hand job.
We dry off but don’t bother getting dressed before making our way into the kitchen for breakfast.
“Want pancakes?” I offer.
“With blueberries?” he asks with a grin.
“Obviously,” I answer, rolling my eyes at him. Like I would offer Bishop pancakes without blueberries. I’m not an idiot.
“Yes, please. Would you...um, will it be weird if I call Leo real quick? I don’t want him to worry that I never came home last night.”
My stomach flip flops, but I smile and nod. It’s been easy this morning to pretend like Bishop is all mine, but the reality is that he’s not. I think I can handle him being with Leo and Riot. I even like it in certain ways. I like that it makes him happy, like Riot said. But the issue between Leo and I can’t be ignored, and I don’t have the first clue about how to fix it.
Chapter 16
Riot
I set a drink down in front of a customer and then reach into my pocket and pull out my phone to check for any messages. I’ve been dying to hear how Bishop and Hudson’s talk went last night, but I don’t want to stick my nose in the middle of it by coming right out and asking. I was hoping one of them would satisfy my curiosity and volunteer the information, but so far, no such luck.
I click on Bishop’s name and start typing out a flirty text, asking him if he’d mind me stopping by after my shift to hang out for a bit. No one knows better than I do how hectic it can get trying to juggle multiple relationships at once, but I haven’t had the chance to see him this week, and I’m missing the hell out of him. Even if all he’s up for so late is to cuddle and watch TV for a bit, I’m all for it.
“You must be texting someone pretty hot to have a grin like that on your face.” I whip my head up to find Bishop sliding onto a barstool with a teasing smirk on his lips. I close out of the unfinished message and shove my phone back into my pocket.
“I was texting you,” I say, leaning over the bar and stealing a quick kiss. “I was going to shamelessly beg to see you tonight.”
“Shameless begging? Go ahead and send that text; it’ll get me all hot and bothered,” he jokes, and I bark out a laugh. Relaxed and flirty looks good on Bishop.
“You want a drink?” I ask.
“Just a Coke. I hope you don’t mind me bugging you at work. It felt like too long since our date.”
“Entirely too long,” I agree, filling a glass with Coke and passing it across the bar to him. “How’s your week been going?” I ask as casually as I can muster. I’m dying to hear about how his date with Leo went, and of course how things worked out with Hudson. Don’t pry, I remind myself.
He chuckles, no doubt seeing right through me. “You know, boring week, not much going on,” he lies with a shrug, not bothering to hide his teasing grin.
“Huh, that’s a shame.”
“You have such a bad poker face,” he accuses.
“I’m no Lady Gaga,” I agree with a put upon sigh, making him laugh again. Fuck, that’s a nice sound.
“This week has been fantastic as a matter of fact,” he says, dropping the coy act. “My date with Leo was amazing, and I went over to Hudson’s last night to talk and…” He clears his throat, a pretty pink blush blooming on his cheeks. “You were right.”
“I was?” I feign shock.
“Shut up, or I won’t tell you the rest,” he threatens, and I mime zipping my lips. “I told him how I felt about him, how I’ve felt about him since the first time we hooked up years ago, and he said he loves me.” The reverent way he says it, like he still can’t quite believe it’s true, hits me in the chest and makes me want to pull him into my arms and kiss him stupid.
“I told you so,” I gloat.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re like a relationship genius,” he concedes.
“Nah, I just have a lot of practice.” I shrug. Someone down at the other end of the bar flags me down so I leave Bishop to go refill a drink, checking on everyone else quickly before returning to him.
“Honestly, I’m really happy to hear things worked out with your talk with Hudson. I could tell he