Chapter 1

"What is on the agenda for tonight?" I ask Lexi as I plop on the couch next to him.

I've been friends with Lexi and his sister, Kait, since freshman year. Every Thursday they have a nineties themed movie night together with Ryder, Kait's best friend and Lexi's new boyfriend. I don't always come to them, but they are always fun. Even if the movies are ancient. We watched one a few weeks ago where the main character had to visit an internet cafe just to send an email.

"The Scream series," Ryder answers, sitting down on the other side of Lexi. "I love me some slasher movies."

"You don't give a shit about slasher movies. You just love watching anything that makes Lexi cuddle into you." Kait shouts from the kitchen.

Ryder shrugs. "I may have discovered that I get a blowjob after I've protected my man from thirty year old movie villains."

"Seriously Ryder? That's why you're so obsessed with these films?" Lexi lowers his voice. "If you just wanted a blowjob, you know I would have given you one anyway."

"Yeah, but I like feeling like I've really earned it," Ryder whispers back.

Lexi attacks Ryder"s face with his mouth which is my cue to move seats. I take the loveseat and spread out. Kait can deal with those two.

I am happy for Lexi. He's been in love with Ryder since the moment he met him four years ago. But I do not need a front row seat to their foreplay. More than one person has told me I have pretty eyes, so bleaching them is out of the question.

I get up to answer the door when the bell rings. "Who else did you invite?"

They don't hear me and continue to keep eating each other"s faces.

"I need to get laid," I mumble as I open the front door.

"I'd be happy to help you with that." Tucker grins, standing on the porch, arms laden with take out bags.

"I didn't think college sports stars were allowed to work during the semester?"

His nose scrunches in confusion, which is not adorable at all. "What are you talking about?"

"Food delivery driver, no?" I take the food out of his arms and shut the door on his bemused face.

My mouth curves into a small smile as Tucker rings the doorbell again, and I start unpacking the Chinese food onto the coffee table.

Since that kiss weeks ago, Tucker has decided to flirt relentlessly with me. I'm hot, I know this, so it's not unusual for attractive people to flirt with me. What is weird is my reaction to Tucker flirting with me. I blush. A lot. Seriously, why the fuck does he pull that reaction from me? He's just a guy.

A guy I will absolutely not be kissing again, no matter how much he flirts with me.

"Who the fuck is pounding on the door?" Kait says, stomping through the living room.

"I forgot to tip the delivery guy. My bad." I grin.

Lexi untangles himself from Ryder. "What delivery guy? Tucker is bringing the food?"

"You're a little shit, Giovanni," Tucker growls in a way that makes my cock twitch. No, I am not attracted to him. I will not get a chub on. I refuse.

"I'm sorry," I say, surprising everyone. I pull a twenty from my back pocket and slap it on his chest. "I didn't mean to forget to tip."

Ryder lets out a snort and then a grunt as Lexi elbows him in the kidney.

"Gio-" Lexi starts.

"I'll take it. I wouldn't mind a different tip from you, a more physical one, but this will do for now. I'll add it to our first date fund," Tucker says with a wink, making my cheeks flame.

That fucker.

I have no comeback so I just roll my eyes and flop back onto the love seat. Tucker can be subjected to the Lexi and Ryder show on the other couch.

Except he sits next to me, because of course. It's his mission in life to torment me. He is not a small man, so all of him is pressed against all of me. Goosebumps engulf my entire left side. My body is a traitorous whore. How many times do I have to explain that we are not attracted to men who are on the rebound after a bad break-up?

"Here you go," Tucker hands me a plate I didn't even notice he had been fixing.

"How are these all of my favorite dishes?" I look up at him, which is a huge mistake. His dark blue eyes entrap me immediately. They remind me of the sky just before sunrise.

He smiles softly. "I know. I pay attention, Giovanni."

Does he really have to say my name like that? It's a crime. A crime against my cock.

"Thanks," I mumble and turn to my food.

I try to tune into the movie and ignore how good it feels being this close to Tucker.

I'm not some emotionally repressed stereotype who has vowed to never have a relationship again because my last two blew up in my face. I'm gonna date again. I want a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner someday, but I'm not going to jump into a relationship with someone still getting over a heartbreak. No way am I going to be the guy he gets under to get over stupid Henry.

So, I will continue to ignore the heat and chemistry between us.

It has to go away eventually.

Right?

"Stu and Tatum are the ultimate pan panic," I say a little while later. "They just scream sex."

"Yeah, Stu is hot. I'd let him stab me," Ryder says, munching on popcorn, oblivious to all the eyes on him.

Lexi leans in and whispers something, which sounds a lot like "Tatum" and "role-play." I know way too much about their sex life.

"Wanna bet how long they'll stick around before running off to get laid?" Tucker whispers to me.

"They'll last till the end of the movie and will probably be naked and prepped before the credits have finished rolling," I whisper back. Teasing our friends is a safe subject.

He snorts "Do you think they'll be back in time for the second movie?"

"Nah, we'll have lost them for the night."

"Hey assholes, we can hear you," Lexi throws popcorn at the both of us.

Tucker shrugs. "We weren't being that quiet, to be fair."

"How about you all shut up, and we watch the movie?" Kait snipes as she turns the volume up on the television. I guess that told us.

"Is everything okay, Kait?" Lexi asks her gently.

"Yes," she bites out. "Okay, no. Josh had to help his dad collect something he bought from Craigslist. So, watching you four being all loved up and flirty is making me feel lonely. I want to snuggle."

"We're not flirting or snuggling," is the first thing out of my mouth.

"That's what you focus on, jackass?" Kait replies with an eye roll.

"He's in his feels about me. It overpowers every thought." You can hear the satisfaction in Tucker's voice. Jerkface.

"I am not-"

"You are literally snuggling into Tucker right now. His arm is around you."

I turn and see that Tucker's arm is in fact around me and I'm pressed into the side of his body, a lot more than I need to be. How did this happen?

Fuck, he smells delicious.

"I need a drink," I say and rush out of the room. I probably also need a cold shower and some sense knocked into me.

I am not a rebound.

Why do I have to have a crush on him? If Tucker and Henry had had a nice, normal break up, this wouldn't be such a big thing. But the dude got cheated on. He needs to fuck that out of his system before he is ready for anything else.

I don't want to be used.