Every time his lips would mold to mine, he’d whisper, “I missed these lips,” and I’d melt a little more inside. Easton slept over most nights, too; his toothbrush and gym clothes became a staple in my room.
After our sex marathons we would pull out our laptops and work in companionable silence, or watch trash TV, until one of us gained our strength back, and we would end up being naked again. I was surprised how much work I was able to get done with Easton’s delectable body so readily accessible.
In the morning, when he’d kiss me on the nose at the ungodly hour of four a.m. to go to the gym, he’d always ask, “Feelings check?”
I would tell him that I couldn’t feel my legs, and he’d smirk, then kiss my nose one more time before leaving. The worst part was, I suspected I was lying to him.
Feelings were slowly sneaking up on me. When I’d hear his car pull into my driveway my stomach would flip and a smile would creep on my face without my permission.
Easton was becoming a pivotal person in my life. I leaned on him for advice in business, and he’d answer my questions with patience, never appearing annoyed. I tried to convince myself that I was just milking his brain since he was one of the most successful men I’d known, but in the back of my mind I knew I was lying to myself.
I was falling for Easton.
I’ve already fallen for Easton.
Even though I hadn’t been with Easton very long, I knew when we finally ended our rebound arrangement I was going to be broken. Oddly enough, the thought of Easton ending what we had hurt more than Bradford’s hasty departure.
My relationship with Easton was different. We started out not liking each other, and now I had to remind myself daily, hourly that this had an expiration date.
“I miss you,” Jules said, when she walked into the office two weeks later holding out my one energy drink for the day.
“Woman, we work together, and we see each other every day.” But I felt the same. Jules and Cole were still in their “non-relationship,” and Easton and I were in our “reboundship,” leaving us less time for each other.
Also, Marketing Madams was slammed with new marketing projects and the launch for Aurora’s indie project was a week away. We were making the final decisions and working out the last-minute details.
Not only was Aurora’s project going to skyrocket from this launch, Marketing Madams was going to level up in the biggest way.
When I secured a contract with the JackholeS that they would sing one song at Aurora’s launch party, Easton picked me up andswung me around the living room, yelling at the ceiling that I was, and I quote, a fucking genius.
“I know we work together, asshole, but we don’t hang out like we used to.”
My heart squeezed. Jules and I had been inseparable since college. Even when I was dating Bradford, I made sure she had all the attention she needed. It wasn’t because I was dropping her for Easton. I was dropping her for Cole.
Cole was the only man she’d allowed to stay in her life longer than a three-night stand. Jules swore that she was just waiting for the right time to discard Cole, and me being the loving friend I was, I allowed her to live in that lie.
I watched the way Cole’s eyes would follow Jules when she wasn’t looking. That man had fallen and he’d fallen hard. He would let her get away with saying stupid things, like they weren’t in a relationship, and they were temporary. Cole would just smile at her with a knowing look.
I also watched the way Jules would look at Cole, when he wasn’t paying attention. Hell, by the stars in her eyes, she may have been more in love with him than he was with her. I just hoped he was strong enough to withstand the push she was going to do when she finally came to terms with her feelings. Because it was going to happen, and it was going to be harsh.
Easton begged me not to interfere with their relationship, but I wanted to warn Cole. I wanted to give him the peptalk of all peptalks. Imploring him, that if he could weather the storm that was Jules falling in love, he would have the most loyal girlfriend a man could ask for.
It also wasn’t lost on me that Easton and I were in a very similar situation, but instead we had rules. Stupid, dumb rules that I wanted to burn to ash and stomp into the ground.
“We should do dinner tonight,” I said, finishing my energy drink.
“Yes, can we do sushi? Please, don’t say something stupid like salads. We have been working too hard for fucking lettuce.”
“Fuck salads, you’re right, we do deserve sushi.”
Jules jumped out of her chair and ran over, kissing my forehead. “I fucking knew I made the right choice.”
I laughed, but said what she expected me to say, “Right choice for what?”
“Choosing you as my best friend,” Jules finished theCarsreference.
“All right, I have six things I have to get done before we leave tonight,” I told her, turning on my laptop and setting up my tablet.
Easton had told me I was going to need to get two computer screens. I told him I wasn’t that busy yet, but I noticed I was using my tablet more and more for work.