“How’d that go?”
Rick shook his head. “I fucking called her Angela.” He looked up at me. “Not in bed. It didn’t get that far. But I was up on her in the bar and called her Angela. How fucked up is that?”
“It sounds like you’re not ready to move on.”
He took a long drink of his beer. “Don’t have much choice though, do I?” He turned to me. “How’d you do it after Tiffany?”
I looked out over the water, not wanting to talk about Tiffany. “I had a kid to take care of, so I didn’t have much choice. Plus, I was angry at her for leaving Mollie, but a part of me was relieved. We’d been over emotionally long before that. It’s not the same.”
“Love sucks.”
His comment surprised me. “Love?”
“Yeah, man. Fuck. I think I love her.”
I laughed. “Maybe you need to try to work it out.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“If she feels the same as you, maybe you have a chance. Come up with a grand gesture.”
“Like what?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. What the hell do I know about love?”
Rick seemed to think on it. “Maybe. I miss her man.” He laughed. “Who’d have thought I’d get ensnared by a woman?”
“It does boggle the mind.”
He stood. “I think I’ll head out to the point, clear my head. Want to come?”
I rose and walked with him to the door. “Nah, I got plans.”
He looked at me with a knowing smile as I opened the door. “I guess things are going good with your teacher?”
“We enjoy each other’s company from time to time.”
“So, it’s like that, huh? No strings?”
“No strings,” I confirmed, although the words didn’t quite ring true to my ears.
He lingered in the doorway. “Are you sure about that? I’ve never seen you spend so much time with one woman. Perhaps Cupid has shot his arrow in your ass as well.”
I shook my head vehemently. “Nope.”
He laughed. “Me thinks you protest too much.”
“Nope.”
He studied me. “She’d be a good mom for Mollie. And clearly, she must have other…assets, or you wouldn’t be sticking around.”
“Ellie is a great friend and I do enjoy being with her, but there won’t be more than what we’ve got now.”
“You sure about that?”
“Positive. I’m not serious about her.” The words scratch through my mouth like sandpaper, which doesn’t make sense. Ellie and I are friends with benefits. That’s it.
“Okay, if you say so.”
“Go figure out how to deal with your own woman.”
He patted my shoulder. “Thanks, man. You’re a good friend. Keep the beer.” He handed me the case.
Once he left, I took one beer and put the rest in the fridge. Then I headed back out to the balcony. The situation with Rick and Angela was exactly why Ellie and I would never be more than friends with benefits. At least Rick escaped without having an unplanned pregnancy. Not that I was complaining because Mollie was the center of my world.
Then again, I suspected Rick was going to get his shit together and find a way back to Angela. I hoped it worked out when he did. But me? I was going to avoid all entanglements involving the heart. Been there, done that, don’t want to do it again.
I checked my watch and realized that Ellie should have been back by now. I smiled and my cock thickened as I thought about all the new things I planned to try with her tonight.
Chapter 11
Ellie
I’m not serious about her.
Will’s words landed with a hard thunk on my heart. If I hadn’t been sure of my feelings before, I was clear now, because those words hurt. They hurt a lot. And that meant I had feelings for him. After all, I wouldn’t care that he was treating me like a just fuck buddy if I didn’t have more than friendly feelings for him.
A part of me was angry, and yet, he’d been clear from the beginning that he wasn’t a man to make a commitment. I’d gone full-steam ahead with him because I wanted his touch.
I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. I’d just arrived home from work, and was walking up the stairs when I heard Will and Rick talking.
“Ellie is a great friend and I do enjoy being with her, but there won’t be more than what we’ve got now.”
“You sure about that?”
“Positive. I’m not serious about her.”
As much as I knew what he said was true, to hear them was like a stab in my heart. I thought of all the times we’d been together. The way we touched each other. The way I craved him even now when my heart was breaking.
Sex isn’t love, I reminded myself. My feelings were probably just confused. It wasn’t like I had a ton of experience with affairs of the heart, or body, in this case. But my heart said otherwise. My heart hurt at his words, and it was clear that somehow, during our time together as friends with benefits, my feelings crossed over into something more.