Page 12 of Beautiful Trauma
“I waited until class ended then approached him to see if he wanted me to drop his class.”
“Why?” Geoff said around a mouthful of food.
I made him wait while I carefully ate three chips and sipped my Sprite. “Because it’s an awkward situation.” I leaned closer to Geoff and lowered my voice. “I look at him and picture him naked. He says certain words and I remember just how much I liked feeling him inside me.”
“Whoa,” Geoff said. “I didn’t know you were hung up on him. I just thought you were too busy to date any of the guys who ask you out.”
“I’m not hung up on him; it’s just that…”
“He ruined you for other guys?” Geoff asked.
I released a sigh. “Maybe,” I admitted.
“That’s too bad. You have a whole lot of life ahead of you, and I’d hate for you to live it lonely.” Sometimes I forgot the depth of emotion and insight Geoff hid behind his easygoing smile. “What happened when you offered to drop the class?”
“He took me to his office and bent me over his desk.”
Geoff choked on his sip of Coke. “Really?” he asked after sputtering for a few minutes.
“Oh, wait. That was the fantasy I played out in the shower this morning, which caused me to be late for work.”
Geoff lobbed a French fry across the table, smacking me square in the chest. “Jerk.”
I caught the fry before it landed on my lap then ate it. “The truth is a bit more humiliating,” I admitted then repeated the conversation for Geoff.
Anger flashed in my friend’s eyes. “Sexy, silver fox sounds like a pretentious player.”
“I thought so too until he gave me a ride after class when I discovered Jessie’s car had a flat tire in the parking lot.”
“A ride to a destination or a ride on his dick?” Geoff asked through narrowed eyes.
“A ride to Mamma Maria’s.” I filled him in on our second interaction of the night.
“Don’t tell me you worked last night too,” Geoff said.
“I only stopped in the kitchen long enough to help them get caught up on dishes and grab a bite to eat before I went upstairs to my apartment.” Maria had lived there for a decade or longer, but her apartment became available when Archie moved in with his fiancé and Maria moved into his old room at Ryan’s Place. Archie still managed the house during the day, but he’d hesitated to move out because he hadn’t wanted to leave the home without management at night. Maria loved fussing over the residents, so it was a win-win for everyone.
“What did Jess say about the car?”
“Well, a miracle occurred overnight while I slept. I found Jess’s car parked behind the restaurant next to the delivery cars like usual.”
“Ah, the professor had it towed even after you told him not to.”
“He had the tire fixed and had the vehicle towed,” I corrected. “Jess is still on the road with the band and doesn’t have a clue it happened. I’m going to keep it that way. If the professor wants reimbursement, then I’ll pay him back.”
Geoff snorted. “I just bet you will.”
“Asshole.”
“Don’t even bother denying you wouldn’t thank him from your knees.”
The thought had crossed my mind, but I pushed it aside almost immediately. “Do you want to hear how I learned about Sean and Des’s breakup?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Hell yes,” Geoff said. “Don’t leave out any detail.” My friend didn’t bother hiding how eager he was to hear about Des kicking Sean to the curb. He might not be ready to admit it, but Geoff had a major crush on Des. I’d caught Des ogling Geoff plenty of times when he visited me at the office.
An idea started forming in my mind. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Not a damn thing. Dad has his bowling league thing, and Mom is leading the ladies’ bible study group at the church, so I have a few free hours. What did you have in mind?”