Conflicted

“I didn’t mean to keep you so late,” Aaron says.

“It’s okay. I learned a lot today. I could stay here all night and talk to you.” I cringe as he raises his eyebrows. I have an uncanny ability to make everything sound suggestive. “I better be going,” I say, before I can put my foot in it anymore.

“See you tomorrow, Lacey.”

After leaving work, I decide to stop and see Lucas. Pulling into a spot on the street opposite his apartment, I turn off the ignition and rifle through my purse for my phone. I hunt through my contacts for his name and press Call.

“Hello?” he says when he answers.

“Hey, I’m downstairs.”

“So come up.”

“You come down. I can’t handle your roommate tonight,” I sigh, leaning my head against the car seat. He chuckles and hangs up on me. I put my phone away and get out of the car, walking across the road to the front of his building.

Lucas lives with possibly the sexist guy on the planet, who also happens to be his cousin. Well, technically he’s not—he’s his stepfather’s sister’s son—but they’ve known each other since they were kids. I don’t think I’ve been in Harry’s presence for longer than two minutes without him making a derogatory comment. Usually I do well to ignore him, but tonight I’m just not in the mood.

I smile as Lucas swaggers out, wearing a pair of faded jeans and a tee shirt, his muscular frame bulging from underneath the thin layer of fabric. My heart flutters and I sigh, knowing that in the privacy of my car I can perve on him. There is no denying it: he’s attractive. If only he wasn’t such a whore. If only he’d liked me back.

“Taking full advantage of your holidays, I see.” I smirk, getting out of my car. It’s a pretty mild night, and perfect walking weather. “Let’s go get a coffee.”

“I have coffee upstairs, you know,” he points out, falling into line with me.

“So long as you live with Harry, your coffee can stay there,” I laugh. “Seriously, when are you going to move out? I get that he gave you a place to live when you had nowhere else to go and all that, but isn’t it time to move on?”

“Harry is my cousin,” Lucas protests.

“Harry is an ass,” I correct. “And I’ve told you there’s always room at my place, so long as you’re willing to tone down the influx of women.”

“And that right there is why we’ll never live together,” he chuckles.

Giving up, I drag him into Chino’s and fall into the nearest free seat. I set my purse on the table and sigh.

“What’s up with you? Didn’t you have work today?” His eyes narrow. “It was that bad, huh?”

“No, it was great. I’m just…”

I shake my head. I don’t want to get into this with him, mainly because I know it will come with copious amounts of teasing. “Never mind.”

“Spill, Anderson,” he orders, setting his arms down on the table. “Is this dude as big an ass as he looks?”

“Aaron?” I let out a laugh. “He’s really nice, actually.”

Lucas doesn’t look convinced.

“Really,” I promise him. “He’s a great guy and I’m learning a lot. That’s part of the problem: he’s making me realize things I never let myself see before. I just wish I didn’t feel so inexperienced around him.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you are inexperienced. This guy is a dinosaur compared to you,” he points out.

“He’s not that old,” I retort, my tone more defensive than I intended. “I just want to make a good impression. I want him to think I’m worth his trouble.”

“Worth his trouble?” Lucas eyes me, his expression dark. “Do you have a thing for this guy or something? You seem to be focusing way too much on what he thinks.”

“What?” I laugh, but I can’t meet his eyes. My cheeks begin to heat. Embarrassed, I cover my face with my hands. I can’t believe I’m crushing on my boss.

Lucas groans. “Look, forget about trying to impress this guy, if that’s what you’re trying to do. I know his type, Lacey. He’ll chew you up, spit you out, and then move on to the next piece of meat.”

“Excuse me?” I gasp, annoyed at his overreaction. “So what if I have a tiny crush on the guy? It’s not like I’d ever act on it. He’s my boss, for God’s sake. And there is no way he’d be interested in me anyway.” I’m angry at Lucas for assuming that was happening. It’s like he doesn’t know me at all. “What the hell is your problem with this guy?” I demand.