One Night A Real Man - Jenika Snow Page 0,1

there to take me under his wing.

And if I were being honest, I had feelings for him as soon as he’d given me his adolescent, goofy smile, as soon as I felt that protective bond with him. He looked after me, didn’t let anyone mess with me or tease me. He made sure I was accepted no matter what. And if someone bullied me, picked on me, hell, if a guy showed interest in me, Devon made sure it was known that there would be repercussions.

And that was in the form of him kicking their ass.

We’d become inseparable.

And as time passed, as we finished high school, went off to college, we’d grown, matured. Our relationship changed, evolved. At least it had for me. It had changed so much. I saw him as something so much… more.

And I was willing to suffer in silence, to never tell him how I felt, because that would do no good. He’d never shown any interest in me in that way, in a way that would give me a little bit of hope and courage to spill the beans, so to speak, but sometimes things were just better left unsaid.

So when the waitress came by to clear the table of the empty beer bottles and glasses, I ordered two more shots. Maybe he’d drink one, and if not, that was okay, because I’d down them both and ask for more.

I planned on getting wasted, because not only was my day shitty, and not only was I laid off, but I was also harboring some deep freaking love for a man I’d never have.

And as much as I wanted to just be honest with Devon and tell him why my day sucked, I was embarrassed. How did you tell your best friend that you lost your job because you wouldn’t sleep with your boss? And knowing Devon, he’d probably want to confront Logan Frank—meaning kick his ass.

Logan Frank, the man who tried everything to get between my legs, and after my repeated denials, he fabricated a story that I couldn’t do my job properly, and therefore I was laid off.

It was shitty all around.

Thankfully, I had some money saved up, but that would only last so long—meaning a couple months tops. After that, I didn’t know what I’d do. It wasn’t like the jobs in town were bursting at the seams.

I exhaled, feeling sorry for myself. I took one of the shots the waitress deposited on the table, tossing it back and sputtering as the burn traveled down my throat.

Yup, getting good and trashed sounded like the perfect thing to do tonight.

2

Devon

I braced my hands on the edge of the bathroom counter and hung my head, breathing out slowly. It was absolute hell being here with Leila, acting like we were just friends, like I didn’t want to kick every fucker’s ass who even looked her way.

But I was pretty proud of myself for keeping my shit under control. I didn’t know what caused her to want to go out tonight and clearly get wasted, especially on a Thursday, but it didn’t matter. When Leila called, I dropped whatever I was doing, and I was there for her. That’s how it always was, and that’s how it always would be.

The last guy in the bathroom left, and I looked at the now closed door. I turned my focus to the mirror in front of me, stared at my reflection. I had it bad for Leila, not just that I wanted to possess every inch of her body, but because I loved her more than life itself.

I shook my head and closed my eyes again, knowing this was just how it had to be. We were friends, and that was that. That’s how our story was written.

After washing my hands and heading back toward the table, every part of my body froze, every muscle inside me tightening as I saw some guy standing by the table, talking to her.

I remembered the expression on her face, the way she’d been talking so animatedly when I’d been sitting beside her, and the fact that she’d been drinking the beers faster than they’d shown up, and I knew she was already getting tipsy.

And being a man and knowing how men were, especially drunk and in a bar scenario, I could only assume what that little prick was after. Leila was too innocent, almost naïve in how guys were and what they wanted. And the only thing that little asshole wanted