my sub. Chuckling, he goes back to his laptop, typing furiously. We sit in a comfortable silence and I finish up my sub with a moan. It’s a seriously good sub. If I had a hat, I’d take it off to Silvio.

“I like that,” Ghost murmurs.

Huh?

I open my eyes from my food coma and look right into Ghost’s soft brown eyes. “Like what?”

“When you-” Cutting himself off, he clears his throat and looks back to his laptop. “When women eat.”

Laughter bursts out of me and I utter, “Then you should love me, Ash. There’s nothing better in the world than food. Why do you think I love Tina so much? The girl can bake!”

Still looking at his laptop, Ghost mutters, “The girl can seriously bake.”

My voice colored with humor. I take it one further. “The girl can bake the shit out of a cake.”

Chuckling, Ghost one-ups me. “The girl can ice the f*ck out of a cupcake.”

We look at each other smiling like a couple of jerks and laugh. I hold my belly and say, “Oh shit. Tina got served and she doesn’t even know it.”

Ghost’s smile fades and he says deadly serious, “Don’t tell her I was making fun of her. I love those cupcakes.”

The thought of Ghost being scared that Tina would cut him off is hilarious! I laugh again but what Ghost says next wipes any form of mirth off of my face. “So, I heard moaning and banging on the walls last night. I take it your date went well.” He doesn’t even look at me, just types away on his laptop.

Unsure whether to tell him to mind his own f*cking business or to defend myself, I decide being aloof is best. “Yeah, I guess you could say it went well.”

Watching him closely, I see what seems to be anger cross his face, but he covers it quickly. “So, I guess I should get used to that, huh? Him spending the night?”

Hold the f*ck up. Say what now?

Now I’m pissed. I reply heatedly, “First things first, dickwad, he didn’t spend the night. Secondly, whatever sexcapades I plan to take on are none of your f*cking business. Thirdly, I wasn’t going to see him tonight so we could watch the baking show together, but now you can eat a dick.” I finish on a nod, and move to stand but he catches my hand and pulls me back into the booth to sit.

He looks confused as he says, “Hey, now. I didn’t mean to sound rude. I was just making conversation.”

Scoffing, I reply, “Yeah, right. You’re acting like I owe you an explanation or some shit, Ash.”

Frowning, he murmurs, “You’re right. Sorry, pretty girl. It won’t happen again.”

I love when he calls me pretty girl. The rat bastard.

I look into his eyes. He looks upset at himself and genuinely sorry. I sigh and roll my eyes heavenward. “Okay. Good.”

Warmth on my hand draws my gaze. I haven’t even realized he’s still holding my hand from when he pulled me back into the booth. His thumb softly rubs the back of my hand. When he sees me look down, he drops my hand like it’s hot and clears his throat. “So, we still watching TV tonight or did I just make things weird?”

Try as I might, I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face. “You are weird, Ash. A f*cking weirdo. But yes, we’re still on tonight.”

My grin transfers to his face. “Okay. See you later on.” Just as I slide out of the booth he says quietly, “Sorry about the weird thing.” He looks uncomfortable, almost embarrassed, as he continues, “I don’t really know how else to be.”

My heart breaks for him. I want him to explain why he is the way he is, but even I know it’s too early in our friendship to ask him to explain himself. Suddenly, I feel protective of him. I look him right in the eyes and respond firmly, “I love that you’re weird. It makes you unique. I’ve never met anyone like you before, and I’m proud to have you as my friend, Ash.”

Leaving him in shock, I turn on my heel and head back to work, face flushing as red as a neon sign.

***

I watch her ass sway as she strides away. Because she doesn’t walk ever, it’s not that simple with Nat.

She strides. She creeps. She stalks. She glides.

She’s like a f*cking animal. An animal I want to tame. Every move she makes is calculated.

She’s a walking wet dream. Sassy as hell.

Have I seen her trip or be clumsy? Hell yes. And I laughed my ass off. Not that I’d ever tell her that. She’d kick my ass. I watch Safira’s over the CCTV most of the day. Even though I’m meant to be watching the store, I spend most of the time watching Nat.





What she said just a minute ago lingers. “I’m proud to have you as my friend, Ash.”

I don’t hear that much. Proud. That word doesn’t usually get associated with me. It just doesn’t fit. Nik’s dad, Ilia, was the first person who ever told me he was proud of me. Nat is the second. In all my life.

I’d love to say it didn’t affect me, but f*ck, I’m puffing out my chest like a bullfrog. If I were to walk right now, I know it’d be a strut.