No Strings Attached | ✓ 18+

twenty-two .ೃ࿐

We'd settled on a locally owned patio, that was fairly busy for this time of day. Lou assured me that it would clear out in about twenty minutes, because it was close to a local concert hall and there was a pretty popular group performing tonight.

There was an adorable brick accent wall with little lanterns hanging from it. The tables were a gorgeous stained color, the staff were incredibly kind and very persistent to be sure that our orders were just as we'd requested them.

I ordered a pink mimosa, which wasn't something I'd had before, but it was very delicious. The ice came in a separate pitcher on the table and they were in little bubble shapes.

Amber insisted we needed to have their appetizers, claiming they were better than anything she'd ever had before. "Basically an orgasm in your mouth," she assured me as she patted my hand across the table.

"How long have you guys all been friends?" I asked in between a bite of shrimp.

"A few years, at least? I'd met Clay before Trent, at a party that we'd all been invited to. It was Clay, Lou, and Wes that had gone that evening. I think it was Wes' boyfriend at the time that was hosting it."

"They broke up shortly after that," Lou jumped in, taking a sip of her drink. "His ex was into weird sex things, he'd said. Like hot sauce or something."

I couldn't hide the cringe that had formed on my face. Amber nodded in sympathy as she watched me, letting me know she completely understood the WTF face I was making.

"They actually invited me to one of their wing nights as well. That's where I met Trent. We've been inseparable ever since." She smiled at the thought of him.

"You guys are living together, then?"

Amber nodded, then began to explain which building and what part of the city they lived in. She explained to me what kind of house they were looking to move to after the wedding, somewhere in the new developments section. She said that Trent got a bonus recently at work and they're putting that toward the plot of land that was theirs.

"What brought you and Clay together?" Amber asked me after as she dunked her bacon wrapped asparagus in some sort of cream cheese sauce on the table.

"Oh, together? Well, we aren't together, like that, we just...live together." I scrambled for words, feeling embarrassed suddenly.

"We know, silly." Lou grinned at me.

"Oh! Yeah. Okay," I sipped my drink again. "Anyway, he offered me a place to stay after my girlfriend and I broke up. She was cheating on me." Amber's lips fell into a pout and Lou shook her head. "It's okay, really. I'm doing a lot better. Clay has also been a huge help, hospitality wise and stuff."

After another round of drinks and a few more questions, Amber excused herself to the bathroom. Lou stayed at the table, observing me. When I raised my eyebrows in question, she smiled at me.

"Are you and Clay sleeping together?"

Holy shit. I coughed, choking on my spit. "How do you...how did you know?"

"He's my cousin, remember?" She laughed. "I've known him since we were little. I also lived with him for a period of time, when my parents were in an accident. I can tell when something's different. Also, I like to think I'm kind of psychic."

It was my turn to laugh. "Well, yes. We've been sort of sleeping with each other. But nothing else! I didn't know if we were telling anyone...that isn't really something you tell everyone."

Louisa nodded in understanding, then shot me another grateful smile as she picked up a now-cold piece of flatbread. "It's nice to see him so happy. He's usually happy, don't get me wrong. But he's had a huge crush on this girl for the longest time."

A crush? I felt a pang in my chest.

"I don't know who she is, exactly. But he must be finally coming out of it. He didn't shoot his shot, he said. She was in a relationship with somebody else. I think he saw her often enough though that it was hard to keep his feelings away."

Clay had never mentioned a crush on anybody to me, ever. It's not like I was expecting him to, anyway. We were just sleeping with each other, to him I was using him to get over Gina. It just hadn't occurred to me that they could have been someone else in the back of his mind, too.

My phone buzzed then and I almost laughed at the fact that he seemed to know exactly when I was thinking of him.

Clay : Everything going okay there, love?

I responded with a simple yes, then I put my phone away. By then, Amber had come out of the bathroom, telling us about the amazing shade of lipstick that had been left at the mirror accidentally by somebody else.

I had been listening to her, but it was hard to give her my undivided attention when I was dealing with the pain in my chest at the thought of Clay thinking of someone else while he was having sex with me.

We'd stated the fact that there were no strings attached and I reminded myself an abundant amount of times, but yet I'm still back to square one when it comes to thinking of him. It was impossible not to let my thoughts linger on the way he'd held my body close to him when we'd just come down from our high, the way he gently kissed my temple, how his eyes would sparkle when he was looking at me.

Now, thinking that he might just have a girl on the back of his mind, makes my heart hurt in an uncomfortable way that I didn't exactly welcome.

[ ♡ ]

Later, Amber and Lou passed out on the bed opposite to mine while they were watching some show on HGTV.

We had gone the hotel route and Amber had picked her favorite out of the locations available nearby. She was insistent on the fact that we had to take advantage of the sauna and the hot tub, then she asked us opinions on bathing suits for her honeymoon.

She had also asked us to be her bridesmaids. When I had pointed out that she'd only known me for three weeks, she explained that it only took Trent two to tell her how much he loved her. "Quality over quantity," she reminded me.

Now, as I sat in a t-shirt and some sweatpants on the hotel bed, I thought of Clay. Which was probably the last thing I was supposed to be thinking of right now, but I couldn't help myself. It had been him that I've been seeing every night before going to bed for weeks now, his body that was pressed against mine, his lips that were pressed against my neck.

Giving into those feelings, I'd sent him a text.

Adalyn : Hey, how's the night going?

It would be a lie to say I wasn't happy when he responded less than a minute later.

Clay : It's good. Wish you were here, though.

Adalyn : Maybe we can make it up tomorrow when I come back ;)

Clay : I'd like that. Can't wait to see you again, love

Butterflies returned, erupting in my stomach with so much force that I was confused whether or not I was about to throw up from the mimosas today instead.

Less than two full months in and I already had a big, fat crush on the guy that specifically told me not to fall in love with him.