Jerk
All I need to do is—
“You’re charming, Romeo.”
I blink. “What?”
“Charming.” A smile touches his lips, and his eyes sparkle curiously. “Underneath all of this smooth-talking, I still see the sweet guy whose gym membership I renewed … even though I suspect you wasted most of that membership since you stopped going,” he teases, then he meets my eyes. “But I don’t want the charming Romeo. I want the real Romeo, the one that all of this charm is trying to cover up.”
“I am the real Romeo. These are my … my real feelings, and … I’m not trying to cover …” But the rest of that sentence dies on my parted lips. Is he right? Am I still doing my usual routine, treating him like I do my casual dates, inching our inevitable way to a bedroom?
He takes a step back from me. “Obviously I like you, Romeo. That’s why I want to take this slow.”
“I’m not just ‘smooth talking’, you know.”
“That’s why I’m still spending time with you tonight.”
“Even the ducks in that pond want us to make out, for fuck’s sake.”
“… and that’s why I kissed you back.”
I meet his eyes. Those last words did something to his face, like he finally let go of something he was clinging to since the start of the night—something he was holding back.
“That night, long ago,” he says. “That night was magical. From diving into your closet, to accidentally giving you a boner, to falling on the floor of that bar and kissing you over a pile of your cash and credit cards. Timing … wasn’t on our side then, but we have it now, and I don’t want to rush it. I respect you too much to do that. So … for now, I just want us to be friends, okay?”
Friends.
Fuck me, did he really just say that?
Impatience floods my system. With every desperate beat of my heart, I just want to grab him and make him mine. I want to catch up for lost time. I want to do everything to him that I couldn’t that night long ago.
And my own date is cock blocking me.
Is that the point? Denial? Holding back? Going slow? Is this really what he wants?
Maybe that’s exactly what I should have been doing since the start.
Driving him crazy.
Making him want me more.
“Alright,” I reluctantly manage to say, taking a step back as well. “I can respect … your wishes. We can take this slow. Super slow.” My eyes drag down his body. I swallow back my frustration. “As slow as you want.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yep.” My cock might bust out of my pants right now. My heart wants to leap out of my chest and jump into his. My hands want to rip off every thread of his clothes that hide his sexy body. “You and me. Just friends. Really.”
Despite my reassurances, a glint of suspicion burns in his eyes. “You sure?”
“Totally, absolutely, one-hundred percent sure.” I force my hands into my pockets, despite their own wishes. “In fact, I won’t make another move until you’re absolutely ready. After all, like you so kindly reminded me at the restaurant, we’re only catching up tonight, right? This isn’t an actual date, so no pressure.”
“Right. No …” He fidgets. “… no pressure.”
No pressure, yet it’s obvious we both feel a ton of it.
In our pants.
I nod slowly despite the challenge. He wants to take it slow? Oh, I’ll take it slow, then. Really slow. Two can play this game, baby.
15. Hard-To-Get
Weights crash to the floor.
A single droplet of sweat makes its way from my forehead to the tip of my nose.
I lie back on the bench, then start another set.
“Alright, Romeo. Are you gonna tell me how the date went? Or are you gonna keep anger-lifting?” asks Jonathan.
I drop my weights to the ground with a growl, then go to the rack for something heavier. I return and resume my workout, huffing.
He watches from the bench next to me. “That bad, huh?”
I ignore him as I keep pumping away.
“Yikes. I guess you went home with a case of blue balls, huh?”
“Blue doesn’t cover it,” I finally manage to groan as I struggle to make the last rep, my arms shaking, veins popping, before finally dropping the weights to the floor with a sigh, breathing deeply.
Jonathan comes around in front of me. “Did you do what we talked about?”
“I did. Your advice was terrible. The date went totally wrong.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. And that’s exactly why I’ve got it in the bag.” I sit up. “I’m gonna win Danny’s heart.” I pick up the weights again and start another set.
Now Jonathan is truly confused. “Huh?”
“He wants to play hard-to-get?” I laugh between reps. “Two can play. I’ll let the sexual tension swell. I’ll let him drool over me every benign date we go on. Drive him crazy. Never give in to my own instincts. Hold out as long as humanly possible.” I grin as I drop my weights again. “It’s genius.”