Page 132 of Secrets and Lies
“No way,” I say loudly and emphatically shake my head. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not.” He leans back against the arm of his couch and presses his leg against mine.
“You have to be,” I insist. “There’s no way you were all born in the same year and it wasn’t planned.”
“It was a total coincidence,” he says, still grinning at my over-the-top reaction.
“You expect me to believe that your dads are all best friends, your moms are all best friends, you’re all the first kids in your families,andyou were all born in the same year, but it wasn’t planned?” I give him a dubious look. “I’m calling bullshit.”
“It’s true.” He grins. “Do you want to hear something even crazier?”
“Tell me.”
“We were all born on commercial holidays.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“Nope.” He brushes a lock of damp hair back from his forehead. “My birthday is February 14th, Rath’s is July 4th, and the twins were born on October 31st.”
“That’s insane.” I shake my head in disbelief. “At least it makes it easy to remember your birthdays. But it also kinda sucks because your birthday gets overshadowed by the holiday.”
“That part isn’t as fun, but it’s not so bad now that we’re older. And the twins love being Halloween babies, so that literally becomes their entire personality for the two weeks leading up to the big day.”
Silence stretches between us, but it’s not strained or uncomfortable.
After taking a shower together, which ended up not being that quick after Anthony dropped to his knees and spent what felt like an eternity edging the fuck out of me until I came so hard I almost blacked out again. Then it was my turn, and I took my time teasing him until he finally had enough and grabbed my head so he could fuck my throat until he came.
Then we dried off, got dressed, and spent the past while sitting on his couch together, our backs against the arms of it and our legs tangled in the middle while we talked about random stuff.
I’ve never had a friend with benefits before, not in the true sense of the term. I’ve had casual hookups where we’d meet up and fuck, but we didn’t spend any time together outside of the bedroom, so the actual friends part was never really a thing, just the benefits. Those arrangements also didn’t last long because I always felt empty when we were done, and it just wasn’t worth it after the novelty wore off.
It’s so much different when you add sex to an already established or budding friendship, and instead of feeling empty, I’ve never felt this settled and comfortable with someone.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask whatever you want,” he says. “And I think we’re past asking permission to ask a question, don’t you?” he adds with one of his smirky smiles.
“Sorry.” My answering smile is tight. “I just don’t want to overstep or say the wrong thing.”
“Again, I think we’re past worrying about that kind of stuff.” His tone is light, but his expression is serious. “Remember how I told you I don’t play games? I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. Just be yourself and don’t worry about all the bullshit you worry about when you’re with other people.”
“Me, not worry?” I ask with a laugh. “Have you met me?”
“What’s your question?”
“Have you ever dated anyone?”
He shakes his head.
“Have you really been watching me for the past three years?” I ask.
He nods, and another smirk-smile tilts his lips, making my insides feel funny.
“Why?”
He studies me for a few seconds. “Because I find you interesting.”
For some dumb reason, that makes my cheeks heat with another stupid blush. It wasn’t even a compliment, not really, but I still react to it like he said something flowery or poetic.
