Reservations

“Okay, she said you contacted her.” Erin paused, lifting a perfectly arched brow until he nodded. “And she said you lowballed her.” He nodded again. It never hurt to ask, or at least that was the way he saw it. “Why’d you lowball her? We’re all moving in together. We all can’t fit inside this townhome. It’s a one bedroom.”

He managed his laugh while keeping his mouth closed. That right there…that was what he loved about Erin. He never really knew if she was joking or if she was serious and that made her teasing so much more fun. She always lightened his mood.

“She came in too high. She asked almost three quarters of a million dollars. Did you tell her I was the one who was interested?” he asked and looked over at Erin who looked sheepish. “That’s what I thought. I offered her what the houses in this neighborhood go for. I haven’t heard back.”

“I think she thinks she’s holding out. Gonna make you up your offer,” Erin confessed, biting her lip.

“I’ve played the game longer than she has,” Thane said, taking another big bite before leaning back in his seat with his coffee mug in hand.

“Okay, I’ll wait somewhat patiently. Now tell me why I’m randomly sniffing colognes in the middle of the night.” She lifted her other leg so that both feet were now on the chair, and she hugged her legs against her chest, resting her chin against her knee, waiting for his answer.

“It was like nine o’clock, definitely not middle of the night, and I was having a bit of a breakdown. I don’t ever have those, but I suspect there’ll be more over the next couple of weeks, so be prepared.” Thane took a long drink of his coffee, watching as Erin’s face turned serious. When she started to speak, he cut her off, knowing they’d play twenty questions until he rehashed every detail of the whole ordeal. This tentative internal calm he had achieved this morning needed to stay intact or he was certain he’d crawl back into that bed again and stay there the rest of the day or even the week. “Let’s see, I met a guy. I chased the guy. I did the guy, and it was better than great.” Erin’s smile was immediate. “Then I ruined it by trying to fit him inside my box of rules for relationships and he didn’t want to be there. Apparently, he has his own box that’s vastly different than mine.”

“So change your box,” she said, as if that were the easiest thing in the world to do.

Thane just shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

Both her feet landed on the floor with a thud as she leaned forward, her fist dropping to the table as she started to speak. “Thane! I’m gonna be brutally honest, and I’m truly not trying to add to your heartsick, in love thing—”

“I’m not in love.” He interrupted immediately. He was not in love. He’d never been in love. He had no idea what gave her the idea he was in love.

She laughed, staring him in the eyes as she continued, “But you seriously have a warped way of dealing with a relationship. It’s okay to date one man. People do it every day, and it works out fine.”

She didn’t understand the half of it, and that wasn’t her fault. She was a good friend to him, a confidante. Probably more so than anyone before her. He just felt so weirdly vulnerable about Levi. He couldn’t explain this weird depth of emotion that one really great night with Levi had brought on. He’d connected with everything Levi Silva.

Everything.

They liked the same foods, the same music, the same books. Levi laughed at his silliness and didn’t completely freak out at his naughtiness. Images of shoving his hand down Levi’s pants at the bar came to mind. Of course, they could be seen by anyone who turned their direction, but Levi had grown hard in his palm as if he were excited about the prospect while playfully scolding him. The whole scenario had turned Thane on that much more. He’d been so horny when they’d returned to the bedroom. All he wanted to do was to bury himself in Levi over and over, and he did. God, the way Levi’s body responded to him. And the way Levi took the reins…

“You might not realize it because you haven’t been in this position before, but you’re falling in love,” Erin said dreamily, jarring Thane from his thoughts. He’d been staring at her unfocused, not giving her his full attention until he heard that love word again. “You know that, right? Infatuation’s the first step of love.”

Thane shook his head no. He reasonably understood that theory and didn’t like what he heard. He’d never lost any sleep over pining for a man, but the bottom line was that he didn’t want to deal with what his parents had gone through. He wouldn’t risk a relationship, because he’d seen how horribly they ended. He liked his life. He knew his limitations, and always, no matter the circumstance, set himself up for success. These feelings inside him were anything but positive; they were mangled and skewed. A relationship would add chaos to his life, a lack of control he just flat didn’t want any part of.