Julian is belly-laughing, and Speedy joins in with him.
“Bastards.” I frown. “The pair of you are total bastards.”
“Aw, babe. We’re just teasing.” Speedy leans over and plants a kiss on my cheek.
I see Julian’s brows go up in question.
I haven’t told him that Speedy and I are sleeping together. Well, dating. That she’s my girlfriend. Not that I’ve told her that. I mean, asked her.
Fuck. Am I back in high school?
When he arrived, I introduced them, and Julian remembered her from that time we all met in the club—you know, the meeting I pretended to forget—which made me feel like a total shit when I saw how happy it made her that Julian had remembered her. And that was it. They were off gossiping together like a pair of long-lost friends.
Turns out, Speedy is a big fan of his show. Her friend Logan got her into it.
Good thing Julian likes dick, or I might be getting jealous with how well they’re getting along.
The pizza is gone, and the game has finished, but I hardly got to watch it because Speedy and Julian were too busy talking. But, honestly, I didn’t even mind, which is weird because I hate it when I watch a game and it gets interrupted.
What is this woman doing to me?
“So, you two are dating?” Julian says to us both.
Speedy looks at me, a question in her eyes.
I keep my eyes on her. “Yeah, we are.”
The smile that lifts her lips lights up my insides. And my dick instantly wants to party with her pussy.
Saying those words out loud has just made this thing I have with her even more real. And I like it. A fuck of a lot.
I turn to Julian. “Speedy is my girlfriend.”
And I sound like a teenage boy.
The grin on Julian’s face tells me I’m going to get the ribbing of my life because of that comment. But you know what? I don’t give a fuck.
See what she’s doing to me? Turning me into one of those guys who goes brainless over his girl.
“You do realize that you’ve got your hands full with him, right?” Julian says to her.
“Oh, yeah, totally.” She giggles.
“Hey! I’m an easy guy to get along with.”
She snorts.
I look at her. “What?”
“Nothing.” She shakes her head, smiling innocently. “Right, boys, as much fun as this night has been, this girl is tired, so I’m gonna hit the hay.” She squeezes my thigh with her hand and then softly kisses my lips. “Night, babe,” she whispers.
My dick instantly perks up.
Not yet, big fella.
“It was really nice to meet you, Julian.”
She gets up and goes over to him. He gets to his feet and kisses her on the cheek.
“Thanks for the pizza.”
“Anytime.” She waves him off. “Hope to see you again soon.”
“You definitely will.” He smiles.
“Come on, Gucci.”
She pats her thigh, and Gucci looks up from her spot by Julian’s feet, not seeming to want to move.
“I’ll bring her through when I come to bed.”
“Oh, okay.” She smiles.
“Night, babe.” I watch her leave the room, her gorgeous ass swaying in her skirt as she walks. My cock begs to get up and follow her.
“So…she’s your girlfriend,” Julian says in a singsong voice.
I flip him off, and he laughs.
“Smoke?” I say, suddenly needing a cigarette.
“Sure.”
Julian never used to smoke. He only started up a few years ago when he was getting clean from his addiction. Yeah, Julian’s the friend who was addicted to painkillers. It’s not uncommon for addicts to replace one addiction with another. Lesser of the two evils. They’ll both kill you in the end. It’ll just take the smokes longer to send you to the grave, and you won’t lose everything because of them.
We head out onto the terrace, and Gucci follows.
I take a seat on one of the chairs at the table and pass Julian a cigarette. I light my own up and then hand him the lighter.
Gucci parks her butt next to Julian’s chair.
“I can’t believe you have a fucking goat living in your apartment.” Julian chuckles, reaching down to scratch Gucci on the head.
“I know. But she comes with Speedy. They’re a package, so what can I do?”
“I like her.”
“Speedy or the goat?”
“Well, Gucci’s cute. But I meant Ava.”
“Yeah. She’s great.” I smile and then take a drag of my cigarette.
“And she makes great fucking pizza.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
We’re silent a moment, and then he says, “You look real happy, Gabe.”
“Don’t I always?”
“Nah, you’re a moody fucker, and you know it. But, now, you seem…I don’t know…different. Lighter. Less tense.”