by Ali Parker
“There might be someone,” I admitted.
“Ooh,” Jeremy gushed. “What’s he like? Is he handsome? Do you have pictures?”
I laughed and we made our way back to our cubicles, apparently abandoning his original plan of touring me around and pointing out all the hotties. “He’s very handsome. But he’s my best friend so nothing can happen between us.”
Jeremy scoffed. “Oh please, girl. Who made that a rule anyway? Plenty of relationships that start as friendships become passionate love affairs. Have you two ever… you know?” He winked and gave his hips a quick little thrust.
His forwardness surprised me. I giggled and covered my hand with my mouth as my cheeks burned.
Jeremy pushed me into my cubicle and then down into my chair. It squeaked softly beneath me and I rolled back a few inches until the back of my chair hit the edge of my desk. Jeremy stood in front of me and leaned against the cubicle wall so he could cross one ankle over the other while sipping his coffee.
“Well, that was transparent,” he said. “So yes, you two have hooked up.”
“This hardly seems like appropriate work conversation.”
“You can tell me now or over drinks one night.”
I sighed and thought about that night with Jackson back in Nashville. “Yes. We’ve had sex. But it was only one time and it can’t happen again.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “Neither of us have talked about it since it happened, so I got the impression he didn’t want to. Besides, I’m not his type.”
“What?” Jeremy asked dryly. “Are sexy, curvy, natural beauties not his style?”
I blushed fiercely. “No, he tends to lean toward the less natural beauties with itty bitty waist lines and calves the size of my forearm.”
Jeremy sipped delicately at his latte. “I can appreciate the beauty in a dainty woman. But you? You’re pretty gorgeous, Nashville.”
I broke eye contact and stared into my coffee.
Jeremy pushed off the cubicle wall. “Maybe you’d believe me if you weren’t wearing terribly out of style slacks and a unisex blouse. But what does the gay guy know?”
I bit my bottom lip.
Jeremy put a hand on my shoulder. “I have to get back to my calls. But if you ever want to go shopping together for some new clothes to show this friend of yours what he’s missing, I’m your man. Deal?”
I smiled involuntarily. There was something compelling and trustworthy about Jeremy. I wanted to like him as much as I wanted him to like me. “Deal. So long as you don’t try to make me into someone I’m not.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Nashville. You just need a little sprinkle of spice to add to your hourglass of nice.” Jeremy swung around the cubicle and I heard him answer his next call in a sing-song, delighted voice. “Thank you for calling customer support. My name is Jeremy. Tell me how I can help you today.”
Chapter 18
Jackson
I heard my front door open at half past six on Wednesday evening. The takeout I’d ordered for dinner had just arrived, which was pretty fortunate timing, and I was busy popping the lids of the Thai containers when Hailey found me in the living room.
She tossed her purse on the sofa and held her arms out wide. “I made a new friend on my first day.”
“Of course, you did. You’re charming as hell. Who wouldn’t like you?”
Hailey batted her lashes dramatically at me. “I know. He’s a doll. Super sweet. Really funny. He poked fun at my outfit, but besides that—”
“He has good reason to poke fun,” I said, looking her up and down. Her blouse and slacks weren’t doing her any favors. Not that they had to. She sat at a computer all day and had to be comfortable. But still. Hailey had a killer body and it might make her feel a little more confident to dress in clothes that made her feel good. “How long have you had those pants for? Three years?”
“That’s not the point.” Hailey looked down at her pants and frowned. “They’re not that bad, are they?”
“They’re not good, babe. You have a safety pin where there used to be a button.”
Hailey turned pink. “How did you know that?”
“Magic.”
She sighed and shook her head. “Whatever. They’re just pants. And I don’t like spending money on clothes I only wear to work, okay?”
“Hey. Don’t get mad at me. This new work friend of yours is the one who brought it up.”
Hailey came into the living room and hovered over the containers of Thai food. She inhaled the steam and her eyes practically rolled back in her head. “This smells so good.”
I didn’t want her to have to cook or feel like she had to when she came home after her first day of work. So far, it was going better than I thought it would. I figured her first day would have been a bit of a nightmare. Starting a new job was never really a good time. Being out of your depth and surrounded by people you didn’t know was never fun, and even though Hailey was the easiest person in the world to like, I knew she might come home wanting to pull her hair out.
“Aside from your new friend, how was work? What’s the office like?”
Hailey sat down cross-legged at the coffee table and I joined her. She helped herself to a plate and began spooning Pad Thai onto it. “Honestly? Not that great. Jeremy was the only good thing there. And the coffee machine. It was pretty fancy.”
“But you don’t like the office?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, Jack. I just… I didn’t feel like I belonged there. And I felt so drained by the end of the day. Like, I don’t remember a time I felt so tired.”
“Maybe it was stress? I know you were feeling a bit on edge about starting the new gig. Maybe it will pass once you have a couple of days under your belt?”
Hailey pushed her Pad Thai around on her plate with her fork. “Maybe.”
“You don’t sound convinced.” I chuckled. “Talk to me. What’s up? What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Hailey peered up at me from beneath her brows. I could tell she was trying to decide whether or not she wanted to open up or keep her thoughts to herself. Finally, she said, “I don’t want you to say, ‘I told you so.’”
“Hails, am I the kind of guy who would do that?”
She stared blankly at me. “Like clockwork.”
“I promise I won’t this time.”“
She chewed the inside of her cheek. “Fine. I’m… I’m thinking about putting my notice in and quitting.”
That wasn’t what I was expecting. Not at all.
For years, she’d been pushing back against anyone who told her this job was holding her back. She’d steadfastly refused to reconsider and insisted her future was climbing the corporate ladder at her company. Right when I’d decided not to nudge her out of the job, she was deciding she wanted out on her own.
“What changed that made you feel like this?” I asked.
“I had some of the worst customers I’ve ever dealt with today. And Jeremy said it’s not normal at this office to have a bad balance of good and bad customers. In Nashville, one in every ten calls was a bad one. But here? It’s more like seven out of ten are bad. I’m not sure where he got his numbers.”
“Damn.”
“I know,” she muttered. “It’s garbage. And I just sat there and took it and stared at my computer wondering why the hell I keep subjecting myself to this. How long will I be able to keep going like this before I explode, Jackson? I know I’m a patient person, but today, something felt off. It took all the willpower I had not to scream into the phone at them that I was a person too and they had no right to treat me the way they were.”
She was saying everything I’d waited for her to say since she started that damn job. “You’re right. They don’t have a right to treat you like that. Or anyone for that matter.”
Hailey nodded slowly. She still seemed tired. Drained. Like these assholes had zapped all her energy out of her. “I was so tired this afternoon. I realized this
job is eating away at my spirit. And I don’t want to let it anymore.”
“Good. Your spirit is too perfect to share with the bottom feeders that are your company’s customers.”
She gave me a sad smile. “Thank you, Jackson. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Your life would be empty.”
She giggled and shook her head at me. “Or easier. Much easier.”
“Bully.”
“You started it.”
“That’s what you always say.”
Hailey shoved my chest. “Because it’s true! I get two minutes of seriousness from you and then it’s back to horsing around.”
“It’s part of my charm.”
“Charm.” Hailey scoffed. “Please. You wouldn’t know charm if it walked up to you in a red dress and slapped you silly.”
“Depends how tight the dress was.”
Hailey buried her face in her hands. “Why do I even bother trying?”
I laughed and pulled her in for a hug. “You know I kid. I’m sorry. I’ll stop now. I can’t help myself sometimes. Especially when you make it so easy.”
“Watch it.”
“I’m shutting up.”
Hailey snuggled in close to my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist. She let out a sigh as I breathed in the scent of her coconut shampoo.
“You know I’ll always have your back, right, Hails?”
She lifted her cheek from my chest and blinked up at me. “I know. And I’ll always have yours.”
I stroked her cheek and brushed a strand of hair away from where it was trying to get caught in the corner of her mouth. “And together there’s no enemy we can’t face. Right?”
She nodded. “Right.”
She was so close I could count the freckles dusted across her nose and cheeks like splattered brown paint. Her skin was fair from the winter months we were leaving behind. Soon enough, she’d have that bronze glow of summertime and her hair would get lighter. It had never escaped me how many changes Hailey went through from season to season. Right now, I was caught up in the fair skin and the contrast of freckles, the dark lashes and rosy cheeks.
Kiss her.
I swallowed.
It felt like we were back on the blankets and pillows in my Nashville apartment. Something inside me was burning. It was familiar and hot and wild and it dared me to act. To pull her to me and kiss those lips of hers and steal her breath away.
I could take the weight of the day from her shoulders. I could bear the load for just a little while.
Hailey’s eyes flicked back and forth between mine until they settled on my lips.
Kiss her.
I leaned in.
Hailey’s eyes widened just a fraction.
I hesitated.
Did she want this? Was I misreading her?
Hailey’s lips parted ever so slightly. A shaky breath left her and she didn’t pull away.
So I closed the distance between us.
My lips grazed hers. Hailey pressed against my chest, but as soon as I sealed the kiss, she relaxed. The pressure she applied to my chest disappeared and she leaned into the kiss and let me work my hand along the side of her jaw to the back of her neck, where I held her close and gripped the hair at her nape in a tight fist.
She tasted like Pad Thai and I was famished.
Chapter 19
Hailey
My knee bumped the corner of Jackson’s coffee table as I tried to practically crawl into his lap. He shoved it out of my way as I cursed the damn piece of furniture for the bruise I would surely find in the morning. Jackson smiled into the kiss, which helped ease the dull throb a little, and then used his foot to push the table the rest of the way across the area rug to give us more space.
I found myself straddling him with my hands braced on the sofa behind him. My best friend worked his hands over my thighs to rest them on my hips, where they truly felt like they belonged.
Just like last time.
Only last time, everything had blown up in my face and I’d been left reeling in the aftermath of my feelings.
Was that going to happen again?
No, I told myself as the kiss deepened. I so desperately wanted to let Jackson’s touch carry me to a place where I couldn’t feel the stress of my day or the burden of worrying over my future and what career was the right choice for me. I wanted to belong in his lap.
And this time, he wouldn’t leave. We shared this home together.
Let him in. Let him in and don’t look back.
Jackson’s grip tightened on my hips. I rocked them gently, the polyester fabric of my work pants whispering against the denim of his jeans.
Jackson ran a finger along the waistband of my pants. He paused when he reached the fly and chuckled, breaking our kiss.
He fingered the safety pin I’d put through the waistband when the button popped off for the fifth time. “So sexy,” he mused.
I slapped his hand. “Practicality doesn’t have to be sexy. Just because—”
“Shut up.”
Jackson held my face in his hands and kissed me deeply. It wasn’t the sort of kiss we’d shared last time. This one was tender. Soft. As the seconds passed, it deepened and my body responded of its own volition. My fingertips began to tingle and heat spread through my center and settled between my thighs. Involuntarily, I rocked my hips, grinding against Jackson as he grew hard against me.
Throwing caution to the wind, I reached down and popped open the button of his fly.
Jackson caught my wrist and guided my hand down the front of his jeans. I rubbed him over his boxers while he began popping open the buttons of my shirt.
One.
I used my free hand to undo his zipper. He flicked his wrist and another button came undone, exposing my chest and cleavage.
Two.
I had easier access to him now that his jeans were undone. I teased him by hooking my thumb in the elastic waistband of his boxers and ran my touch along his lower stomach, loving the way he sucked in just slightly when I grazed a sensitive spot.
Three.
My plain T-shirt bra was showing. It wasn’t sexy by any means but Jackson seemed to appreciate it.
Four.
Five.
Six.
He was growing impatient. I liked it. I liked the way he tugged a little more aggressively at the final buttons and how, when the final two popped open, he slid his hands into my shirt and ran them up my waist to rest on the natural groove there. He worked his touch upward, inching to my bra.
I pulled him free of his boxers.
Jackson jerked my bra down and my tits spilled out. They felt heavy and tender and my nipples were needy. He flicked his thumbs over them and cupped my breasts, massaging them gently. The pressure was just right, and I let out a vulnerable, breathless moan that had Jackson dropping his head to trail kisses over the top of my breasts and up to my throat.
I let my head hang back.
Jackson’s lips were warm against my collarbones, cleavage, and neck. His cock was growing harder in my hands and my body responded by soaking my panties.
Jackson nudged my button-up shirt off my shoulders. It got caught up around my upper arms and he wrenched it down. A seam tore. I didn’t care. I hated this blouse and the pants and the job they went along with anyway.
The tear sounded like freedom.
I giggled.
Jackson pulled it off the rest of the way when I held my arms over my head. He bunched it up and chucked it over the sofa before pulling me against his chest to crush his lips against mine. I’d always known Jackson was a strong man. He worked hard for his physique and had ever since I’d known him. What started as a passion for sports, mostly football and rugby in high school, quickly turned into a passion for endurance and strength training. It was no wonder he looked so good in a suit.
Or naked.
I pressed my fingertips to his chest and trailed them down his stomach, following the ridges of muscle all t
he way down to the V cut of his hips, easily my favorite part of his body. I savored the feeling of power beneath my fingers before I reached the hem of his shirt. Then I worked it over his head to expose his bare, chiseled torso.
He seemed oblivious to how drool-worthy he was.
Jackson didn’t give me time to admire him. Instead, he wrapped an arm around my lower back and rolled, laying me down gently beneath him upon the living-room area rug. It was plush and soft and a cool gray color. I ran my hands through it as I lifted my arms over my head.
Jackson pinned them there by my wrists, shifting the power dynamic.
In that moment, I knew I’d let him do anything he wanted.
Is that a good thing?
My heart raced wildly in my chest as Jackson pulled my wrists together so he could secure them in one hand and use his free hand to reach down to undo the safety pin in my pants. He wore a sexy smirk as he did it, but he didn’t make a flippant comment about how frugal I was about shopping for work clothes. Instead, he managed to get it open and not so gently worked my pants down over my ass and left them gathered around my thighs.
All he wanted was into my panties anyway.
He slid his hand into my thong.
I swallowed.
Am I giving him too much power? Is this just a hit-it-and-quit-it sort of situation for him? Am I just an easy lay because I sleep in the room next door?
I tried to quiet my mind.
Jackson ran his fingers over my clit. I was swollen and sensitive and it felt so damn good to be touched like this. My muscles turned to putty and my breathing quickened. My senses heightened. All I could smell, feel, hear, and see was Jackson. And I could still taste his kiss on my tongue, too. I was wet and ready for him when he eased a finger between my lips and rubbed me in slow teasing circles.
What are we doing?
My breath hitched in my throat when he eased a finger inside me. I moaned. So did he. It was the softest, most delicious sound I’d ever heard. Touching me turned him on. That had to be a sign that there was more between us than just friendship.
