So Toxic(Bad Boy Next Door Book 4)(195)
He nods, his expression stony as he shoves his hands into his pockets. “All right; I get it. I guess I should go. I’ll have Cindy give you a call. We’ll need to send in Shayna soon. We plan on revealing the results of the bet on Friday, the twelfth.”
He straightens his hunched shoulders and turns to leave.
I follow him to the door, my hand pressed over the knot of fear lodged beneath my breastbone.
He steps into the sun. When he opens the car door, he stands for a moment, his gaze holding mine. He lifts a finger in salute and slides into his seat.
Something propels me down the walkway. “Jack! Wait.”
He hops out and leans on the roof of his car. I stop at the passenger side.
“So a few days ago, you said we were friends. Did you mean it?” I hold my breath.
His lip pulls up on one side, revealing a dimple. “Yeah. I meant it.”
“Well, just because I’m seeing Dave, it doesn’t mean you and I can’t hang out—if we’re friends. Right?”
His eyebrows shoot up and his half-grin blooms into a full smile that takes over his face. “Sure. I guess. I’m still going to hound you to let me suck on that peach-flavored pussy one more time. But if you can handle that, then—yeah. Let’s do it.”
His joke sends a thrill of heat through me, blocking out the sickness that seemed to have settled in.
I wink. “Well, I suppose if you can handle the rejection…”
“I don’t get rejected often, but I can learn.” He slaps the top of his car lightly. “So, when can we hang out?”
“Whenever you want. Well, unless I’m out with Dave or working.”
“Tell you what: you give me a call when you have some free time. I’ll pick you up. We can—I don’t know. We’ll find something to do.”
My first unforced smile in days creeps across my face. “Okay. I’ll do that.”
I swing around toward the house, that tiny kernel of excitement deep inside shining so brightly that I can’t hide it. Good thing he can’t see my lips.
Shay stands inside. “What was all that?”
“Even though I told Jack that Dave and I are still an item, he wants to hang out.”
She grins and shakes her head. “Well, wonder of wonders. Perhaps he’s not a total ass after all.”
Dickey Bird crackles and caws. “Ass. Kiss my feathered ass.”
Shay and I look at each other. He hangs upside down in his cage, his head turning this way and that as he nibbles at his wooden toys. We burst out laughing.
The two-ton brick that’s been sitting on my shoulders seems so much lighter all of the sudden. “When did you teach him that?”
She shrugs. “I didn’t.”
The cursor blinks at the top left corner of the virtual page. It stares at me as though it expects greatness to flow into it via Times New Roman fonts all typed into neat rows.
This is the worst part of starting any document. New books especially.
Instead, I mess around, checking my social media accounts. I look at my bank statement. Anything is a good distraction to put off working on a relationship self-help book, when I obviously know nothing about relationships.
I’m a complete and total fraud. One day, not long from now, some reader is going to show up to a book signing. Instead of trying to attack me, they’ll stand with their finger pointed, yelling, “Fraud!”
I can’t believe Decode the Man in Your Life isn’t an abject failure. I can’t even capture the man I love. Hell, I can barely keep his attention for as long as it takes me to suck him off and let him do the same for me. That’s why I keep putting off calling him to get together—as friends.
I can’t do friends with Jackson. And even though I wish that somehow he’d change if he knew about the baby, a million women would probably tell me differently. He and I don’t have the same long-term goals. He’s not going to suddenly want to be a father simply because we’re friends.
I grab my phone. Gee-Gee will know what I should do.
On the fourth ring, she picks up. “Hello?”
“Hey, Gee-Gee.” I let out a slow sigh.
“Uh oh. I know that sound. What’s going on, Baby?”
All of the sudden, my throat clogs with tears that want to strangle me. My breaths hitch and I can’t talk. All I get out is a high pitched whine.
On the other end, Gee-Gee tut-tuts. “Now, Sweetie, calm down. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong. Did you have an accident?”
I pull in a shaky breath and wipe the wetness from my eyes. “Yes. But, not like you th-thi-think.”
Her tone changes to something more like the steel-backboned woman I admire so often. “Now, Ronnie. You need to tell Gee-Gee what’s going on.”