Page 72 of Want Me
I chuckled. “Girls won’t be a problem.”
Richard smiled, and when he looked between the two of us, it seemed to dawn on him what I’d meant. “Ahhh,” he gave me an understanding nod. “Right on. Well, never hesitate to holler if you need anything.” He turned his attention to the bare spot in our living area for a second, then said, “We’re actually getting rid of our old dining table, if you want it? I’ve got a friend who’s doing his master’s in furniture design and he made us a sweet-ass table out of mango wood.”
“No shit? That’d be awesome.” It would put us one step closer to a new couch. After a grill, of course.
“I’ll bring it over tomorrow.” He winced, looking down at our cups pointedly. “Or maybe the next day.”
I thanked him again, catching Chet heading out onto the patio and feeling Eric lightly swat the back of my thigh in passing as he moved toward the front door.Where the hell was he going?I trailed his progress, then blinked back to Richard. “Nice to meet you, dude. Just bang on the wall or something if we’re ever too loud.” A flush instantly rose to my cheeks, and I thought about earlier in the afternoon when we’d been in the kitchen. I’d fucking loved not having to worry about roommates. Richard chuckled as I backpedaled. “I meant, like…never mind.”
I excused myself and wove through a few clusters of people and out the front door. No sooner had I taken a step outside than a hand closed around the back of my neck, yanking me off the stoop and into the shadows. A chill washed over me as my beer sloshed against my torso.
“Fu—” Eric’s mouth collided with mine, and I dropped my cup altogether in favor of wrapping my hands around his biceps and shoving him against the clapboard siding.
“I swear to God,” I muttered against his mouth.
“Isn’t that blasphemy?” He tilted his head back, gazing at me through hooded eyes.
“Everything is with you. I’ve got beer all over my shirt now, thanks.”
“That was a miscalculation.”
“Engineering fail.”
He laughed. “I’ll do better next time.”
“What’re you doing out here anyway?”
“Saying hello.”
He nicked my chin with his teeth, then shoved me backward and hopped back onto the stoop where he flung open the door as I spluttered. “Are you kidding me? That’s it?”
He pointed inside with a smirk. “Not sure if you’re aware or not, but there’s a party going on in there. Needs a chaperone.”
“And you’re the worst man for the job. One day I’m going to tie your ass to a chair so you can’t run off after you get me hard.”
He winked at me. “I’m down. It’ll be epic.”
I shoved him through the door, half-heartedly aggravated that my comment hadn’t met any kind of resistance, but more excited by the prospect. In the past six months, we’d fucked all over the place, and in a variety of configurations that never failed to intrigue and excite me. Our sex life was an endlessly unfolding origami of different pleasures, even the odd quickie hand job here and there leaving me on fire for hours afterward. We’d fucked around with light bondage, but damn, the idea of tying Eric to a chair? The visual knotted up in my stomach and seared through my groin.
I grabbed the back of his shirt as I followed him inside, leaning in when he stopped to speak close to his ear. “Five minutes, you and me, upstairs bathroom.”
Eric angled his head back, lips tipping up in a smirk, “Oh really? You—”
A sharp crack split the air and was followed by shouts and commotion. Eric cocked his head curiously, but I knew the sound of a fight and was already stepping around him and heading toward the patio, trying to anticipate who was getting into it. There were plenty of options. Jesse had a fucking mouth on him when he was hammered, and there were other people I didn’t know very well here, too. Ours wasn’t the only party happening in the complex that night. Kinda went with the college territory.
I spilled through the sliding glass door with Eric on my heels. One of the kegs had gotten knocked over, and two guys were going at it on the ground, grunting and swinging as they jockeyed for position. Half the people out there were just standing around watching. A fourth were egging it on, and Richard and Sam were making wild grabs, trying to avoid being hit as Amanda shouted from the sidelines. Richard grabbed her as she started to join the fray.
Fucking Mark and Chet.
Sam wrapped his arm around Chet’s torso, and it took me a second to figure out he was holding himforMark, not trying to drag him out of the commotion. “Sam,Jesus,” I barked as I reached for Mark.
Eric shoved Sam away from Chet and Sam bowed up like he was about to knock Eric in the jaw until he realized who it was and lifted his hands, taking a step back. Mark struggled against my grip for a handful of seconds, then noodled in my arms. I could tell how drunk he was by the graceless, heavy way he collapsed against me, and I steadied him on his feet as he muttered, “Piece of shit.” He had a shiner on his cheek to Chet’s busted lip.
“You’re both shithoused,” Eric said, then softer to Chet, “Cut it the fuck out, dude. You’re outnumbered here.”
Chet swiped at his mouth, then spat into the grass. “I’m done.” Running a hand over his hair, he laughed and lifted his middle finger to Mark as he wrenched out of Eric’s grasp. “That was a fuckin’ trip and a half, you goddamn nut job.” With a shake of his head, he turned on his heel and swaggered around the side of the complex.
I yanked Mark around to face me. “You need to let that go, man.”