Page 109 of Studs Up
“Safety,” he mumbled.
“Yeah.”
“Okay,” he said.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“You don’t have to thank me,” he said and propped himself up.
“No one else would have come to me like you did,” I smiled.
“Everyone else are fucking idiots,” he mumbled and kissed me. “We’ll figure this out, and I’m not going anywhere.”
He kept saying that and I was starting to believe him.
…
The banging on the door woke me. Nolan was on his stomach with one arm still possessively around my waist and sleeping like the dead.
Sliding out of bed and grabbing sweat pants, I hopped down the hall, pulling them on.
I got to the door just before they hammered on it again, flinging it open, and nearly got knocked in the face with his fist.
“Shhhh,” I hissed. God damn it. Alex. Not good. Fuck.
“What the fuck?” He scowled at me. “Where have you been? Why haven’t you been answering my calls?”
He probably called a thousand times before getting into his car and driving over here.
“We need to have a serious fucking talk about yesterday.”
“Um,” my brain needed to work faster. I needed to give him a good enough excuse to get him to go away without being a dick. “I can’t right now…” I turned to look down the hall. No signs of life. The sun barely peaked over the horizon.
“Fuck, what time is it?” I held my hand to my eyes, blocking the bright light.
“Oh my god,” his eyes widened, and suddenly my shit game was forgotten. “There’s someone here, isn’t there?”
“No,” I lied, and it was such a terrible lie for a one word, one syllable answer.
Alex pushed his way in and started to breeze through the house. What would happen if Alex came face to face with Nolan in my home? I shuddered to think.
I snatched his arm and pulled him around.
“Who did you bring home?” His grin was excited and malicious. “You haven’t brought anyone home in ages. Where did you find him? A club?” Alex frowned. “Why the hell didn’t you invite me? Did you get a good fuck in? Because you need that. Celibacy isn’t natural.”
“Shut up,” I hissed. “He’s still asleep.”
“Oh my god, you did, you little rat. Finally.” His grin was greedy for more details that he was definitely not going to get.
I pushed him to the kitchen, well away from the bedroom, and hoped I could give him everything he needed to satisfy his vicarious curiosity and then send him on his way before Nolan got up.
I dumped him on a stool and went to the coffee maker. I emptied the thick sludge I had made in the middle of the night. Nolan had taken me to bed before the pot finished brewing. If I was going to have to placate Alex while my life hung in the balance, I was going to need a fresh pot.
“Who is he?” Alex propped his elbows on the counter and made a cradle out of his fists to rest his chin. The smile hadn’t faded, and I was trying very hard not to turn red.
“A guy,” I muttered.
“Obviously,” Alex rolled his eyes.
