Maybe he really is just tired from a long week at the office. I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t this.
There’s a couple of eggs inside the door, so I make myself a fried egg sandwich and sip on some black coffee. I am meeting with my advisor this morning to finalize everything although I am sure she will try and convince me to stay.
After finishing my breakfast, I return to the couch and flip through my emails on my phone. I can’t believe I’m on the couch and Ezra is sleeping as if he hasn’t ignored me since I moved in. Maybe I should just hold off on getting the rest of my clothes. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to this living arrangement.
I keep refreshing my inbox, hoping that I will have an offer from a publisher any day now. Letting out a heavy sigh, I open my book and get lost for the next two hours in King’s Landing.
My alarm sounds on my phone, signaling I need to haul ass to the shower.
I tiptoe into Ezra’s—our room, to gather my clothes as quietly as possible. My boyfriend is sound asleep. It doesn’t escape my notice that he does appear to be exhausted, purple rings shade small circles under his eyes. Now I feel bad.
I gather up my clothes in my arms and slip back to the bathroom. Placing my clothes on the back of the commode, I start fiddling with the shower, adjusting the temperature of the water. At least the shower appears clean, I was expecting to need to wash the tub out before I could get in.
After stripping down, I get in and pull the curtain back. I hope I remembered to lock the door, the damn curtain is only a clear plastic liner. I’ll have to see about getting something darker…more private.
I’m busy scrubbing the shampoo through my hair when I hear the sound of the toilet lid slamming down. My eyes widen and slowly, I peek around the curtain, shielding my body. Not that it matters. Whoever is in here has certainly gotten their eyes full.
Ezra. Thank goodness.
He rubs a lazy hand through his hair. “Morning,” he mumbles.
“Morning.” I smile weakly and duck my head back under the spray of water.
“Want me to drive you to class and go on over to your dorm to grab the rest of your stuff. We can grab something to eat after.”
“Sounds perfect.” I’m just happy that we are going to spend today together. He took the day off, which I know must have been hard to do. I’m sure his old man wasn’t happy when he put in the request. “The office was okay with you taking the day off?”
“I told them I have a dentist appointment.” I see him shrug.
I guess he hasn’t told his parents that I moved in either. I’m not pushing that right now, not when I haven’t told mine either. Not that what they will think matters. I know I should tell Ezra I lost my job and am thinking of working for Holden, but he seems to be in a decent mood and I don’t want to ruin it. I still have to confess about school as well.
As I turn the water off, Ezra brushes his teeth. When I step out and wrap a towel around my body from the shelving over the commode his eyes narrow on me. He spits, then rinses before advancing on me.
He practically growls as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me flush against him. The water from my hair trickles down my back in cold drops and I shiver. “I’m sorry I was so grouchy when I got in. I’m so damn tired, baby.”
“I understand.”
His nose brushes along my jaw, inhaling the scent of my cherry blossom shampoo. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” I whisper against his lips, needing a kiss to confirm his statement.
His hands travel down my hips to my thighs, then he squeezes my butt before lightly spanking me. “Get dressed.”
I nod, chewing on my bottom lip, still wanting that kiss, but not receiving it.
Left on my own, I continue to get ready.
As I am blow drying my hair, I could swear I can hear yelling and a door slamming. When I turn off my hair dryer the apartment is quiet again. I pick up my dirty laundry after brushing my teeth and head back to the bedroom to grab my bag. Ezra is seated on the edge of the bed, dressed for work. His head is buried in his hands and he won’t even look at me.
“Hey, talk to me.” I stand in front of him, rubbing my hand up his arm.
The touch I have been craving, wraps around me, hugging me as he pushes his head against my stomach. Crouching down, I tilt his chin up. His green eyes are so empty. “My father called, seems he’s checking up on me and knows I lied about my appointment. He told me I can come in to work, or I can find a new job.”
I sigh inwardly, knowing he doesn’t need any grief from me. I can see that he feels lousy. “That’s shitty.” I press my mouth to his. He returns my kiss and it feels lifeless, no spark, no warmth. I pull back. “It’s fine, you have to go. I can manage without you.” I smile, but even I know it’s anything but genuine.
“No, it’s not. I asked you to move in hoping it would make things better and it is only getting worse. I’m a shit boyfriend.”
“Stop beating yourself up. Things have been complicated, but I’m sure they will slow down, eventually.”
He shakes his head and I hate to see him so defeated. “I doubt it.”
“I live here now, so you will have plenty of opportunities to make it up to me.” I attempt to coax a smile from him, but it doesn’t work.
“True. I’ll make it up to you.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
Ezra brightens a small fraction, flashing me a semblance of a smile before kissing me, and this time, I feel his passion return.
“I’ll see if Bailey can help me lug the rest of my junk home.”
“Already handled. Holden is going to meet you at the dorms after your class.”
“Um, okay.” Yeah, I’ll definitely be asking Bailey. There’s no way I am counting on Holden. “Can I have your key? I’ll get a copy made today.”
Ezra looks up at me, annoyance flickering in his blue eyes. “Holden didn’t get you one?”
Shaking my head, I laugh. “Nope. I had to hunt him down at that bar last night so I could get in.”
“I’m sorry, baby, I would have done it myself, but I’m always a day late and a dollar short. I can’t seem to make anyone happy.”
“You make me happy,” I tell him, hoping he doesn’t notice the rise in my voice. When I lie I tend to get high pitched. However, even after two years together, Ezra hasn’t picked up on it.
“I have to go if I’m going to make it on time.”
“I’ll see you this evening then?”
“I’ll call you on my lunch break.” He proceeds to remove his door key from his keyring and hand it to me.
I move away so he can get up to leave.
Ezra doesn’t even bother with kissing me goodbye. I remember when he’d never leave me without a proper kiss. How can I be living with him and feel even further apart?
Grabbing the backup cell phone Ezra gave me, I schedule an Uber.
Chapter 8
Holden
Tossing and turning, I attempt to get comfortable again, after being woken up by Big E fighting with his dick of an old man. I guess Ezra was supposed to have the day off to finish moving Conleigh in. Dude was in a jam so I offered to step in and help out. I even walked back to the bar to get my truck so I can do it. Thankfully, I keep a spare key in the glovebox. I don’t know what Conleigh did with my keys last night. I can get them back later.
I shouldn’t have agreed to this shit. It isn’t my problem, but I felt compelled to do something. I still think them moving in together is a mistake, but it isn’t my relationship. I like Conleigh and Ezra is my dude, but those two don’t belong together. They don’t have a damn thing in common other than the fact that they’ve been together so long they are afraid to call it quits. That’s my opinion anyway.
This moving in together was a last ditch effort to prolong the inevitable. But since I flaked on getting Conleigh a key made this week, (I might have liked her needing me to let her in and her name popping up on my phone) I give u
p on sleeping in and roll my sorry ass out of bed.
Making my way to the bathroom, I sigh in relief knowing I have the place to myself. Silence is golden. I drain my dick and shake it once before flushing. If you shake it more than once you’re playing with it.
My mind flashes to Conleigh playing with her socks last night and I get hard. I shake my head. “Nope. Not fucking going there, buddy!” I curse my dick and the bastard twitches to argue as I catch the sweet smell of her perfumed soap from her shower this morning.
I kick off my boxers and make my way to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee to wake my ass up. I usually sleep naked, but with Conleigh living here, I am trying to be respectful. However, she isn’t here now so I can enjoy my freedom. While my coffee brews I kick back in my recliner and flip on the TV to watch the morning news and check the weather. My brain is fucking with me and keeps going back to a certain pair of tan legs in those damn socks.
My dick grows harder, and I stroke it as I look at the Channel Nine weather girl. She’s kind of hot for a nerd. I concentrate on her lips as she waves a hand across the map, talking about snow. I try to imagine her mouth on me. Her red lips wrapping around my cock, but my mind betrays me, going back to my best friend’s girl.
Stroke.
Pump.
Fuck me.
I know it’s wrong, but I’m too invested in getting off to stop now.
With my cock in my hand, I make my way down the hall, and I’m a sorry bastard. I open the door to their bedroom, seeing my prize on top of the hamper by the closet. Her socks. I grab the top one, feeling a bit crazed, but I’m so damn turned on, I can’t stop myself.
I cross the hall to my room and shut my door. With my legs spread on my bed, I wrap her soft cotton grey, striped sock around my cock, relishing in the feel of it against my heated skin, imagining it’s her touch.
So fucking wrong.
Stroke.
Pump.
Grunt.
A bead of sweat breaks across my forehead as I continue to jerk my cock. The fabric rubs and slides with every motion. Precum beads at the head of my cock.
Pump.
Stroke.
Squeeze.
Hiss.
Fuck yeah. I can see her in my head, licking her lips and batting her long lashes at me. Her fingers run up her leg, then slowly pull her sock up over her knee. Then she says my name. “Holden.”
“Yeah, baby. You want my cock in your pretty little mouth don’t you. You want to be my little slut and take my dick deep in your throat. You want to suck me until I cum all in your mouth, don’t you?”
Goddamn, I’m so close. I jerk faster.
Stroke
Pump.
Squeeze.
Fuck.
“Holden?” I hear my name. My fantasy almost seems to be coming to life.
“Yeah?”
Knock.
My eyes shoot open, landing on my doorknob.
I’m praying that I am imagining things.
Knock. “Hey, um…Holden, it’s me…Conleigh.”
Fuck! Did she hear me?
“I hope I’m not waking you. Holden? Are you there?”
Hell yes, sweetheart, I’m here.
I let out a growl.
“Holden…”
My name leaving her lips sends me over the edge and I explode, all over her sock.
“Just a minute,” I grunt out as my dick spasms, jetting my cum all over my hand.
I look down at the mess I made, and it hits me, I just choked my chicken to thoughts of my best friend’s girl. And not only that, I stole her fucking sock to masturbate with. What in the hell is wrong with me?
“I’m running late and in a hurry. My Uber was a no show and I need you to give me a ride, please?”
“I’m coming!” I snap. No, I already did that. I shake my head, wad her abused sock up in my fist and shove it in the drawer of my nightstand. I hurry and pull my jeans from last night back on. I wipe my hand across my brow. Fuck. I just smeared my spunk on my forehead. This is a damn disaster. I grab my dirty shirt from my chair and make do, using it as a rag.
I do a check in the mirror. I appear normal. Sweaty but normal.
Opening my door, I lean against the frame, so she can’t fully see me. “Hey, what’s up?” My voice comes out in a breathless whisper.
She smiles at me. Then she licks her bottom lip. My cock jerks. Fucking jerks at the sight of her teasing that lip, wishing it were my dick she was caressing with that tongue. I’ve got a serious problem. It isn’t just now hitting me how damn attractive Ezra’s girl is, I’ve wanted Conleigh since I first laid my eyes on her. I shake my head. I gotta snap out of it. I just need a good lay, that’s all. I can’t keep having these fantasies about her. It’s been two years of this torture and now she is staying across the hall from me. I’m a dead man.
“I could really use a ride.”
“Yeah, sure.” Fuck yeah, I got something she can ride all day and all night.
“Oh, I forgot to give you your key back. I have Ezra’s, so I’ll get a copy made later today.”
“Thanks.” I snatch my keys from her hand and slam my door in her face.
Real smooth asshole.
Chapter 9
Conleigh
Well, that didn’t go as expected. I know I’m not always at the top of Holden’s list, but that was downright rude. Is he mad that Ezra asked him to help me collect the rest of my things? I’m half tempted to march in his room and give him an earful, but I stop myself. I’m already running late, and I don’t want to start off living here by fighting with Holden. I’m sure we will have our moments, but I would like to avoid them if possible.
I don’t know why I let him get to me.
I grab my bag and go wait by his rusty heap for him.
The whole ride to campus he doesn’t speak.
I break the silence. “What did you mean when you said that Ezra was probably fucking Judy?”
His grip on the steering wheel tightens. “Don’t know what you are talking about.” He stares straight ahead, unable to meet my eyes.
“I took you for a lot of things, Holden, but a liar wasn’t one of them.”
“I was drunk and being an asshole,” he offers with a shrug of his shoulder, but he still won’t look at me.
An uneasy feeling burns in the pit of my stomach, and I suddenly don’t feel like meeting with my advisor. I want to tell Holden to drive me to Ezra’s office, so I can see for myself just how closely he is working alongside of Judy, but I don’t. I trust Ezra. I do, so why am I questioning it?
We make it to campus in record time, but there aren’t any decent parking spaces near the admissions building.
“It’s fine, I can walk. Just let me out here.”
“You aren’t walking that far in the cold rain, Con, you’ll catch a cold,” Holden growls at me.
Finally, a space opens up and Holden scrambles to lock it in before someone else nabs it. I hate being late, it makes me flustered and ruins my whole day. Not that it isn’t ruined already, between Ezra having to work, Holden’s jerkface performance, and now my being late, today is perfectly terrible. I’m not impressed with the start of my day. I thought Tuesdays were supposed to be a good day.
Today is feeling a hell of a lot more like a dirty Monday.
Grabbing my bag with my form in it, I thank Holden, and I make a mad dash for the administrative offices.
If I cut through the grass it will get me there faster, at least that’s my plan until I go sliding on the wet lawn and fall on my ass. Pain shoots up my elbow and I am scared to look at my wrist and see the damage.
Tears prick in the corners of my eyes as rain pelts down on me. Today my patience is really being tested.
I give. Screw the meeting, I will reschedule.
Mortified, I begrudgingly take the hand offered to me. Holden.
I sigh in relief as he hovers an umbrella over my head. “Thanks,” I tell him, using my good hand.
; “Are you okay? I saw you go flying and tried to run after you, but I wasn’t fast enough.” He’s rolling his lips inward, fighting the laughter erupting from his chest.
I offer him a weak smile. “I’ll live. My wrist is hurting, but I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Just a little rain.” He grins again looking over my soaked appearance. “Looks like you have shitty britches.”
I flip him the bird and make the humiliating walk to my former dorm. I can hear snickers and giggles as people get a load at the mud that is marking the ass of my jeans.
Outside of my dorm, the rain has slowed to sprinkling.
“I’m gonna grab a coffee while you get cleaned up. I’ll see if I can find a closer parking space and see what we can fit into the cab of my truck. We can make a few trips if needed.”
“Thanks, Holden.”
“No problem.”
He walks off leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Inside my room, the one I shared with Bailey, for the past two years I feel nostalgic. This is the room where we grew so close. We shared heartache and laughter. The warm feeling doesn’t last long though. My eyes land on a photo of Ezra, on my desk. We made a lot of happy memories in this room too. Ezra first told me he loved me laying on my small bed. The butterfly wings in your stomach, can’t sleep, can’t eat feeling vanishes before it can really form. That new exciting feeling is gone. I shake away the memories we’ve made in this small room and change out of my tarnished clothing.
I need to do laundry anyway when I get back to the apartment.
Holden returns still wearing a shit eating grin spread across his asshole face.
“Here I was hoping you’d still be all wet.”
“I’m not in the mood, Holden,” I warn him.
“Come on, we both know it wouldn’t take much for me to get you in the mood,” he teases as he steps into the room, sucking up all of the oxygen with him.
I can’t fight the smile that tugs on the corners of my mouth. I shake my head and toss a bag at him. “Take this down to your truck, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He salutes me like a dork.
Shaking off his antics, I go back to work sorting through the rest of my belongings.
My Best Friend's Girl Page 5
