14. Tanner

Tanner

Tanner

A termite walks into a bar and says, "Is the bar tender here?"

Two guys walk into a bar. The third one ducked.

I should be working, but all I can think about is how your eyes glaze over just before you come. Or the curve of your ass and those two sexy-as-fuck dimples on your lower back.

I think I need some kind of treatment for this affliction. What do you recommend, Doctor?

I forced myself to put my phone away, knowing he wouldn't reply until later because he was working. But he always replied, which is what gave me the confidence to carry on sending him stupid bartender jokes.

Focusing on work was a challenge when every other thought I had was about Jax.

I wasn't joking in my message. I was becoming so obsessed with Jax that I should probably be referred for treatment.

Addiction. That's what it was. I was addicted to the person I was with Jax, the way he made me feel like I was the only person in the world he wanted to be with in that moment.

When I wasn't having good feelings about Jax, I was worried about where we were headed. Did we have an expiration date? At what point did we move from friends with benefits to boyfriends? Would we ever?

It seemed we were doing all the things that felt right without giving them too much thought, and I was as guilty of it as he was.

A knock on the door made me jolt in my seat.

Words failed to form as I stared at Jodie leaning against the doorframe.

"Not gonna lie, when your bar guy said you were working in the office, I thought I would have a chance to meet your new man if you know what I mean." She wiggled her brows.

I laughed and circled my desk to hold my best friend in my arms. It had been more than enough time since we'd last seen each other.

"Jodie. Oh my god, what are you doing here?" I twirled her as she wriggled in my hold. Jodie had always been petite, but since I'd grown taller and bigger, it was easier to do this to her. She secretly loved it.

"I did say I was thinking of visiting."

I put her down and gave her a good head-to-toe look. "You haven't mentioned anything since, so I figured you got busy. Come on, let's sit on the couch. Do you want a coffee or something?"

She said yes, so I ran down to the bar and made coffee for us both. When I came back to the office, Jodie was sitting on top of my desk, her legs swinging as she looked at the photo of Jax and me at the Tamagotchi Con last month, holding Chip and Fry up for the camera.

"You two are such geeks," she said.

That was the only thing Jodie and I never agreed on. She thought Tamagotchis were for kids and totally inferior to the computer games she excelled in.

I placed her cup on the desk and sat on the old couch I'd brought from the apartment when I bought my new one. "Does Jax know you're here?"

She rolled her eyes. That meant yes. Why hadn't Jax said something?

"Before you think it, I didn't exactly make Jax promise not to tell you, but we ended up going to bed late, and he had to rush out this morning."

"Stop listening to my thoughts. It's creepy."

She sipped her coffee and sat beside me, placing the cup on the floor.

"It's time for us to have a conversation."

Oh fuck. How does she know about Jax and me? Did he tell her?

No. He wouldn't do that without warning me first.

"About…?"

Her eyes scanned my face like she was looking for answers. I took a moment to really take my best friend in. She was so beautiful and smelled so nice. It was no wonder I'd been confused about my feelings for her as a teenager.

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"What?" Well, that came out a few pitches too high.

"The guy you were seeing last time I called. Are you still seeing him?"

Yeah. No. I wasn't going to tell her the truth because it was clear Jax hadn't told her anything.

"No…that was just…temporary."

She stared at me again.

"What's with all the staring today? As you can see, I've been keeping up with my beauty and sleep regimen." Well, the beauty, at least. Sleep was for those who didn't have access to a naked Jax at random times of the day and night.

She grabbed her coffee again and cradled it between her hands.

"Do you remember the promise we made to each other when we were sixteen?"

"That no matter which of us Channing Tatum picked, we'd still support the other and accept that Channing made his choice?"

She snorted. "I would have broken that promise if he'd picked you and would have cursed your wedding day. Just saying. But no, not that promise."

Which one then? We'd made all kinds of weird and ridiculous promises mostly based on events that would never happen.

Except…

"You mean the marriage one?" I laughed, thinking of the stupid pact we'd made to marry each other when we turned thirty if we hadn't found our forever person.

She didn't laugh with me.

"You're serious."

She huffed. "Tanner, I've tried, but I haven't found anyone."

"That's because you're a workaholic. When was the last time you had a date?" I asked.

"Last month," she said, looking smug.

"A date you didn't cancel because something came up at work."

"Fine, a little longer, but anyone who's going to be with me has to understand that my career is important."

"And they will, but you have to meet them first. Make an effort. Be the irresistible, intelligent, talented, gorgeous woman you are."

"But with you, I don't have to be those things. Besides, apart from hookups, when was the last time you had a relationship?"

I didn't answer because she knew when. College.

"Jodie, baby, you can't ask me to become celibate at the age of thirty."

She snorted. "I wouldn't think of it. It would be an open marriage. We'd get to meet other people for sex, but we'd be a family. Just like we said."

"We were sixteen, Jodie. Can you even hear yourself right now?"

She frowned. Her bottom lip trembled a little.

Of fuck. Not tears.

I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her.

"Look, it's not that I wouldn't marry you, but I think you should be with someone you can have a whole life with, not just a half-life."

"I want it to be you. I'm moving to Cliffborough. I've already started the moving process. The lease for my office is up, so I told my landlord I'm not renewing. This morning, I went to see an office a few blocks away, and it's perfect. It even has space for a showroom."

I took a deep breath, and she held my hands. "Just think about it, okay? That's all I'm asking."

She kissed me and left, promising to come over on my day off so we could hang out properly.

An hour after she left, a different Mitchell walked into my office.

"I'm so sorry," Jax said, coming around the desk and kneeling at my feet.

I ran my hands over his hair, letting them rest on the back of his neck. It was such an intimate gesture, something fuck buddies shouldn't do. Best friends or boyfriends, yes. Fuck buddies, no. And since we hadn't talked about it, I could only assume that was all Jax wanted from me.

I kissed him because I was weak and wanted to banish those thoughts from my mind. Filling it with thoughts of Jax's sinful mouth was so much better.

"It's okay. It looks like she sprung her visit on us without warning."

"I was going to text you, but I was late for work and haven't stopped all day. I managed to get out earlier, hoping I could warn you, but she messaged me to say she'd seen you already."

I rested my forehead against his and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the aftershave I knew he kept in his locker at the hospital. He said it made him feel more human, even when he usually went straight home or here and the first thing he did was take a shower.

"Any chance I can suck your dick before going home?"

I laughed. "I'll never say no to that, but there's something you should know."

"What's that? And can you tell me and get undressed at the same time?"

"Jodie wants to marry me."

He choked and sputtered, "What the fuck did you say?"