What the hell?“I’m neither. Why would you… Actually, never mind. Where’s Joel?” I’m baffled why he’d ask me that after last night. “Her name is Julia, I think?” I hadn’t asked Joel questions about this mystery woman, even though I was more than curious about her. Did this mean Delilah was a thing of the past?
“Shit, yep. Now I remember. Is that tonight?” Dylan asks, stepping aside and signaling for me to come in. I hadn’t even realized I was still hovering in the doorway.
“Sooo, where is he?” I ignore Dylan’s question. Of course it’s tonight or I wouldn’t be here.
“Who?”
Ugh! Well, this isn’t awkward at all.Maybe I should just leave. “Joel. Where is Joel?” I ask, making sure it’s clear as day. Ireallyshould leave. His mind is clearly elsewhere. Shit, maybe he wasn’t alone in the shower. Dylan runs a hand through his wet hair and avoids eye contact. His eyes flit down the hall toward the bathroom before returning to me.Yep, he definitely has a girl here.
“He left about fifteen minutes ago, but if he’s having people over, I guess he’ll be back soon.” He shrugs.
“Okay.”Shit. “I might head off for now. Tell him to call me, and I’ll stop by a bit later, if he still needs me to.”
I turn to leave, but Dylan grabs my arm and pulls me back to face him. “No, wait…I mean, you’re welcome to wait.” I stare at him for a moment until he speaks again. “Please wait. I’ll only be a minute.” He gestures toward the couch and then jogs back down the hall.
I drop into my usual spot on the couch and pull my legs up under me, while wondering why the hell I’m here. Do I really want to be here when Dylan and a woman walk out? Am I jumping to conclusions? Hell, yes. But who has a shower at five in the afternoon if they’re just staying in for a movie night? Unless he has a date tonight. He said he forgot about the movie.Shit! Stop thinking. Just leave.As if things aren’t awkward enough.
True to his word, Dylan returns in just over a minute, leaving me with no time to sneak out. He’s alone and dressed in a pair of grey sweats and a tee. He has mussed hair, like he just ran his hands through it. He’s definitelynotdressed for a date but still looking as sexy as sin.What is wrong with me?I know Dylan well enough to know there was never going to be a girl here, and he was never going on a date. I’m acting delusional. He’s making me delusional.
As if sensing the tension in the air, Dylan cuts through my thoughts. “Sorry, that was weird. I wasn’t expecting you or anyone, really.” He flops down on the couch next to me, just like always.
He runs his hand through his hair and smiles brightly. “Can I get you a drink?” he asks. It’s a pretty simple question, but can I answer it? No, because my mind’s stuck on his half-naked body. Dylan raises an eyebrow in question, and when I still don’t answer, he grips my thigh and gives me a gentle squeeze. “Everything okay?”
No, everything is not okay. You came out of the shower looking all wet and sexy, when I hadn’t even gotten over us having one of the hottest make-out sessions I’ve ever experienced. I can’t stop thinking about it. Despite being drunk out of my mind, my brain is screwing with me by having the insane ability to recall every second of our kiss, and yet, I can’t even remember what club we were at. And the worst thing, the absolute kicker, is that sleeping with you will ruin our friendship, but not sleeping with you seems to mess with me all the same. I don’t know how to move forward. The sexual chemistry is killing me, and I have this niggling feeling…nope, not thinking about that. Anyway, I know one night won’t be enough for you, and that’s all I can offer. So no, I’m not okay.
“Yep. Sorry. My head was on other things. I’d love a water, thanks,” I say and grin. “Want to watch a movie while we wait for Joel?”
I lean back into the chair and pick up the remote from the armrest, not even waiting for Dylan’s reply.
“You better choose a good one.” He laughs at his own joke, knowing Ialwayschoose good ones. It’s his choices that are questionable. Jumping up from the seat, he does a slow jog into the kitchen to get my water and our movie snacks. We are nothing, if not predictable.
I take this opportunity to chastise myself and pull my shit together.Enough is enough. You and Dylan are friends. Start acting like it.Massaging my temples, I breathe—inhale, one, two, three, exhale, one, two, three—and then relax. I’m the queen of suppressed feelings. This will be a piece of cake.
“You waited until halfway through the movie to tell me that?” I shriek in utter shock. “We’ve bonded over thrillers. I told you this was my favorite. You could have owned up to it then or maybe even watched it alone to see what the big deal was.” Biting my lip, I try to suppress my smile. I’m shocked, but I’m also messing with him a little. I don’t really care that he hasn’t seen this film. In fact, I’m looking forward to seeing his reaction to the ending, even if I still think, as a thriller fan, he should have watched it.
“I honestly have no excuse. And it’s really fucking good so far. I’m actually a little ashamed of myself,” he says softly, shaking his head and furrowing his brow. I can’t stop the smile from breaking free.
“I’m jealous you get to experience it for the first time. I’d go as far as to say it’s Edward Norton’s best work.”
“Ah, what aboutFight Club?”
“Hmmm.” I grip my chin and bite my cheek in thought. That’s a good question.Fight Clubis amazing, butPrimal Fear? “Let’s revisit this conversation at the end of the movie,” I say, not willing to decide on my own.
Dylan laughs and resumes the movie. He leans back in his seat and kicks his legs up onto the coffee table, something he never does when Joel’s here. Sometimes those two act like an old married couple. In his relaxed state, he looks over and smiles, eliciting another smile from me. “Bring it on,” he says before we sit in silence for the rest of the film.
“What the fuck just happened?” Dylan yells when the credits roll. He looks completely perplexed, and I’m so pleased I’m here to witness this moment. His face contorts before he rubs a hand over his features and shakes his head.
When he finally looks at me with a crestfallen expression, I burst out with laughter and then quickly cover my mouth to control myself. “I’m sorry; you just look so sad.”
“And that’s something to laugh about.”
“Well, no, not usually, but…”
“But what? I have so many things running through my head right now. One. How is it possible that I’ve never seen this film?”
I open my mouth to give him a smartass answer, but he presses his finger to my lip and shushes me.
“Two. While I’m still a little in shock, I think that might be one of the greatest endings I’ve ever seen. And three. There is no way I’m deciding between this andFight Club. Can we just agree that Edward Norton is a fucking legend?”