PULSE (Part Four)(8)

"Speaking of lawyers, your friend came to my place tonight," I say the words as nonchalantly as I can manage. I want to gauge his honest reaction.
"What friend?" He doesn't even bat his long, perfectly shaped eyelashes.
"Garrett." My eyes are glued to his face as the name leaves my lips. I know he's not going to be surprised in the least considering he probably sent him over there with an agenda and a pair of boxing gloves as a nice touch.
"What?" He slams the now empty bottle of water onto the bar and it teeters slightly before it falls over. "Garrett was at your place? Why?"
He's either been taking acting lessons or he really has no clue Garrett was on a mission to convince me that Nathan loves me. "You didn't know he was coming over?"
"What the hell is going on between you two?" He's rounding the bar now and it's only going to be three, two, one second until I see his entire body on display in his underwear again. There it is. Dammit.
"He brought me a present." I know my eyes are dancing with the words. I can feel the tension in the air. Nathan can't tolerate the idea of my being alone in a room with a man. I'm taking some perverse pleasure in watching him squirm over this. It's nothing compared to how he's made me feel over his bet with Drew, but it's a start.
"What the f*ck?" He pulls his hand across his forehead to remove a few stray beads of sweat. Great, now he's not only semi-nude, he's glistening.
I pull on the collar of my t-shirt. It does feel extra hot in here. "He came over tonight." Way to drag it out, Jessica. Just tell him that Garrett was a messenger of love who visited you to convince you that Nathan has real feelings for you.
"Jessica." He's across the room and sitting next to me before I can process it. "Tell me there's nothing there."
"Nothing between me and your friend?" The words are barely audible. I can hardly think, let alone string a question together. He's too close. I can smell his cologne and almost touch his bare leg.
"Christ." He grabs both my shoulders in his hands. "This needs to stop tonight. Tell me how to fix this. Now."




Chapter 9

How bad would it really be if I stripped right now and sat on his lap? What would that say to him about me? That I'm weak? That I can't stand up for myself? That I'm like one of those female characters in a romance novel that has no backbone? Or that I crave his body so much that I don't give a f*ck what he does? That's the ticket.
"Jessica." His voice pulls me from my thoughts of riding his glorious cock into the sunset. "Are you okay?"
"I'm just super…"Jessica, stop. Do not tell this man that you're super horny and you want him. Don't, do that. Don't. "I'm just super." What?
He pulls back slightly and raises his eyebrows as the corner of his lip rises in tandem. "You're just super?"
I shake my head and inch away from him on the couch. "Tell me about the bet."
"The bet?" he parrots back. "The bet between Drew and me?"
"How many bets are you a part of?" It's a half-joke if I'm being honest. If I'm being brutally honest, it's meant to bite into him but I know that he'll skirt over it the way he always does when I subtly try to stab him with a verbal knife. I'm beginning to think I need to switch to a more direct verbal hatchet if I want to get my point across.
"You went to the club that night with your roommates." He's so direct and matter-of-fact in his tone. "I saw you in the line."
"You didn't say anything." I shift slightly in the seat, feeling suddenly apprehensive about the conversation. It was my intention, when I hopped into the taxi earlier, to find out why he'd sent Garrett over to talk to me, now I'm on the brink of learning all about their disgusting bet.
He glances towards me and his eyes briefly scan my face before they drop. "You railed on me about kissing you in front of Bryce. You told me not to interfere when you were with other guys."
I nod. I remember that conversation. He'd promised me he'd keep out of my way if I was interested in someone else. The whole concept seems so foreign to me now. How can I possibly want another man? How am I ever going to get myself back to a place where that feels okay again?
"I was coming up behind you and heard Drew talking to some guys." His fist clenches on his lap and he pulls it across his leg. "They were talking about you."
"About me?"
"He said the curvy blonde was ready for him." His jaw tightens. "He was pointing at your ass, waving a wad of cash in his hand and asking who wanted to bet him that he could nail you first."
My stomach recoils at the sound of the words. I'm appalled by the image of Drew staring me down in line and wagering a bet on my body. "You already knew who he was?"
He nods slowly. "Cassie pointed him out to me months before that. I'd go to the clubs sometimes and almost always see him there. I knew he was a gambling addict. He was blowing money left and right on anything he could place a bet on."
I'm not sure if I'm more bothered by the fact that he knew who Drew was for months before that night or by the mental image of Nathan interacting with women at clubs before he knew me.  I sit in silence hoping he'll take the hint and continue his confession.
"I asked him if I could get in on the bet." He reaches to cradle my hand in his but I pull back. I can't manage any skin-to-skin contact with him right now. I can't.