Power Drilled (Roommates, #8)(32)

Rather than call me out for being a creep, she nodded. “I’ll try.”

“Me too.”

Penny probably thought that it was going to be more difficult for her, but she wasn’t the one who had to deal with an erection. Hopefully it would subside before Naomi and her partner came in.

Which happened just a minute or two later. Naomi introduced her colleague as William, and he was a huge man, at least six-five, with blond hair. I was less than thrilled when he put his gigantic hands on Penny’s bare back. The sigh of contentment she gave didn’t help my mood, either.

Naomi gave me a competent massage, but I was hyper aware of every moan Penny made. Every time her body shifted. Every time the scent of vanilla floated my way.

Shit.

This wasn’t supposed to be the way this week went. During a Ten-Day Turnaround, our only focus was supposed to be on the house. I didn’t have time to wonder what else Hunter might have done with Penny last night, or to dwell on the sexy sounds she was making under the blond giant’s touch.

If we were going to finish the damn house, those kinds of things shouldn’t be a concern at all.

But when did things ever go the way they were supposed to in my life? The answer was rarely. I had one brother who was an agent of chaos and another with his head in the clouds.

When you added Penny to the mix, I couldn’t even begin to predict what would happen.

I guessed we’d find out in the next seven days.





12





PENNY





“Now just let go. See? It’s all in the wrist.”

The wooden ball glided out of my hand, rolled up the ramp, and disappeared into oblivion. “Oops.”

Jackson put his arm around my waist. “Maybe Skee Ball’s not your game.”

It wasn’t, but I’d enjoyed the way his body had felt while he was behind me, guiding my hand.

It was Tuesday night, and we were at one of those places that were basically arcades for adults. They had games, prizes, food, and beer. Lots of beer.

Jackson had only had one, though. I hadn’t had any.

“Isn’t this fun?” Claire asked, coming up behind me. By the tone of her voice, I suspected her beer count was higher than ours.

“Very fun,” Jackson said. He smiled at Claire like he knew her, but in actuality, tonight was his first time meeting her. But you wouldn’t know it by the way he treated her.

Matthew clapped Jackson on the back. “You any good at shooting hoops?”

“Fair,” Jackson said, and then he and Matthew started playing a basketball game in which they had to get as many baskets as they could in a set amount of time.

“I’m glad you were able to come tonight,” Claire said, looping her arm through mine. “Let’s get something to drink.”

She led me over to the bar, but I just got a soda. It seemed smart to keep my wits about me. I didn’t want to slip up and call my supposed boyfriend by his real name instead of Reid. That would be bad—especially since Jeff and Tanya were here, too.

I looked back over my shoulder. Jackson looked like he was having fun playing against Matthew. It would be odd if the two became friends. Of course, after the wedding, he wouldn’t be seeing Jackson again. Neither would I. After all, it wasn’t like their regular videographer would be out of commission forever. Reid had told me that after their ten-day push, they’d usually collapse with exhaustion for a week or two, but then they’d get out there and find the next house they wanted to tackle.

Only next time, it would be without me.

“You can’t keep your eyes off him, can you?” Claire said with a grin.

“Apparently not.”

“He really is handsome. Where’d you find him again?”

“At my art class.”

She giggled. “He’s so hot he could’ve been a nude model for you to draw.”

I choked on the soda I’d just attempted to swallow, and Claire pounded me on the back.

“Get it together, Penny. You’ve got a gorgeous man in your life—it would be tragic to die drinking a soda.”

My eyes watered as I coughed. Finally, I managed to croak, “Yes, it would.”

“What would?”

We turned at the sound of a familiar voice, and my heart sank.

It was Tanya.

“Nothing,” Claire said. “Are you having fun?”

“Yes.” Tanya said it with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, perhaps in an attempt to convince me that her life was going so much better than mine. In truth, it probably was. She had a job. She had a working car. She had a boyfriend. But that boyfriend was Jeff, so that definitely didn’t count as a win in my book.

“Where’s Jeff?” Claire asked.

Tanya pointed toward the basketball game. “He’s going to play the winner.”

Crud. I exchanged a look with Claire, and then we headed over there, where Matthew and Jackson were still playing.

Jeff looked up as I arrived. “Hi Penny.”

“Hi.”

Jackson looked over at the sound of my name, and the ball he’d just thrown bounced off the rim but didn’t sink into the net.

“Your new man is four points ahead, so I guess I’ll be playing him next,” Jeff said. I didn’t like the smug look on his face.