The Man I Thought I Trusted - E. L. Todd Page 0,21

weren’t essential to function, I would skip it and just keep doing this—all night long.

I moved off her and lay on the bed beside her, feeling the sweat start to evaporate from my body the second we broke apart. The heat from our mutual desire faded as soon as we were finished, and the room felt cold.

She didn’t get up to clean up in the bathroom. She closed her eyes and took advantage of all the good chemicals that had released in her brain so she could drift off to sleep.

I lay beside her and stared at her, the most beautiful woman in the world in my bed. I was so used to sleeping with her at this point that it was hard to sleep without her. There were some nights a week when we were apart—and it never felt right.

The only time the world felt right was when she was with me.

8

Dax

We warmed up on the court and passed the ball around to make our shots. We were already sweaty with our hearts pumping before the game even begin.

I noticed Carson and Charlie walk through the double doors and join us, both with towels over their shoulders and water bottles in their hands. They were talking to each other, engaged in conversation.

Carson was in a pair of little black shorts and a blue tank top, the color beautiful on her. She had the nicest legs, perkiest ass, and when her hair was pulled back from her face, it showed just how beautiful she was—without makeup.

They took a seat on one of the benches and continued their conversation.

I broke away from the guys and joined them. “Hey, sweetheart.”

Carson rose to her feet, a breathtaking smile entering her lips, and she greeted me with a kiss that was not rated PG-13. Her hand went to my bare stomach, and she gripped my strong abs. “Hey, babe.”

I gave her ass a tight squeeze before I pulled away. “I like it when you call me that.”

“Yeah?” she asked. “I like it when you grab my ass like that.”

“I already knew that.” I winked before I greeted Charlie with a handshake. “Hey, man.”

He returned the gesture and gave me a nod. “Ready to lose again?”

“I don’t plan on losing today.”

“Well, Carson is pretty fired up, so you don’t have much of a chance.” Charlie took a drink from his water bottle.

I turned back to Carson. “I know how to keep her distracted…”

“Give me your best shot.” She started to saunter onto the court.

I smacked her ass as she walked away before I turned back to Charlie. “Where’s Matt?”

Charlie turned to look at the entryway just as Matt and Denise walked inside. “They got into an argument and fell behind.”

“An argument about what?”

“NSYNC or Backstreet Boys.”

I chuckled. “Aren’t they old?”

“Well, then it segued into a discussion about One Direction… I don’t think Matt will be able to focus now.” He turned to look at Denise as she came closer, wearing a long-sleeved dress and boots. He gave a really deep sigh before he turned back to me. “I don’t think I will either.” He stripped off his shirt and joined us on the court. Matt took a little longer.

Charlie shouted back at him. “Get your ass out here!”

Matt walked onto the court and turned around to shout back at Denise once more. “You know Harry carried the whole band! Don’t even lie.” He put up his hand to silence her before he joined us in the middle of the court. “She has terrible taste.”

Carson stood with her hands on her hips, stretching her core. “You’re so red in the face I would assume you were talking about politics.”

“Politics?” Matt asked incredulously. “No one cares about politics. People care about the best boy band in history. That’s what matters.”

“Are we gonna play?” Charlie asked. “Or have a debate about the hottest member of the band?”

“Hey.” Matt pointed at him. “I’m trying to establish some girl talk so I can see what she says about you. So, shut your mouth.” He dropped his hand. “And you know that’s JT. Come on.”

“If Charlie wanted to know, I could just ask her,” Carson said.

“That’s not girl talk,” Matt countered. “Talking to your sister is not real girl talk. Talking to a handsome and sophisticated gay man is.”

I liked my friends and never took them for granted, but Carson and her gang were always interesting. “Let’s get this game started so I can grope my girlfriend.” I looked at Carson