I look to Jax for an assist, since he's the other person in our group with a "cushy" corporate job, and therefore the first person everyone usually looks to when it comes to buying a round of drinks.
But he merely holds his hands up in surrender. "Don't look at me, I've never been able to win this fight. Just buy her the drink, I promise it'll make everything easier."
Lucy gives him a victorious grin before turning back to me. She waits for Jax to leave for the bar to get his own drink before asking, "So… who's this 'best lay' you were talking about when we got here?"
"I believe that title would be mine," says an amused voice from behind me.
Sure enough, Dani chooses that moment to step into the fold. Lucy looks absolutely giddy at the sight of her, and it doesn't take a psychic to figure out what she's thinking.
That I rarely ever bring the girls I'm fucking to hangouts with my friends.
You know, separate worlds and all that.
I preemptively cut off whatever Lucy is about to say—none of which would work in my favor, if the look on her face is anything to go by. Instead, I turn to Dani and plaster my usual charming grin on my face. "Someone's sure of themselves,” I tease.
Except, Dani's just as good at this game as I am, which means she isn't phased by my mask in the slightest. She just raises an eyebrow and asks, "Are you saying there'sanothergirl who can make you come hard enough to start moaning God's name?"
I reach forward and lazily stroke a finger across her collarbone, enjoying the shiver she has to suppress at my touch. "I'm not the one that was screaming for God last time, sweetheart," I murmur.
Lust flares in her gaze, and for a moment it's just the two of us in the entire bar. I can see her remembering the last time, memories of last night flashing between us. And it doesn't even matter that Max was there, too, because right now even he doesn't exist.
But then her question registers, and I pull us back from the whirlwind of desire that we could so easily get lost in. I sweep her dark hair over her shoulder and tell her, "But no, there's no other girl that can do what you do. And believe me, they're trying," I add with a playful smirk. The comment is enough to make the corner of her lips twitch with a suppressed smile, which makes me think she easily sees through my lie: that thereareno other girls in my bed.
Then I raise an eyebrow and ask, "What about you? How's your roster look?"
"Fuller than it's ever been," she breathes.
And I see the lie for what it is, the same way she saw mine. The lie that proves that even though this thing between us is casual, it's consuming enough to make us want to give it our full attention and not muddy it with other people. Even though we both could, if we wanted to.
We just… don't want to.
When we separate, it's with the unspoken agreement now sitting comfortably between us. I sneak a quick glance at Dani to see if there's any part of her that's freaking out about it, but all I see is a warm smile on her face. Which immediately makes a relieved breath whoosh from my chest.
She turns away from me, and directly into Max's line of vision. He gives her a tight smile in greeting.
"Hey, Max," she says, nothing but her usual friendliness in her voice. It's enough to immediately remove the nervous lines from his own face, and he gives her a genuine smile in return.
"Hey, Dani. Want a drink? Aiden's buying."
Her eyes light up gleefully. "Ooh, yes please. I'll have whatever you're drinking."
And just like that, we're back to being three friends. Even if it is on my dime.
I turn away from them, wanting to give them a few minutes to settle into their own comfortable peace. I suddenly remember that Lucy was the one that instigated that whole conversation, and wince at how much she just heard. I open my mouth to say… I have no idea what, but something that's along the lines ofdon't make this a big deal.
Only, she's not listening. She probably hasn't been listening for a while, because when I finally face her, she's looking away from our group, a downright giddy smile on her face.
And when I follow her line of sight, I know why.
Jax is a few feet away from us, wrapped so tightly around Hailey that you almost can't see the tiny blonde from his massive stature. He's kissing her in a way that could only be considered a claim.
"I'm going to throw up in about 0.3 seconds if you two don't cut that shit out right now," an annoyed voice grumbles from beside me. I look over, surprised to see Remy there. She and Hailey must've come in while I was lost in Dani.
Hailey's cheeks pinken with a blush. "Sorry, I didn't mean to force that in your face," she mumbles. She lets Jax wrap an arm around her shoulders as they step up to join the group.
Remy sighs at that. It's no secret that she's not a huge fan of watching her best friend maul her little sister, although a part of me thinks there's something else that's making her hesitant about their new relationship. I don't know either of their personal lives' well enough to know what it could be, though, so I stay out of it and offer only my charm and wit as a buffer.
"So itistrue," Lucy exclaims with a grin. "I always knew you scaring the guys away from her was a little suspect. Guess now we know why."