Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“Precisely. I’m available tonight or tomorrow evening.” Marlon altered his monotone delivery to something I think was supposed to sound sexy, adding, “Sir Hardwick and I anxiously await thy call. Until then, I bid thee adieu.”
Oh, my gosh.
I ended the call with a beleaguered sigh and—
“You gotta be kidding. He calls his cock Sir Hardwick?”
I jumped, spinning around to find Ezra much closer than I realized. I pushed his massive chest and furrowed my brow angrily. “Were you eavesdropping?”
“Not intentionally. Marlon’s voice carries, and the volume on your cell must be on high.” Ezra snorted, hands on hips. “Sir Hardwick. Wow. That’s…weirdly commanding. Just call me Hardwick, Sir Hardwick.”
He snickered at his James Bond affectation while I counted backward from one hundred.
How had I lost control so quickly? This was my prank. I was the one who should be laughing. I wanted to blame Marlon, but this was on me. I shouldn’t have answered my cell.
Of course, I would never have predicted Marlon would suggest a sexual “arrangement” just as Ezra blew a fuse about his pilfered groceries. I was so…embarrassed. I needed Ezra to shut the heck up so I could crawl under the sofa and hibernate through summer.
“Be quiet, Ezra,” I huffed, crossing my arms.
He wiped imaginary tears from his eyes. “Geez, I didn’t take you for the fuck-buddy type.”
“Be quiet,” I repeated through my teeth. “It’s rude to listen to conversations that have nothing to do with you.”
Ezra sobered quickly. “No, you know what’s rude? Coming home after a hard day at the office to find out my food has been stolen!”
“Gee, that is terrible. I know exactly how that feels. Pretty irritating.” I brushed past him. “If you’ll excuse me. I have other things to deal with…like Marlon.”
“Fuck Marlon. He’s fuckin’ using you.”
“That’s what he’s proposing, anyway,” I scoffed. “And don’t look so scandalized. You were worried I was the one using Marlon just the other day. Remember?”
Ezra contorted his features to a cross between incredulity and outrage. “I was kidding. Are you telling me Sir Hardwick is really looking for a regular booty call?”
I understood the incredulous part, but not the outrage. His anger confused me.
“Something like that,” I confirmed. “Or whatever the standard term is for convenient sex. I use him, he uses me. At least, I assume that’s how it works. I don’t have any prior experience.”
Ezra scowled. “You can’t seriously be interested in being Marlon’s boy toy.”
“Of course I’m not interested!” I yelled. “I broke up with him. Something I’ve been trying to do for weeks. It’s over, and I don’t want anything to do with him.”
“Good.”
“Or you.”
“Me? What did I do? I’m innocent.” Ezra frowned, pointing an accusing finger at me. “You’re the guilty party here. You stole my fuckin’ food. After I went out of my way to be a good roommate, no less. Who does that shit?”
“Someone who’s desperate, that’s who!”
“Desperate for what? Dick?”
“Be quiet, Ezra,” I snarled. “This has nothing to do with penises or Marlon or anything.”
“Then what the hell is it?” When I didn’t reply, he threw his hands in the air in exasperated surrender. “Fine. Be that way. Just gimme my food. I’m craving chips and salsa. And no one needs a beer more than me.”
I nodded in defeat. “Fine. Stay here. I’ll bring your chips and salsa.”
“And beer.”
“And beer,” I agreed, stalking to the doorway.
I fixed him with a serious look as I inched into the foyer. He didn’t follow when I turned to the stairs. I cautiously climbed the first few and waited.
No footsteps. Phew.
It was a mini miracle he didn’t follow me. I couldn’t think with Ezra in the room. He was too much. Too big, too loud, too opinionated, too carelessly sexy. I had a hard time breathing around him. That was far more troublesome than Marlon’s surprise proposition, I mused as I cleared the landing.
I couldn’t believe Marlon thought I’d seriously consider—
Boom boom boom
I squeaked when Ezra thumped up the stairs after me.
I ran down the hallway to my room and shut the door. Or tried to, anyway. He wedged his foot in the jamb and furrowed his brow.
“No sneaking. I want my food now,” he demanded.
“I’m not giving you anything until you back the heck up,” I grunted.
To my amazement, he did. He pulled his foot away and let the door slam shut.
“Fine. Happy now?”
“Ecstatic.” Except for the fact that my heart was now lodged in my throat. I turned the lock, releasing a ragged breath.
“That’s not gonna do you any good. I can pick a lock with my eyes closed. You have twenty seconds to hand everything over.”
I trudged to the ice chest at the end of my bed and looked inside. I fished out the salsa and a beer, then grabbed the tortilla chips from the grocery bag on my desk.