by Claire Adams
“Yeah, it is,” I said, hoping that I sounded at least half as excited as she did.
Kylie looked slyly over at me. “You've been watching me almost as much as you've been watching the show,” she said. “Don't think I haven't noticed.”
I laughed, blushing a little. “You're cute when you're excited,” I said, shrugging. Surely, I was allowed to say that, at least.
I liked the reaction that it got out of Kylie. The way that she blushed and ducked her head. The way that she smiled. “Thanks,” she said.
I couldn't stop myself from leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. “I have to use the restroom,” I told her. “Do you need any snacks while I'm up?”
“No, I'm good,” Kylie said, smiling softly up at me.
“I'll be right back,” I said.
I felt guilty for lying to her. In actual fact, I didn't need to use the restroom. But I was still thinking about what I was going to do with Biogen Tech. I had to visit them. I couldn't risk someone else investing in them. It wasn't just that I wanted the returns on my money. It wasn't just that I'd spent enough time in researching them, now, that it would have been a huge waste to let them go. But I wanted to make sure that they were able to proceed the way that they wanted to, as a company, without some big corporate parent overseeing everything that they did. I just needed them to understand what they were getting themselves into.
I needed to go there in person.
And I couldn't let Kylie stop me. First of all, that wasn't how relationships worked. She couldn't keep me from doing my job, just because she thought I had enough money in the bank already. Just because she didn't understand my job. But what was more, we weren't in a relationship. She was firm that we were just friends with benefits, and as far as I knew, she had no desire to ever be anything more than that.
If we were just friends with benefits, it shouldn't be a huge thing for me to leave her so that I could go get some work done. She might not understand what I was doing, but she had to accept it. And I knew that she wouldn't mind finishing the road trip on her own. It wouldn't be the first time that she'd driven across the country on her own.
Sure, she had said that she wanted to be surrounded by friends, right then. But maybe I could convince her to fly from Vegas to New York and then drive back with me, if she was really that set on doing a road trip with friends. We could explore our options.
But if you ever want to have something more with her, you need to start factoring her opinions into your plans.
That was true too. It wasn't enough to say that we were just friends with benefits now so she couldn't be upset with me. If I wanted something more, I had to show her that I was committed to this and that I would be there for her.
I shook my head and pulled out my phone. I should at least hear the full story of why my investment might not work out. I couldn't make a rational decision on whether or not I needed to go there in person if I didn't even know what I was up against. For all I knew, Mark was letting me know that the government had decided not to approve their trial tests, which would definitely mean my investment couldn't help them, but it would also mean there was no point in flying out there in person.
I called his number and listened as it rang through.
I could hear music start back up in the theater, and I hoped I could get off this call quickly enough to get back to Kylie and assure her that the lines to the bathroom had just been exceptionally long.
Chapter Twenty
Kylie
I flopped across the couch when we got back to the suite, even though I knew this fancy dress wasn’t appropriate “flopping” attire. If I stayed there for too long, it would get wrinkles that would never come out of the satin fabric. But for now, I just wanted to relax and reflect on what a nice night it'd been.
“That show was amazing,” I told Josh, not for the first time.
He smiled over at me. “I'm really glad you liked it,” he said again. “We should look up theaters in LA when we get back. I'm sure there must be someplace that does something similar there.”
“There probably is,” I agreed.
“Do you want a glass of wine?” Josh asked, already pouring one for himself.
I nodded. “Yes, please.” I pushed myself up to a sitting position and accepted the glass that he handed me.
He sat on the couch next to me, and I curled into him.
“Hey,” he said, putting an arm around me and kissing my hair.
“That message that you got earlier,” I began. I wasn't sure that I should ask about it, but I was curious. I knew that it had to be something to do with work, based on the look on his face, but whatever it had been, it had stressed him out. He'd been tense and frowning ever since.
Josh sighed. “It was work,” he admitted.
“What's up?” I asked when it became clear that that was all he was going to offer.
He shrugged, looking away from me. “Something's come up,” he said. “It's with one of the new investments that I was planning on making. Apparently, my investment position may be in danger.” He paused. “I'm not sure that I'll be able to continue on this road trip with you.”
The words hit me like a bag of bricks to the stomach. “Oh,” I said.
I hated the thought that his work could be more important than this and hated that he could never seem to let it go. But I remembered what Mandy had said, equating his work to my work. Josh enjoyed what he did, and he didn't want to see all his hard effort go to waste. I understood that. It was the same with my art.
So, I forced a smile on my face. “Well, these things happen. When will you be leaving?”
“I don't know,” Josh said, running a hand back through his hair. “I don't even know yet if I'll be leaving. I just may have to. All of the details are still getting worked out.”
“Right,” I said. I swallowed, trying to figure out what to say. I laughed bitterly. “It's going to be a pretty lonely road trip on my own. And I have no car because you won't let me drive yours.”
“We'll figure it out,” Josh said. “I'll make sure that you get home to see your parents in time for Christmas, whether I'm with you or not. We'll talk about it. Once we know if I have to leave or not.”
“Wouldn't it be better to talk about it now, so that we're prepared?”
Josh laughed. “If I do have to leave, it's not like I'm going to be whisked away in the middle of the night,” he said. “We'll have time to figure everything out. I promise.”
“Okay,” I said.
“If it were any other investment, it wouldn't be this important,” Josh said, as though that made it any better. “But this is for Biogen Tech, the guys with the genetic engineering technology.”
“The stuff that could change the world,” I said, hoping I didn't sound as bitter as I felt about it. “The guys who are helping you build your legacy.”
“I've promised to pledge them 50 million dollars, if that gives you some idea of what a big deal this is,” Josh said.
I was silent. I didn't know what to say in response to that.
I tried to figure out what I was feeling. But I was torn between anger and sadness. I had begun to realize that, as Mandy had said, there was no way for this road trip to be like the ones that we used to have back in college. But I was starting to see, just now, how very far away we were from those college trips. Everyone had responsibilities now. And not for the first time, I had to wonder if we were really all friends still, or if we were just clinging to something that we should really be letting go of.
The idea of losing Josh now, though, hurt even more than it had before. I was starting to realize what a thin line it was between “friends with benefits” and “being in a relationship.” Maybe it was just that Josh and I had known one another and been best friends for too long. If you tried to be friends with benefits with someone that you didn't know as well, maybe you could pull it off. But with Josh and I, I knew that I was already rapidly getting my feelings all tangled up in it.
> And that was part of what made me so angry about this. I resented the fact that he wanted to go running away from me so that he could take care of a business deal. Saving the world or not, what it came down to was that he was looking to make a return on investment with this genetic engineering company, and that bottom line apparently meant more than Christmas with friends.
“I'll fly you to New York in first class, if I have to bail on you,” Josh promised, reading how upset I was, even though I'd tried to hide it.
I shook my head and dropped my eyes, hardly able to even look at him. “It's fine,” I muttered. “Seriously. I'm sorry that I dragged you on this long road trip anyway. If we hadn't stopped in Vegas, we could have been there already.”
When I looked up, Josh looked shocked and wounded. “You regret this trip?” he asked.
I shrugged and then realized what he was really asking. Did I regret our stay in Vegas, which had brought us into this whole friends with benefits situation to begin with?
I didn't have an honest answer to that.
Things had been much easier before we had this relationship hanging over us, at least in certain ways. I didn't have to worry so much about ruining our friendship. I didn't have quite so many feelings tied up in my thoughts of him.
But at the same time, I'd had fun over the past few days, and I really did wish things could be different between us. And given the fight with Andrew, I was pretty sure that if Josh and I had never tried this, I would have spent the rest of my life wondering if things could have been different between us. Now, I knew exactly what things could be like.
And I knew that I couldn't have anything more with Josh. Neither of us were ready to make that leap.
I had to stop thinking about it now, though. I couldn't keep winding myself up in my feelings. I was going to start crying if I didn't do something soon, and I didn't want to start crying. I didn't want Josh to feel like he had to stay there with me. We weren't in a relationship. It was his choice if he wanted to head off to do a business deal over the holidays.
Making a split-second decision, I slid off the couch onto my knees.
“What are you—” Josh began, but he cut off with a strangled groan as I mouthed at his cock through the fabric of his slacks.
“Jesus,” he hissed.
I grinned devilishly up at him and easily undid his belt and popped open his fly. When I had his thick length out in front of me, I paused for a moment, looking questioningly up at him. If I didn't know how much longer I was going to get to have this, I might as well take advantage of it.
“If you're expecting me to stop you, you'll be waiting a long time,” Josh said, and I was surprised to hear how lusty his voice already was, strained with desire.
I lightly kissed the very tip of him and then went to work, popping just the head into my mouth at first and giving it a few exploratory licks. He hardened rapidly. His cock enlarged with each beat of his pulse. His skin was soft against my lips as I dragged my mouth up and down his length. He held remarkably still, just resting a hand on the back of my head, not forcing me.
I pressed my tongue against the underside of his head and then fluttered it at his slit. I was rewarded with a long moan.
“God, that feels good,” Josh said.
I continued what I was doing, increasing both the pressure and the speed, using my hand to work the parts that I couldn't swallow down.
I'd given head in the past, but it had never excited me quite like this. There was something about knowing that it was Josh who was coming apart in front of me. It was undeniably sexy. I wanted that.
Not in a relationship, my ass, my subconscious said. I tried to ignore that, focusing on the physical sensations rather than my thoughts. If I started thinking again, I'd only get upset.
I bobbed and sucked, watching Josh's expression and letting his reactions guide what I was doing. Suddenly, he caught my shoulder and pulled me off.
“If you don't stop that, I'm going to come,” he said weakly.
I raised an eyebrow at him, still kneeling in front of him, my hand wrapped around the base of his cock. “Isn't that the point?” I asked.
Josh blinked at me for a moment, as though it took him a second to process the joke, and then he laughed. “Come here,” he said. “I want to fuck you. Right here.”
I moved up so that I was straddling his lap. I was still fully clothed, but I could feel his burning length pressed against my entrance, with only my panties standing as a barrier between us. That was quickly rectified as Josh reached down between us and tugged my panties to the side.
The intrusion, when it came, was somewhat forced, desperate. I was wet, but I wasn't fully ready yet, and he wasn't patient enough to spend time preparing me. But once he was inside, he paused for a minute, kissing my neck, sucking a mark there that I was sure would be visible the following day.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and tilted his head back so that I could kiss him on the mouth. It was passionate and needy, our tongues tangling, seeking to take as much territory as they could. I only broke the kiss as Josh caught my hips, tugging me up and then settling me firmly back down onto his length.
He repeated this a couple times, each time sliding deeper inside of me. Finally, I got with it and started rocking up and down on my own, setting as fast a pace as I could.
But Josh caught my hips. “Slow,” he murmured.
I whimpered, needing more. Each time my hips came up, I could feel the slow drag of his head, sending dizzying shots of pleasure up and down my spine. He was deep inside me, and he found his way deeper still as I slumped forward against him, holding onto the back of the couch for some semblance of support.
Josh thrust sharply into me, raising his own hips to meet mine as they dropped downward. I cried out, mouth falling open as I drew in ragged breaths. He repeated the motion again and again, beginning to pick up speed. I let him use my body as he wished. I had no complaints.
I squeezed my eyes shut as the sensations started to edge on too much, pleasure wholly consuming me. Josh chose that moment to bite another mark into my neck, and I moaned loudly, fingers digging into his strong muscles, clinging to him as though he were my lifeline.
I sobbed and came, climaxing hard, my walls squeezing tight around his thick girth as he continued to move in and out of me, pounding into me with wild abandon now. He found his own orgasm right at the tail end of mine, and feeling him spurt his seed into me had me crying out again, shivering with a hint of overstimulation.
I came back to myself to find I was slumped against Josh's solid chest. He was stroking his hands down my back, murmuring sweet words into my hair.
I blinked and pulled back, wincing when I realized he was still inside of me. I took a deep breath, trying to calm the frantic beating of my heart.
Josh reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. For a moment, he looked as though he wanted to say something, but whatever it was, he kept it to himself. I realized that I must look just the same, words lingering on my lips.
I don't want you to go. That was one of the things I wished I could say. I don't want to be just friends with benefits. That was another thing that I couldn't admit out loud, for fear that it would ruin our friendship.
Josh kissed my forehead, smiling gently at me. “You know, we still haven't made use of the enormous bathtub in the master bedroom,” he said.
I grinned at him and stood up, stretching out limbs that already felt languid and relaxed. “I guess we should probably do that since it’s our last night here,” I said. “Who knows when I'll ever see a bath that big again.”
Josh smiled and reached out for my hand. Then, he drew me along toward the bathroom, where he kissed his way along every inch of my body as we waited for the tub to fill.
Chapter Twenty-One
Josh
It was just turning to evening as we drove into Salt Lake City. The sky was a beautiful shade of pink, and the surrounding mountains were practically glowing. I glanced over a
t Kylie and was pleased to see an enraptured smile.
“It's pretty, isn't it?” I asked her quietly.
“It really is,” Kylie agreed, shaking her head. She smiled over at me.
We pulled up to the hotel. This place wasn't quite as swanky as the place that we’d stayed at in Vegas, but it came a pretty close second. I groaned as I got out and stretched my legs. “Maybe we need to think about making a few more stops during the day,” I joked to Kylie. “We're not 22 anymore.”
Kylie laughed and did her own set of stretches, popping her back and lifting her arms up well above her head. Then, she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering a little. “It's a lot colder here, too!” she said. “Starting to feel like it's actually winter.”
“Eight days until Christmas,” I reminded her. “I bet the ski resorts are going here already.”
“Aww, if I'd thought of that, we could have dropped a day in Vegas and added an extra day to go skiing,” Kylie said, sounding disappointed.
“We still could probably do that,” I pointed out. “Or we could take a ski trip in New York.”
“That'd be fun,” Kylie said. “It's been years since the last time I went skiing.”
I huddled down in my hoodie, shoving my hands into my pockets. “Let's go get checked in,” I suggested, as the bellhop grabbed our bags out of the trunk and the valet took my keys.
“Good idea,” Kylie said.
We headed into the pleasantly warm lobby and walked straight up to the check-in counter.
“Hi, Josh Green looking to check in,” I said, handing over my reservation documents.
“Ah, Mr. Green, good to have you with us,” the receptionist said, smiling pleasantly at me. “And Mrs. Green as well! We really hope that you enjoy your stay here.”
Kylie flushed brilliantly, and I chuckled weakly. “This is actually my good friend, Ms. Kylie Summers,” I told the woman.
“Oh!” she said, looking embarrassed. “My apologies. You just looked like such a cute couple, and you're booked into the Superior Suite, which is a favorite with our honeymoon couples because of the personal Jacuzzi in the room, so I just assumed...” She trailed off and cleared her throat, visibly collecting herself. “My apologies.”
