More of Us ( A Love You More Rock Star Romance #3) - Laura Pavlov Page 0,38

“And do you know what I think about every single fucking time?”

“Um, no. I’m good. I think we’re crossing some friendship boundaries,” I said, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans beneath the table.

“Come on. You and Ari don’t share your bedroom antics? Bullshit. You just don’t like hearing about it from me because it turns you on.”

My eyes bulged out of my head and I looked around the room to see if anyone heard him. “Keep your voice down. People will hear you.”

“I don’t give a shit if the whole world knows I slap my oversized sausage multiple times a day thinking of your naked body and those perfect tits,” he said, like we were discussing the weather.

I gulped down some water and waved the waiter over for a refill.

“Okay. That was a lot of information.”

He shook his head and smiled. “I love that you still get shy with me. Does that embarrass you that you have that effect on me?”

“No. I mean, not really.” Are you kidding? I wanted to jump up from my chair and dance around the room that I had any effect on this beautiful boy. But I wouldn’t tell him that.

“So, back to Dick. How much time do you spend with him?”

“Oh, we’re back to that, are we?”

“What? This is normal friendship conversation, right? I mean, I’m not one for small talk with anyone but you, so I don’t have a fucking clue.”

I turned the spaghetti noodles in circles, gathering them around my fork. “We have several classes together, so I see him a lot.”

I took a large bite of noodles and closed my eyes as the flavors exploded in my mouth.

“Do you love him?” His tone was serious and his gaze even more intense. Did he really think I was in love with Richard? Wow. I was a better actress than I thought.

I coughed as I swallowed my food. “What? No. I’m not in love with Richard.”

“Good. So, was he fine with you coming to dinner with me?”

He thought my non-existent relationship was a lot more serious than it ever even ventured.

“He was fine with it. He’s not an insecure guy.” That was partly true. Richard was a confident guy. We just weren’t together.

“I guess he’d have to be with a name like Dick.”

I laughed. “You know you’re ridiculous, right? And no one calls him Dick, but you.”

“Most people just don’t have the balls to call him on it.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled. God, I’d missed him.

“Thank you so much for the suit. It’s absolutely perfect. You didn’t need to do that. But I love it, so thank you,” I said.

“Of course. I wish I could have helped more. I know how important this interview is to you. Because it is to me too, Jade. You know I want you to achieve your goals.”

Oh god. When he says this kind of stuff, I find it hard to hold back. I have to ignore it, or I’ll feel too much right now. “Yeah. I’m so excited about it.”

“You’re going to kick ass. I’m really proud of you,” he said, reaching across the table and locking his pinky finger around mine.

I sucked in a long, slow breath at the contact. “I’m proud of you, too.”

And I meant it. Cruz had been sober for a few months and he’d found a positive outlet in his MMA training. He was on tour with Exiled, and probably facing every temptation on the planet, yet here he was. Sitting across the table from me, telling me he was proud of me.

This was progress.

Chapter Ten

Cruz

I was playing all my fucking cards tonight, and I’d flustered her. Seeing her with Dick today had pissed me off, but I thought about what Dr. Roberts said, and kept my cool. I couldn’t control what Jade did, but I could control how I reacted to it. And I was determined to be her friend until she came to her senses.