Fall

“Sold.” She dropped the menu and reached for her water. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t watch her lips squeeze around the straw and feel that particular squeeze all the way down to my pinky toes.

The waitress walked up and took our orders. As promised, I ordered one of their Oktoberfest beers for Pris to try.

When it came she stared at it.

“Love, it’s not going to bite.”

“No, that’s your job, right?” She rolled her eyes and smirked.

While I gripped the table so hard I’d probably wake up with splinters in each finger. Bite. Why the hell did I have to say bite?

My laugh was lame.

My body was tighter than a drum.

I released one claw from the table and scooted the beer over to her. “One sip. I don’t think you’ll like it, but everyone should try it once.”

“Okay.” She picked up the beer and sniffed it, then sniffed it again, then looked into the cup.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not a date. You don’t have to check it out first, just drink.”

She closed her eyes and lifted the glass to her lips, taking the smallest sip known to humanity. And then her eyes opened, and she took another sip.

Her smile was wide as she set the beer down and laughed. “It’s good!”

“What?” I swear to all that is holy if that woman smiles at me one more time I’m going to lose my mind.

“I, um…” There went that damn blush. Be ugly, for crying out loud! “I kind of like it.”

“Does this mean that I can introduce you to more brews in the future? Make a big deal out of it, have some taste testing?”

“Depends.” She seemed to retreat back into herself. “Are you going to invite more skanks to join in on the party?”

The arrow hit dead center. I leaned back in my chair and cursed, looking away, unable to actually make eye contact because the shame was that hateful.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, still not looking at her. “I have no excuse for my behavior, only that I’m an ass. To be fair, you were warned.”

I stole a glance.

And wrong thing to say.

I back peddled. “But that doesn’t make it right, or better, or any less, awful.” I reached for my beer and took another gulp. “For what it’s worth, I’ve felt like an absolute ass ever since and almost called you so many times, to say…”

“What?” Pris’s eyes bore into mine. “To say what?”

“Sorry,” I whispered. “To say sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” She grinned. “And yes I would love to taste more. It could actually be really fun. You know? As friends? I’ve never had a guy friend before.”

She was talking so fast my mind was having trouble catching up with what she was saying.

She just accepted my apology? No reprimand? No tears?

And what the hell? Now I was in the friend zone?

How? How did that happen? How had I let it?

Our food arrived.

I wanted to smash my face into it.

“So, how about it?” Pris reached across the table. “Friends?”

Hell no.

Never.

Because if I was her friend; I couldn’t screw her. If I was her friend, I couldn’t kick Smith’s ass for stealing my girl. If I was her friend, any possibility of being more than that — slowly diminished into nothingness.

My only excuse for reaching across the table and shaking her damn hand, was because for once in my life…

The sacrifice was worth the reward.

If I didn’t agree to it, I’d lose her.

And I wasn’t ready for that.

“Sure.” I gripped her small hand in mine. “Friends.”

Chapter Fourteen

Priscilla

Jaymeson refused to let me pay even when I offered. Then he said something about how the least he could do is pay for my lunch… as a friend. Only the way he said friend made my entire body go into shock mode.

I swear he said the word like an expletive.

As if it was poison he needed to eradicate from his body.

I only hoped it was the word, not the meaning behind it. A guy like him would never be interested in a relationship. It seemed the only smart thing to do was to let him know where I stood. I could be a friend. Friend meant safe. Friend meant I could date and not think about him anymore.

Besides, he apologized.

Which meant, he was successfully off my radar as a romantic interest. It was only the hurt feelings that kept my brain mulling over our kiss on the beach and his rejection of me.

That was it.

“Pris…” Jaymeson stood. “I’m going to use the restroom then I guess we should go back to the boxes?”

“Sure.” I offered a smile and shoved another fry into my mouth.

He knocked on the table and walked off toward the restrooms. I had to keep myself from laughing. It sounded stupid, but I mean, celebrities? They were just like everyone else. Sure they were mega-talented and good-looking. But they still had to use the bathroom, they still got food stuck in their teeth, which Jaymeson would totally discover once he went to the bathroom.

That had been my payback.

I laughed again as my cell went off.

My dad had sent a text.

Dad: How you holdin’ up?

Me: Great.

I was totally lying but I didn’t want him to know — not yet. He’d been under so much stress lately, and I wanted to see if I could take care of things first. I stared at my phone like it held all of answers to life questions and nearly dropped it when my Facebook messenger went off.