not put one hand on you,” Jax says.
“Ha! Never.”
“Let’s put a wager on it.” Jax stands.
We all share looks as though we’re wondering what the hell is going on. I lean back and don’t argue because I want to stay with Evan, as messed up as it is.
“Winner gets the next five walk-ins.” Frankie puts out her hand.
“Ten,” Jax says as though he’s positive he’s going to be successful. That makes one person.
Sierra raises her hand. “What if neither of you cross the line? And how will we be privy to the information about what happens?”
Jax laughs. “Oh believe me, if we fuck, you’ll hear Frankie screaming my name.”
“Oh, Jax, if we screw, you’ll be the one swearing up a storm because you’ll have no idea how to handle a real woman.”
Everyone laughs as Jax and Frankie shake on the deal. Now I’m all kinds of turned on, and my vision shifts to Evan, who’s just as flushed as Jax is. Her heavy-lidded gaze moves to me. Maybe she would agree to the idea of friends with benefits.
What’s the worst that can happen? She says no. It’s worth the rejection to try.
Slowly the couples say good night and head to bed. Knox says he’s exhausted and disappears into the room with the single bed.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” I offer.
Evan shakes her head, but she’s quiet now that her sidekick Frankie went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. “No. It’s fine. I think I’m gonna go to bed. Maybe read a little bit before.”
“I’ll go too.”
Jax sits in front of the television, watching the Fast and the Furious whatever number—there are too many and I can’t keep up. We say good night, and he raises his beer bottle at us. After Evan heads down the hall, Jax waggles his eyebrows at me. I flip him off.
“You guys aren’t going to bed, are you?” Frankie whines as she comes out of the bathroom in a pair of boxers and a tight tank top. Good luck to Jax.
“Yeah, the wine made me tired,” Evan says, yawning.
“Okay, have a good night,” she singsongs and bites her lip, watching us like a creep until I shut the door.
Once we’re behind the closed door, Evan goes to her suitcase.
“What was that about?” I ask.
Evan looks at me from over her shoulder. “What?”
“Frankie acting like we’re playing seven minutes in heaven.” I sit on the bed, tugging off my sweatshirt.
“Oh, I don’t know.” But there’s a hitch in her voice.
“I think you do.”
She turns and scoffs, holding her pajamas. “Why would I?”
“Because you two were like best friends today.”
She shrugs. “She was just thinking—or was saying, I guess… I mean, it’s a horrible idea.”
And my mind blows up because maybe for once I was right. Evan wouldn’t mind exploring a sexual side of our agreement.
“What was she saying?” I lean back on the mattress, holding myself up with my elbows.
Evan looks hard and long at me. “You already know!” she accuses.
I shake my head, a grin on my face.
“You do so. If you could see your smug face right now.” She heads to the bathroom. “I’m going to change.”
“We’re still discussing this.”
She peeks around the corner without her pajamas in her arms. “What are we discussing? Was that your plan to get Frankie to put the thought in my head?”
“Hell no. The guys said something to me about it tonight. I had no idea Frankie was as brilliant as she is.”
“Seth,” she says with that tone to suggest whatever I’m thinking isn’t going to work.
“Let’s think about this rationally, okay?”
She stares at me blankly, apparently waiting for me to plead my case.
“First of all—I’m horny, okay? All the teases of touching you, kissing you, and being near you but never going further is leaving me with blue balls most nights.”
A beautiful pink blush rushes up her neck and into her cheeks.
“It’s like I’m fifteen and dating. I need more but…”
“Do you want to see other people? I mean, I was thinking earlier and maybe we should just be honest with our parents. They still haven’t come around and said we can do the Food Channel thing and—”
“What the hell are you talking about? We’re seeing this damn thing through. And I don’t wanna fuck anyone else. I only wanna fuck you.” The words rush out before my brain processes the meaning of the words. “I meant that kiss, Evan. That kiss was so unreal, and it’s all I’ve been able to think about since.