Fuck. Now I just gave myself another image to jerk off to later. Like I needed anymore variety.

“Reed. The girl . . . hello?”

I hear Tessa, but every part of me is focused on Beth as she walks up to the counter, oblivious to my presence.

Christ, what is she wearing and why the fuck is that doing shit to me? I mean the shorts, yeah, I’m fucking loving the shorts. She’s tiny, but she’s all fucking leg in those things. But Clapton and Dr. Martens? Why the fuck is that so sexy?”

Beth leans further against the counter, tilting her ass into the air. My entire body goes stiff before I drop my head against the table with a barely audible groan.

“What’s going on?” Mia asks, sounding confused.

I keep my head down, clamp my eyes shut, and get through this confession as quickly as possible.

“The girl I was talking to at the bar, that’s her. At the counter.”

I hear movement, no doubt Mia shuffling Chase around to get a good look.

“Are you ducking her? Is she like a clinger or something?” Tessa asks.

“No,” I lift my head an inch, then drop it against the table again. “I don’t know, I didn’t get her out of McGill’s to find out. When Molly walked in, that girl grabbed me and kissed the hell out of me. Now Molly thinks we’re a couple, because that girl told her we are, and I’m supposed to be going to her engagement party this weekend, with my girlfriend.” I turn my head to gaze up at Tessa’s shocked face. “And I don’t mean how I kissed you that one time when you pretended to be my wife. I mean she fucking kissed me.” I mouth the word ‘fucking,’ and Tessa’s eyes widen in alarm, but her shock is short-lived.

Because it’s Tessa. Because my misery is amusing to her. And because she sees an opportunity to make this shit unbearable for me, and she’s going to take it.

A slow smile spreads across her lips before she turns her head and looks across the table. “Well, I think we need to meet this girlfriend of yours, don’t you think, Mia?”

“Absolutely.” Mia’s voice is practically giddy, reveling in my obvious discomfort.

Male friends. That’s what I need.

I slowly sit up, my eyes immediately being drawn to Beth and her ass that’s barely covered. I swallow down my moan. “Please don’t.”

“Oh, relax, Reed. We won’t embarrass you.” Tessa puts her hand on my shoulder and pushes against me to gain some height in the booth. “Hey, Clapton! Over here!”

Beth immediately turns her head, connects with my eyes that are trained on her like a fucking vulture, and smiles like I’ve just given her the world or something.

Never been smiled at like that before, besides when she did it Saturday night. There’s no shame to her excitement at seeing me. No containment to it either. And fuck if I don’t smile right on back.

“Oh, you are such a shit for keeping this from me,” Tessa whispers as Beth walks up to the table. “Look how happy she is to see you.”

She stops a few inches away, letting her smile soften marginally. “Hey, how are you?” she asks in the sweetest fucking voice I’ve ever heard.

I’ve jacked off countless times to you. I’ve never been this obsessed over pussy I haven’t tasted yet.

“Good,” I reply, almost harshly. I’m not trying to be an asshole, but reacting any other way to her might result in getting banned from Sal’s for public indecency. I can hear Mia now.

“I can’t believe you fucked that girl right here on the table! You’re paying for Nolan’s therapy.”

Beth pinches her mouth together through a curt nod, looks down at the floor, then back up at me through her lashes. “Me too, thanks.”

Fuck. Don’t be a dick. It’s not her fault you’ve rubbed yourself raw.

The fuck it isn’t!

Tessa pushes her weight against me to lean closer to Beth. “Hi, I’m Tessa. Please excuse my best friend’s behavior. He sometimes gets shy around pretty girls.”

Beth smiles as her cheeks flush pink, and follows Tessa hand as she motions across the table.

“That’s my sister in-law, Mia, and her two boys, Chase and Nolan.”

Beth lifts her small hand and waves. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Beth.” She taps Nolan on the head. “Cool hat, dude.”

Nolan turns his face up, hitting her with his toothless grin.

“Do you want to join us for lunch?” Mia asks before dropping her eyes to mine. She smiles at the tortured frown I’m giving her, and I can’t help it. I let a quiet laugh slip past my lips, because I can’t be mad at Mia for anything. Especially her friendliness to everyone she meets.

Beth takes a quick glance at me, sees the unspoken answer to that question written all over my face, and looks back at Mia, her shoulders sagging. “No, thanks. I’m actually picking up my order. My aunt’s waiting for me at home.”

“So, when’s the engagement party?”

Beth jerks her head toward Tessa, sending a strand of dark hair into her eyes.

I fist my hands in my lap to keep myself from reaching out and doing what I did a few nights ago. I know what that silky hair feels like between my fingers. I know how smooth the skin is behind her ear, and down her neck.

She moves the chunk out of her face before answering. “Saturday night. Six o’clock, I think. I have to check the invitation.”

“You’re still going?” I ask, leaning forward.

I honestly figured she was baiting me on Saturday, and when I said I wasn’t going to that bullshit, she’d toss the invite into the trash. But she’s actually going?

She stands taller, letting her hands fall to her sides. “Yes, I told you I was. I want to play this out.” Her bottom lip becomes caught between her teeth, and she stares at me for several silent seconds before stating as a fact, “You’re not going.”

I shake my head, keeping my eyes on her mouth. “No.”

“La mia bella, here you go, my dear,” Sal calls out from behind the counter, his hands clutching a large pizza box.

Beth nods over her shoulder, avoids me, and smiles at the rest of the table. “It was really nice to meet you. Maybe I’ll see you guys around.”

Tessa and Mia both tell her goodbye, and Nolan waves behind her back.

My eyes follow Beth out of the restaurant through the glass window to the parking lot.

“What is wrong with you?” Tessa asks with a firm shove to my shoulder. “You should go to that party with her.”

“Why would I go to Molly’s engagement party?”

“Why would she invite you?”

I stare at Tessa, waiting for her to answer her own question.

She lets out an annoyed sigh, as if this explanation is a waste of her time. “She’s trying to make you jealous, obviously. There’s no other reason why she would want you there. And showing up with your hot little girlfriend is a good way to shove that jealousy right down her mother effing throat.”

I look over at Mia. “You wanna weigh in on this?”

She faintly lifts her shoulders. “I agree with Tessa. If my ex invited me to something like that, I’d grab the hottest guy I could find and take him with me as my date.”