He still couldn’t believe how aroused Willow became when he treated her like crap. Giving her a taste of her own medicine seemed to do it for her. Which was weird.
And sorta hot.
“When do you plan on seeing her next?” Jared asked, his face a perfect mask of innocence.
Which was utter crap, considering his friend knew the dirty details regarding his and Willow’s dates. “Tomorrow night.”
“You finally going to get her naked or what? I bet that’ll ease your grouchiness. Damn, the both of you now need to get laid.” Jared cocked a brow.
“Shut the fuck up.” Nick started for the door but Jared grabbed him before he could leave.
“Listen, I know you like Willow, and I get it. She’s hot, she’s smart, and she acts like she doesn’t give a shit half the time. I know a lot of men like that sort of thing. But if this is how you’re going to act the entire time you’re going on these dates with her? Dude, you need to break it off and quick. She’s not good for you.” The look on Jared’s face practically dared him to argue.
And his best friend’s opinion about the situation with Willow was way different than Sheridan’s.
“You’re just saying that because you don’t like her. You’ve never liked her.” Damn, was she fucking with his head so much she made him behave like a completely different person? If so, that sucked. He’d always stayed true to himself. When he went back home—wasn’t often but he tried as best as he could—all of his old friends and the people he’d known growing up said the same thing.
He’d hardly changed, was still the same friendly, charming good ol’ boy Nick Hamilton.
One date with Willow Cavanaugh and he’d become a sad jackass? Why the hell did everyone think he was so cheerful and happy and charming with the exception of Willow? She infuriated him. She was the only one who brought out the jackass in him.
Damn it, he wanted to dazzle and impress her. Make her fall for him all over again, and instead she brought out Nick the Caveman—the one who should bang his head against the cave wall for being such a complete asshole.
She challenged the hell out of him. Would it be wrong to admit he sort of liked it? In a sick, twisted way?
Yeah. Weird. Fucked up. Crazy. All of the above.
“Hey, she was the one who didn’t like me when Sheridan and I first got married. She’s still wary of me and you know what? I can’t blame her.” Jared shook his head. “So I understand where she’s coming from. What I don’t understand is after pining for her for months, you get one date in and now you’re acting like someone came along and killed your new pet puppy.”
Nick glanced around. The locker room was almost empty, only a few guys still in there, and he took a deep breath. Decided to tell his friend what was really going on. “Fine. You nailed it on the head. So did Walsh. I’m frustrated as hell and I don’t know how to deal with it. Deal with her. It’s like she wants the fight.”
Jared nodded, his expression easing. “Now we’re talking. So she’s frustrating the hell out of you; why am I not surprised? Let me ask you this—I’m guessing you always get what you want when it comes to women, correct?”
“Absolutely.”
“And for once in your life, you’ve actually met up with a challenge.”
“Willow is by far the most challenging person I’ve ever dealt with,” Nick agreed wholeheartedly—though he
was the one who walked away last time. He had no one to blame but himself for that one.
“Have you ever thought maybe it’s because you’re chasing too hard?”
Nick frowned. “Come again?”
“Hey, we don’t have to chase, you know what I mean? They usually come to us.”
“Uh…”
“Just agree with me,” Jared urged.
“All right.” Where the hell was he going with this?
“She knows you want her, right?” Jared asked.
“Yeah, she knows.” She beyond knew. He’d made his intentions more than clear. Hell, he’d stated them outright…
And now Jared was telling him he probably made a crucial mistake. Great.