Page 38 of A Real Goode Time

I knew she knew I was attracted to her.

I wanted her more with every passing day, and it would take only the smallest spark for the churning fuel of my desire for her to combust into something explosive. A touch, a look, a hint that she’d changed her mind. That she wanted me, for whatever I could give her, for however long we had together.

It’d be temporary. It could only be temporary. Maybe that was why she was resistant to starting anything—she wasn’t a fling type of chick. Shit, I knew she deserved more.

I just couldn’t give her that.

I had goals. Plans.

And they didn’t involve getting tied down with a woman, even one as amazing as Torie.

No, it was best to keep my fantasies of Torie just that—fantasies. For her sake and my own.

Because something told me if I got my hands on her, I’d have a hell of a hard time letting go.

I got dressed in clean gym shorts and a cut-off Pennzoil T-shirt. Poked my head out the side door and glanced at Torie, who was still on the phone. She smiled and nodded at me, held up a finger.

“Yeah, no, he’s here now.” She pulled the phone away from her ear, glanced at me. “Lexie wants to talk to you. You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

I reached for the phone. “It’s cool, I’ll say hi.”

“She’s worse than Leighton, so just…be warned.”

That gave him pause. “Worse…how?”

“Exactly how am I worse than Leighton?” We both heard Lexie’s tinny voice over the phone—she’d clearly heard me.

“She’ll ask you ridiculously inappropriate and personal questions simply for having any association with me at all.”

“Just give him the phone, you silly twat.” Lexie was audible even from a distance.

Torie took the phone back. “What the hell did you just call me?”

“I mean it with love, Tor, you know that.”

“Well, coming from someone who was majoring in women’s lit, and was all about liberation and equality and whatever, it’s kind of a gross thing to call me.”

Lexie’s response was garbled, too muffled for me to make out, but it seemed to mollify Torie, and she handed me the phone again.

“Hi, this is Rhys,” I said.

“Rhys, buddy, hi, how are you?” Lexie’s voice, which I recognized from YouTube and other social media, was deceptively friendly and breezy.

Which made me distinctly wary, considering Torie’s warning.

“I’m good, how are you? It’s nice to meet you, sort of.”

A pause. “Is my sister sitting right next to you?”

“Yeah.”

“Can she hear me?”

I glanced at Torie, who was watching but didn’t give any indication that she’d heard the question.

“I don’t know, maybe?”

Another pause. “Have you had sex with my sister, and if not, do you plan to have sex with my sister at any point in the near future?”