We have popcorn, chips, and soda, and we are halfway through our first film, cuddled up on the sofa. We’re watching American Pie. Evie’s never seen it before.
She snuggles closer, sliding her hand over my stomach. My muscles instantly tense.
She lets out a content sigh. “It’s official. I am the comfiest I’ve ever been. You make for a great pillow. I’m never moving again.”
“Works for me.” I drop a kiss to the top of her head.
“Jesus, you two are like a Hallmark card, and I don’t mean that in a complimentary way,” Max grumbles.
I turn my head to see him walking in from the kitchen, a can of soda in his hand.
Evie lifts her head from my chest and looks at him. “Aw, Max, just think, this could be you one day, in a Hallmark card all of your own,” Evie teases.
“Fuck no!” He frowns at her. “No fucking way is that shit happening to me.”
Evie starts to laugh.
She and Max get along great, and that makes me happy. Well, she makes me happy all the time.
And she’s making me happy right now while she’s laughing. I can feel the vibration of her laughter through her hips, which are pressed up nicely against my cock. Of course, my cock responds in the way he always does around Evie.
He gets hard.
I know the second she feels my erection. Her body stiffens, and she slowly moves her eyes to mine.
We silently stare at each other, the air thickening all around us.
A flush rises in her cheeks, lust filling her eyes as they flicker down to my lips.
“So…I’m feeling kind of tired,” Evie says, giving a fake yawn. “Wanna go take a nap?”
I know the last thing she wants to do is nap. She wants to fool around. And I am totally on board with that.
“I could take a nap,” I say casually, aware that Max is still here.
Evie and I haven’t had sex yet, but we’ve done everything else. Honestly, I don’t care that I’m not having sex. I’m getting plenty of blow jobs, and that’s not something to scoff at. Blow jobs from Evie are nothing short of amazing.
Everything she does is amazing.
I’m crazy about her.
Do I love her? Without a doubt.
I just haven’t quite told her yet. I haven’t found the right time.
“Seriously?” Max laughs. “That was weak, guys. A nap? Why not just be honest and say that you’re going upstairs to have sex—or at the very least, oral?”
Max knows Evie and I haven’t had actual sex. He’s saying this to wind her up.
I don’t discuss our sex life with him, but he’s also my best friend. When Evie and I first got together, he pushed to know if we’d done it, so I told him that Evie was a virgin, and we were taking it slow.
At that point, I think he realized how serious I was about her.
Evie’s face goes bright red, and she drops her head to my chest, letting out a mortified-sounding laugh.
I lift a hand, giving Max the middle finger. “Fuck you very much, dickwad.”
“Love you, too, man.” He blows me a kiss. “Have fun, kids, and play safe. I’ll be in the game room if you need me.”
“Not likely,” I mutter.
He laughs again before disappearing through the door.
“Is he gone?” Evie mumbles into my shirt.
“Yep.”
She lifts her face, a blush still staining her cheeks.
I run my finger over the soft skin there. “You still wanna go fool around?”
“I want to, I just…feel kind of weird, knowing that Max knows what we’re doing.”
“Just ignore him. But we don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable.”
She reaches up and presses a kiss to my lips. “You’re perfect, you know that?”
“It’s been said before.” I grin.
She playfully slaps my chest. I catch her hand, and bringing it to my lips, I kiss the tips of her fingers. Then, I catch the top of one with my teeth.
She shivers, and her eyes darken. “You know, I’m not feeling so embarrassed anymore.”
“No?” I suck the tip of her finger into my mouth, nibbling on it.
“No,” she says on a breath. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Evie limbers off me, getting to her feet. I stand, and then I take her face in my hands. I kiss her long and deep. Then, I grab her hand and lead her in the direction of the stairs, listening to the sound of her sexy giggle.
I’ve just gotten up the first step when there’s a knock at the front door.
“Who could that be?” Evie asks.
I shrug. “Max probably ordered takeout. I’ll get rid of whoever it is.”
I give her a quick kiss and then head for the front door.
I pull it open, and my heart sinks.
Fuck.
Ava is standing there. Over her shoulder, I see her limo parked on my driveway, her bodyguard standing beside it.
“Ava,” I say her name like a bad taste is in my mouth. “What are you doing here?”
I haven’t seen her since I left Beverly Hills back in July, and even those few months haven’t been long enough.
“It’s nice to see you, too, and call me mother. You know how much I hate it when you call me Ava.” She sweeps past me, walking into the house.
I release a sigh and close the door. My eyes immediately seek out Evie, who’s still standing at the bottom of the stairs.
My mother’s eyes are on her like a lion stalking a gazelle. I feel a nasty twist in my gut.
“And who have we got here?” Ava asks me without taking her eyes off Evie.
“Nobody. She’s just a friend.”
Evie’s eyes immediately flick to mine, and I see the hurt flash through them.
Her pain strikes me like a blow to the stomach.
I didn’t mean that. I just don’t want Ava to know that Evie is my girlfriend. Ava knows I don’t do girlfriends, and if she knows Evie’s my girlfriend, then she’ll know that Evie means something to me. And the minute Ava knows that, she’ll have more power over me. She’ll wield Evie like a weapon against me.
I can’t let that happen, so I need her to think that Evie is just another girl.
Evie knows my mother is a bitch and that we’re not close, but she doesn’t know the extent of what a fucking devil she is.
I want to protect Evie from her, but protecting her will become a hell of a lot harder if Ava knows I care for her.
“A friend,” my mother echoes. “And does your friend have a name?”
Evie seems to come to life, the hurt quickly masked in her eyes. “I’m Evie Taylor.” She steps forward, holding her hand out to Ava. “It’s really nice to meet you, Mrs. Gunner.”
My mother looks down at her hand. Then, ignoring Evie, she sweeps past her and into the living room.
Evie’s face drops. And it’s another blow to my gut.
I really fucking hate my mother.
“So, this is what my money’s paying for,” Ava says, looking around the beach house.
Ignoring her, I say in a quiet voice to Evie, “I’m really sorry. I had no idea she was coming.”
“Why do you need to be sorry about your mother turning up at your house?”
I run a hand through my hair. I should have told her before what Ava was like. I just never wanted her to know the kind of fucked up my family is.