No Strings

Savannah sighs in relief. “I was scared you’d think I tricked you.”

“I don’t think that at all.” Had it been any other woman, I might’ve jumped to that conclusion, but from the beginning, something about Savannah made me feel at ease. She’s not the kind of woman who would trap me into impregnating her.

“Thank you.” She laughs softly. “This just got real deep for a Monday afternoon.”

She’s telling me… I came over here to call her out on avoiding me, only to find out I could be a dad again.

“I better get back to work. Please tell Brody I’m not avoiding him, and I’ll see him soon.”

“You can tell him yourself when you come over for dinner tonight,” I find myself saying.

Her eyes widen, clearly shocked by my suggestion.

“Savy.” Reaching out, I brush a wayward strand of hair from out of her eyes. “We’re friends, and I don’t want what happened Friday night to change that. I meant what I said about it being stringless. If we find out you’re pregnant, we’ll go from there, but nothing needs to change between us until then. Besides,” I say with a laugh, remembering my conversation from this morning with my son. “Brody knew you were blowing us off, and he’s blaming me. Practically threatened me to fix it.”

Savannah’s face lights up. “He’s a good kid.”

“He is. And it would mean a lot to him if you’d come over for dinner tonight so he can see everything is okay.”

“All right. I’ll see you guys tonight.”

When she forces a too bright smile, telling me she’s still worried, I lean over and kiss her forehead. “It will all be okay,” I promise her. And for some crazy reason, even though I should be freaking the hell out, I actually believe that.

Chapter Thirteen

Savannah

“Where are you going?” Brianne asks from the doorway, eyeing me as I put the finishing touches on my face. I considered going straight to Ben’s after work but instead made a detour home first so I could change into something more comfortable, which turned into me rinsing the day off, fixing my hair, and then reapplying my makeup.

I glance in the mirror and note she’s dressed in a gorgeous slinky dress, and her hair is done in beach waves. I saw her earlier today, and she wasn’t wearing that at work.

“I could ask you the same.”

A huge grin spreads across her face. “Marcus asked me to dinner.”

“So does that mean I can expect you out all night again?” I ask with a laugh. Since Friday night, when Marcus gave in and admitted to Brianne that he wants her—and told her brother as much—she’s been gone more than she’s been home.

“If it goes well, I hope so,” she replies with a saucy wink. “And where are you going?” she asks again.

“Just over to Ben and Brody’s for dinner.” I turn around in time to see her brows kiss her forehead.

“What happened to no strings?” Sunday morning when she got home after her weekend sexcapade with Marcus, I told her what happened between Ben and me in the back office—leaving out the part about not using protection. Not everybody needs to know about my lack of brain cells.

“I’m going over as a friend. Brody invited me.”

Brianne side-eyes me but doesn’t comment. “All right, well, one night with Ben was good, but we need to get you back out—”

“Nope,” I say, cutting her off. “That one night was good enough to last me a while.” Total lie. That night only has me wanting more—specifically more of Ben—but I’m not going there. “I’m not a one-night stand kind of girl,” I admit, not lying. “For right now, I just need to focus on work and me, and if or when the right guy comes around, then he does.”

“So, you’re not opposed to dating?” she asks, confused, and I can see why she would be. The entire reason for my no-strings sex was because I said I didn’t want anything serious, but being with Ben made me realize I don’t want to have sex with some stranger. At the very least, I want to know and like the person I’m engaging in sexual relations with.

“I think it’s safe to say one-night stands aren’t my thing.”

“Was Ben that bad?” she jokes, making me laugh. “Or that good?” she adds at the last second.

I’m saved by a knock on the door, which has Brianne squealing in excitement. “Have fun at dinner,” she says, kissing my cheek. “And don’t wait up.”

“You look beautiful,” Ben says, opening the door for me. Like me, he’s changed out of his work attire and is sporting a pair of navy-blue lounge pants and a white Henley, his feet bare.

“Thank you.” I step inside, the smell of something delicious hitting my senses. “Did you guys cook again?” I joke when I see the Japanese food spread out on the table.