Page 7 of Antagonist

“Oh, come on, honeybunch, let’s not kid ourselves. We both equally want inside each other’s pants. You’re just the one that seems to be fighting it. Why’s that?”

“Those nicknames are getting worse. Please call me Harrison.”

“Diverting tactics, Harry. You still want me.”

“You are rather presumptuous,” he says.

I look down at the clear bulge in his pants and quirk a brow.

He puts his hand on my chest to push me away, but this time I’m ready and grab his arm, pulling him against me.

“I’m not going to sell it to you, Harry. You either want it, or you don’t.”

I let him go and take some satisfaction in seeing him almost miss his step.

He opens his mouth to say something when the door to the room opens and Sage comes in, followed by a guy.

“You go sit over there on the couch, honey,” Sage says to the guy. “I’ll be right with you.”

The guy looks at us and frowns. “But I paid for you,” he whines.

“Sweetheart, the kind of transaction you’re describing is illegal. If you want the pleasure of my company, and I assure you it can be very pleasurable, then you shush it and let me go kill my former friend.”

The guy huffs but does as he’s told. Sage strides over.

“Hey, Sage, how’s it going?” Harrison asks.

“You know each other?”

Sage ignores my question and gives Harrison a quick hug before turning to me.

“He’s my brother-in-law’s best friend,” Sage explains before pointing a finger at my chest. “I’d kill you, but I can’t bring myself to do it when you clearly have your priorities straight. But you owe me big time.”

I chuckle. “How’s that? From what I can see, you have an enthusiastic date.”

Sage huffs and leans closer, whispering, “I told you I’m supposed to be on a diet.”

I stare at him, confused.

“A man-diet,” he deadpans as if it’s the most obvious thing. “I…I need to stay away from men for a little while to reset my chakras.”

I rub the bridge of my nose. “That’s not how it works, Sage.”

“Anyway,” he says like he’s resigned to his date. “I’ll take this one for the team. All good diets start on Monday, right? I hope this guy doesn’t get clingy. I’m getting some weird vibes. But he also looks horny, so I might squeeze a blowjob in the restroom and then send him on his way.”

“Sage,” I say, but he waves me off and grabs an open bottle of wine and two glasses from the table.

“See you around, Harrison,” Sage says, barely glancing behind him as he walks over to the guy on the couch.

I turn back to Harrison, who’s staring at me with an unreadable expression.

“So…” I put my hand on Harrison’s chest, loving how, once again, his whole body tenses but then relaxes under my touch. “I probably need to keep an eye on that one, but what are the chances we could meet up another time?”

He grabs and removes my hand from where it is but doesn’t let go. “It’s not a good idea, Fletcher.”

His rejection leaves me feeling cold. I know there’s enough chemistry between us. What harm could it do to go out just once?

“I’m sorry, this, you…it’s all…a bit too much for me,” he continues.