Blurred Lines (Love Unexpectedly 1)

I open my mouth to argue, then close it, shrugging as I lock my computer. Why the hell not? It’s not like I’m getting anything done. Not with guaranteed sex on my calendar for later tonight.

Jason’s right about Burrito King—and yes, it’s called that—the line takes us two minutes instead of the usual twenty. “Let’s eat it here,” Jason says as we wait for our number to be called.

“Avoiding Sandy?” I ask.

Jason’s grunt tells me I’m right.

I shake my head as I fill up my cup with Coke. “I told you, dude. You have got to stop hooking up with girls you work with.”

“How else am I supposed to meet women? Not all of us can just walk into a bar and emerge with twenty phone numbers.”

I ignore this.

“You know, I wouldn’t have this problem if you’d let me ask out Park—”

“Nope,” I say, before he’s even finished the sentence.

“But she’s single now.”

“How do you know?”

“I ran into her at Starbucks the other day. I think she was giving me hints.”

“Trust me. She wasn’t.”

Parker thinks Jason’s a total tool, and I can’t blame her. The guy’s one of my better work friends, but he’s got a bad habit of talking to women’s chests. He’s also got a knack for spending an hour chatting up a woman at a bar, only to get her name wrong at the end of it. And he wonders why he doesn’t get any phone numbers.

“Hey, speaking of Parker…” Jason says.

I whip my head around in the direction he’s indicated. No Parker, but it is her BFF Lori.

She seems to sense our gaze, and her face lights up in a smile as she beckons us over.

“She’s so hot,” Jason mutters under his breath as we make our way toward the gorgeous blonde.

“Hey, join me!” she says, gesturing toward the empty chairs at her table. “I skipped breakfast today and was starving but couldn’t talk Parker into an early lunch.”

She’s talking to both of us, but her eyes never leave mine, and I’m struck by the weird realization that this is one of the first times I’ve ever been around Lori without Parker.

Jason and I both sit down, he a bit too close to Lori, but she’s cool and doesn’t seem to mind.

But ten minutes into our lunch, I’m getting distinct vibes of weird. Despite Jason’s very dedicated attempt to draw Lori into conversation, she manages to shift everything back to me.

“Were you at that concert, Ben?”

“Ben, doesn’t that remind you of the time that we…”

“I’m not sure what I’m doing this weekend. Ben, do you have plans?”

Lori’s always been flirty. I guess I’d always thought it was just sort of her personality.

Now, without Parker around to redirect conversation, I’m wondering if it’s not a little bit more than that.

I finish my burrito and lean back in my chair. Jason is rambling on about how his uncle has a shot at getting Super Bowl tickets.

I glance at Lori—how can you not, when you feel someone’s eyes burning into you?—and she gives me a shy, private smile.

I smile back, reflexively, but one thing is abundantly clear: Parker and Lori’s Monday morning gossip session hadn’t included the little arrangement Parker and I made.