Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

JOE

U nable to compute the information, I lean forward and grip the door frame.

This woman, who most days acts as if she can't stomach me, spoke my name while pleasuring herself? My name?

I'm too aroused to do much else but stand there and take a moment, pushing back and leaning against the wall behind me. The old floorboards squeak beneath my feet. I cringe, holding my breath, hoping she didn't hear.

A few seconds roll by and I think I'm safe, but then my pocket dings.

Shit . I quickly silence the phone, but see the text is from Jane.

Help! I think someone's in the apartment.

I bite down on my lip and smile. Despite knowing I shouldn't do it, I can't resist replying, and even as I type the words, I'm shaking my head, seeing the mountain of shit I'm about to walk into.

You mean someone other than me?

From the other side of the door, I hear Jane stumbling around her room, her footsteps pounding across the floor, but by the time she opens the door, I'm consumed by a fit of hysterical laughter.

"You fucking prick."

With eyes like daggers, her murderous glare cuts through me. I raise my hands in surrender, somewhat afraid she might hurt me—not that she could do much damage, plus she's got that whole peaceful Buddhist thing going—but I don't doubt Angry Jane could easily get in a punch or two if she chose to.

"Why are you here?" she barks. "I thought you went out."

"Plans got canceled." I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, still chuckling. "Sounds like it's a good thing I was here, though. You know, to save you."

Her eyes narrow. "This isn't funny, Joe. I seriously thought someone broke in!"

"You're right, it's not funny. It's fucking hilarious."

It might be because I know what she was up to, but the way she scrunches her face and the pink shade covering her freckled cheeks now seems so sexy.

"Okay, you had your fun. Now leave." She grabs the door to shut it, but I can't let her slip away so easily and step closer, stopping the door with my foot.

"Actually, I was coming to see you about something."

She clutches the collar of her bathrobe, her jaw clenched. "About what?"

"About putting my clean clothes on the floor."

Her shoulders relax. "Oh, well, I've told you many times not to leave them in the washing machine."

"And I get that. But couldn't you have put it in the dryer for me? I mean, you didn't have to go so far as to turn the dryer on , but the floor? Really, Jane?"

"I'll tell you what." She juts out her hip. "If you try harder to take care of your responsibilities, then I'll try harder to not?—"

"Be a bitch?" I interrupt.

She squints, that trademark Jane -esque anger making her breathe fast. "I am not a bitch."

Her lack of bite leaves me disappointed. Deep down, I know there's a warring queen waiting to put me in my place, but even though she watches me with a severe stare, she just folds. I try to gauge where her head is at—does she truly not want to fight? Is she that tired? Or is it because she's embarrassed about what I overheard?

I step closer and notice blemishes across her chest and up her neck. A blush or a sign of what she was just up to?

"No, you're not always a bitch." My eyes flicker over her shoulder toward her bed, where I spot the accomplice to her activities in the shape of a small purple wand. "Then again, maybe you're different tonight because something cheered you up."

She hurries to shut the door, but then stops, tracking my gaze. I lean in, inhaling her scent and watch her breathing speed up. She licks her lips, making them look even more irresistible. Even more tantalizing. Even more Come stick your cock in and…

"Goodnight, Joe," she says, slamming the door in my face, leaving me practically panting with need.

JOE

"I told you she's hot."

Even if I'm not looking at Will, I know he's smirking.

"Sure, she's cute, but she's such a pain in my ass."

The line for the club moves ahead.

"So? Don't you think her brattiness makes her that much cuter?"

"Dude, all my laundry. On the floor."

Ahead of us, some women cut in line, hugging their friends who've let them under the rope.

I'm getting too old for this. I know I'm only twenty-nine, but waiting in line on the opening night of a new club, never knowing if it'll be worth the effort, is growing stale.

"Yes, but to be fair, you're a big boy," Will says, gripping my shoulder. "Shouldn't you be taking care of your laundry?"

"I take care of my laundry."

We move up a few feet and I shove my hands in my pockets when I notice a sexy blond at the front looking my way. Cutting just below her ass, her skin tight dress highlights her endless legs, but strangely, I feel no attraction to her. Instead, I return to my conversation.

"It doesn't matter. What Jane did was rude and annoying and fucking childish."

"Joe, you doth protest too much. I think you two should sleep together," he proposes, as if suggesting to pick up Thai food.

"Have you lost your mind?" I exclaim, a little too loudly, earning some curious glares. I wait until everyone has turned away to continue. "Why would I sleep with her?"

He chuckles. "It might ease the tension."

"I doubt that would help. It would, however, make things even more fucking awkward."

"Awkward? Why? Because she dumped your laundry on the floor?"

Though I told him about Jane's stunt with my clothes, I didn't go into all the messy details from last night.

I run a hand through my hair. "And other reasons. Listen, I'm not going to sleep with her, okay? It's against the rules."

" Your rules. Did you ever think that it could help you two relax and get along better?"

"And what about Gaby? She'll end me. Like she'll actually come home and murder me."

"Would she though?" He cocks his head.

"You've met your sister, right? There'd be blood. Anyway, Gaby warned me before she left—nothing was to happen between me and Jane."

"That was before she met Zeus."

I chuckle as we move closer to the door. "His name is Zach."

Will winks at a girl that goes in ahead of us. "Zeus, Zach. Potato, potahto."

Nearly all of Gaby's recent posts online have been about this Zach guy, her new boyfriend—a human version of a Greek God—and I know how little her overprotective brother approves.

"The point is," Will continues. "She's too busy with him to notice what's happening over here." He nudges me with his shoulder. "Just do it. Trust me, you'll both feel better."

The bouncer nods as we walk through the doors that open into a dark, hazy space with flashing purple and white lights that instantly give me a headache. Dense with bodies and thick with deep base rhythm, the place feels crowded. I had been looking forward to tonight—to trying out a new place and meeting someone sexy. But now, as we cut through the crowd of gorgeous people, all I want to do is go home and confirm whether Will is completely nuts or if his theory is worthy of testing.