Four Letter Word (Love Logic #2) - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,9

one of my best friends; I’m not going to leave you homeless.”

Chapter 3

Bishop

In a million years I never thought I would have Leo kicking off his shoes and dropping his duffle bag on my couch, ready to spend the next god-knows-how-long as my roommate. My eyes dart around the living room as I try to guess what he must think of the place. It’s not terrible, but I doubt it’s what he’s used to. I do just fine as a special projects manager for a small company, but rent in California is high and so is every other damn thing it seems. Besides, I’ve never really felt I needed to impress anyone with my apartment. Hudson certainly never cared, and I didn’t expect Leo would ever see it.

“So, uh, this is pretty much it.” I gesture around awkwardly. “Sorry I don’t have an extra room or anything.” I rub my hand along the back of my neck.

“It’s cool. I’ve slept on plenty of couches in my day. In fact, I spent most of law school couch surfing,” he says with a chuckle.

“Seriously? Why didn’t you get your own apartment or stay in the dorms or something?”

“Money, B,” he answers with a wry smile. “It’s always the money.”

“Oh, right.” I cringe at myself. Money was always tight for Leo, and growing up, it was a majorly sore subject. He and Hudson roughhoused a lot, but the only time I ever saw him actually hurt Hudson was when we were twelve, and Hudson made a crack about Leo not getting anything for Christmas. Leo hauled off and punched him. He broke his nose, and Hudson never made the mistake of teasing Leo about his family’s financial situation again.

“It’s cool. That’s all behind me now. I’m a fancy pants lawyer, remember?” he jokes, and I chuckle, flopping down on the couch beside him.

“Right, the fancy pants lawyer sleeping on my couch.”

“Can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be,” he says, winking at me. My heart gives a little flutter, and my face heats. Is he flirting or teasing? I’ve never been very good at telling, which is why it was nice last night when Riot was so up front about his intentions. And, dammit, now my body is twice as hot.

“So, um, food?” I suggest.

“I’m good with whatever, just no—”

“Nothing too spicy,” I finish for him. “I remember.”

The sweet smile he gives me makes me squirm a little, like he can’t believe I’d remember something like that.

“Mind if I jump in the shower in the meantime?” he asks, plucking at his shirt and wrinkling his nose.

“Of course. For as long as you’re staying here, consider it your apartment too. You don’t need to tiptoe around me or anything.”

“Cool. Does that mean we’re going to use the sock on the doorknob method to avoid any awkward situations?”

I hadn’t even thought about Leo bringing hookups over. How long is he planning to stay here exactly? I imagine for a second walking into my apartment and finding Leo on the couch with someone, his bare ass on full display as he pounds into whoever the lucky man is beneath him. I can’t decide if I’d be more jealous or turned on. I shift in my seat, hoping to hide my growing erection.

“Um, sure,” I agree. I don’t expect I’ll be bringing too many hookups back here anytime soon. Hell, aside from Riot, Hudson is pretty much the only person I’ve fucked around with in the past few years, and I meant it when I told him last night that we need to cool things off.

“Hey, maybe after dinner we can play some Madden,” he suggests, jerking his head toward my PS4. I groan, and he chuckles. He knows I don’t like his damn football game. He also knows I’m absolutely going to give in and play with him, even if it means I’m going to complain and lose ten games in a row before he takes pity on me and lets us switch to a game I’m actually good at.

Leo hauls himself off the couch, and I pull out my phone to place an order with his favorite pizza place—extra cheese, green peppers, and mushrooms. It’s not like I’m trying to impress him or anything; it’s totally my favorite kind of pizza too.

When I finish placing the order, my finger hovers for a few seconds over the text icon, the habit of texting Hudson to come hang out almost too strong to resist. After the talk we