The Deal(86)

No?

It’s official. I’ve gone insane.

“What do you mean, no?” she demands.

I hold my ground even in the face of her visible disappointment. “Tonight was a big step for you, but I think that’s how we need to handle it from now on. In steps.” I swallow, and force myself to add, “Baby steps.”

An odd glimmer crosses her eyes.

“What?” I say roughly.

“Nothing. That’s just what my therapist used to advise. Baby steps.”

She goes quiet for a long moment, and then the most brilliant smile fills her face and lights up the room. It’s the first time Hannah has smiled at me like that, a smile that truly reaches her eyes, and it makes my heart clench in the strangest way.

“You’re a pretty good guy, Garrett. You know that?”

A good guy? I wish. Fuck, if she could read my mind and see all the dirty images flashing inside it, if she knew all the wicked things I want to do to her, she’d probably recant that statement.

“I have my moments,” I answer with a shrug.

Her smile widens, and my chest cracks wide open.

I know in that moment that I’m in trouble.

I agreed to help her not just because I’m her friend, but because I’m a man. And when a woman asks you to have sex with her and give her an orgasm, you don’t think about it. You say hell yes.

Well, she got the orgasm. She did. And I know I’m going to get the sex. I will.

But right now, all I want is for this girl to smile at me again.





26




Hannah


“Stop right there!” a sharp voice booms as I hurry toward my bedroom. “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”

I spin around, startled to find Allie lying on the couch in our common area, balancing one of her icky juice cups on her knee. In my haste, I hadn’t even noticed her.

“What are you doing home?” I ask in surprise. “I thought you have econ on Wednesdays.”

“It got cancelled because the prof has Ebola.”

I gasp. “Holy shit! Are you serious?”

She snickers. “Well, no. I mean, maybe. He sent out an email saying he’s come down with an illness—” she uses air quotes “—but he didn’t say what the illness was. I like to imagine it’s something bad, though. Because then he won’t be able to teach for the rest of the term and we’ll all get automatic A’s.”

“You are an evil person,” I inform her. “And one day that voodoo black magic of yours is going to come back to haunt you. Seriously, don’t come crawling to me when you get Ebola. Anyway, I have to go. I just popped in to drop off my stuff before I head to rehearsal.”

“No way, Han-Han. You’re going to sit your pretty butt down on this couch, because we need to have a little chat.”

“I really can’t be late for rehearsal.”

“How many times has Cass been late for rehearsal?” she challenges.

Good point.

With a sigh, I walk over to the couch and flop down. “Okay. What’s up? And make it snappy.”

“Fine, you want snappy? How’s this—what on God’s green planet is going on with you and Garrett?”

My mouth snaps closed. Crap. Busted. I mean, I had texted her last night saying “over at Garrett’s—be home late” but Allie lives in her own Sean-centered bubble for so much of the time that I’d been hoping she wouldn’t bring up the subject.

“Nothing’s going on,” I answer.

Ha, if by “nothing” I mean “I went over to his house and we both got naked and masturbated in front of each other and then I had an orgasm and he had an orgasm and it was the best feeling ever.”

Allie sees right through my feeble attempt at lying. “I’m going to ask you this one time, and one time only—Hannah Julie Wells, are you dating Garrett Graham?”

“No.”

She narrows her eyes. “Fine. I’m going to ask you twice. Are you dating—”

“I’m not dating him.” I sigh. “But we are fooling around.”

Her jaw falls open. A second ticks by, then another, and then her blue eyes light up in victory. “Ha! I knew you were into him! Oh my God! Hold my juice—I think I need to break out in a happy dance! Do you know how to do the running man? If so, can you teach me right now?”