At least, I get to pretend it is.
I screw my face up. “I do not want to imagine what you might be doing either, thank you.”
“What would I be doing?” Reed asks innocently.
I cock a brow at him and scoff. “Um.”
The thought of Reed with another woman, that ridiculously ripped chest of his, and his carved abs, dripping in sweat as he ‘goes hard at it’ like he does in the gym invades every one of my senses, and I shudder as a ball of nausea threatens to swell in my stomach.
It makes sense. No one likes to think about their friends having sex, do they? Not actually picture it. Although some of the graphic stories Suze has told me about her dating adventures mean I may as well have been sat at the foot of the bed with them.
No, I do not want to picture Reed with another woman.
Ever.
“Um. You know what? It doesn’t matter.” I wave my hand half-heartedly in the air.
“You think I would be in bed with someone whose name I won’t remember?”
“No, I—”
“It’s fine, Harley. I know what you think about that. You’ve told me enough times.”
“I…” I close my mouth, stopping myself before I make it worse.
I’m such a bitch. He was opening up to me on the doorstep, saying he hates how people judge him. And I told him it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, and yet here I am, seeming like I am judging him for his past.
“Besides, I like that you say it like it is. Your mouth is one of your best qualities.” His lips twitch. “Although if I were your real boyfriend, I think I would be stuffing something in it to get you to shut up sometimes.”
“Reed!” I bat him on the chest as the atmosphere lightens. He grabs both of my hands and pins them behind my back with a deep chuckle.
My breasts are forced forward, and I suck in a breath as my nipples harden beneath my blouse. Images of him feeding his cock into my mouth assault my brain and any words I could use as a comeback wither and die on my tongue.
I mean, he’s… I look back into his bright eyes, which are fixed on mine. God, I wonder if he looks at them like this when he’s—No! I cannot think about Reed with other women. And what he does when he’s naked with them. It’s just weird and awkward, and weird, and… His lips part, and I stare at them, itching to hear what he’s about to say.
“Weed!” A little girl runs over and wraps herself around his leg.
“Hey, Book Page.” He breaks eye contact with me, letting my hands go, and grins as he hoists the little girl up into his arms. She immediately presses his cheeks together and giggles as his face squishes up.
Weed?I mouth to him behind her.
He winks at me before turning his attention back on Paige.
“I wame wu wisch wu a wuppy wurfway,” he says before tickling her under one arm, so she lets go of his face. “I said”—he holds the hand up above her head as she stares at it, her eyes going wide and sparkling in delight—“I came to wish you a happy birthday.”
She erupts into giggles again, throwing her head of blonde curls back as he swoops on her tummy and tickles it.
“Stop, Weed! Stop!” she pants, reaching for his cheeks again the second he relents in his attack on her.
“No, you don’t, Book Page.” He swings her around in his arms before depositing her on the floor. She beams up at him like she’s just met her hero. “You having a fun time, superstar?”
“Yes. There’s a pony. Did you see it?” She bounces on the spot excitedly, and Reed’s eyes dart to mine.
“I did. It’s a fine little pony. You know what?” He reaches for my hand and pulls me to his side. “This is Harley. She loves animals, too.”
Paige’s face glows, her cheeks flushed pink, probably from a mix of being swirled around and eating party food. Her eyes pop as she looks at my pink top with a frill down its center, the same shade as the dress she’s wearing.
“Do you want to come and see it with me?”