Lick Is A Four-Letter Word (12 page)

“Definitely.
Repression is our
friend.”

Josh
snorted and hitched his pants up. “What sex in the basement? These are not the
men you’re looking for.” He managed to say it with a straight face.

Heh
, straight
, he thought, both disgusted and amused with
himself
.
Not so much, apparently.

Of
course,
Troy
snickered at his lame movie reference and that was it. Game over. Josh grinned
and that set off
Troy
who ended up with one hand pressed to his face, the other attempting to hold
his pants together and failing. Josh guffawed and before he knew it, the two of
them were rolling around, laughing hysterically.

He
looks ridiculous
, thought Josh fondly ten minutes
later as he watched his best friend trying to stuff his dick back in his pants
with one hand.

“Just
use both hands, oh my God,” he finally said.

Troy
gave him the finger.

Josh
ran his hands through his hair. “How the hell do we get ourselves into so much
trouble?” Josh asked.

Troy
could still barely talk. His breath hitched with hiccups. “We’re cursed.”

“This
is so stupid,” Josh said, trying to button his pants, using both hands, and
finding it weirdly difficult.
Oh. That’s because I’m still lying on the
floor.

“We’re
so stupid,”
Troy
said, still grinning.

Josh
gave up when the button popped off and rolled under the shelf.
“Yeah.”

He
looked at
Troy
.
Troy
looked
back.

They
laughed until tears rolled down their faces.

****

“Holy shit, Felicity!”
Sandy
hissed as soon as
they were in the elevator.

“What?”
Felicity resisted the urge to straighten her shirt again. She shifted her
weight.
Pants feel really weird without underwear
. The seam chafed,
especially now that everything down there was still so sensitive.

“Were
you making out with them?
Both of them?”
Sue asked,
face avid. “Seriously, if so, you are so lucky. I want your life.
Really.”

Felicity
gave in and pulled on her shirt again. “Yeah, well. What if I was?”

Sue
grinned. “Did you get their number this time?”

Felicity
nodded. “I got
Troy
’s
number.”

“Not
the other guy’s? What’s his name
…
Josh?”

Felicity
shrugged. “They’re always together, from what I can tell.”

“Hmm.”

Felicity
stared at her friend. “What? What do you mean, ‘Hmm’?”

Sue
glanced over. “Well, how do you date two guys at the same time?”

The
elevator stopped and the doors opened. Felicity stepped out. “I don’t know. I
guess just take turns.” She thought about it as they walked out the doors into
the humid July evening. They only sort of took turns when kissing. “Or maybe go
on dates with both of them at the same time?”

Sue
slung her arm through hers. “Don’t ask me! You’re the one who was on the floor
with them just now.”

Felicity
halted. “How did you know I was on the floor?”

“Oh
please. Your hair is all mussed up and your shirt is wrinkled.” Sue tugged her
toward her car.

“Fine.
I was on the floor. And it was
awesome,” Felicity said, flushing.

Sue’s
car was parked right next to hers in the nearly empty lot. “It was awesome. And
I’m thrilled that you’re having some fun, especially after what happened with
Peter.”

Felicity
pulled away. “Peter is dead.”

Sue
sighed. “I know, honey. And I know that sucked for you. But when are you going
to move on? I mean, it’s all fun and games to fool around with two guys, but
seriously? You can’t expect to get anything out of this.”

Felicity
shoved a surge of anger down. Her friend was only trying to look out for her.
She leaned against her car, letting the heat from the sun-baked metal seep into
her bones. “I know, but I met Peter when I was in high school. I never got to
fool around. This is fun.”

Sue
eyed her skeptically. “You’re going to get your heart broken.”

Felicity
scowled. “Then I get my heart broken. What does it matter? I lost Peter and I
thought my life was over. I survived. I think I can handle a couple of guys
just looking for a good time.” With that she unlocked her car and opened the
door. She eased in, careful not to put too much pressure on her ankle. It still
hurt from before.

Sue
shook her head. “I hear you. Whatever happens, I’m still your best friend.”

Felicity
smiled up at her. “I know. Just…” She looked at the two cars parked near the
edge of the lot under the trees. She’d bet those were Josh and
Troy
’s. “Trust me, okay?” She looked back at
her friend.

Sue
rolled her eyes.
“Of course.
Anyway, I need to get
home. I got you to your car. Drive safe.”

Felicity
nodded. “I will.” She closed the door and waited until Sue got in her car and
started it up,
then
she turned the key in the
ignition. So what if she still couldn’t handle parking lots by
herself
? She had good reason. An out-of-control car in a
parking lot just like this one killed Peter. Her fear had nothing to do with
Josh and
Troy
.
With a little luck, they’d never know about it. The last thing she wanted was
for them to find out just how much of a
scaredy
-cat
she was.

They’d
never want to see me again
, if they did, she mused
as she drove away.

She
didn’t see the car that followed her out of the lot.

Chapter
Eight

Felicity
sipped her espresso, savoring the dark bitterness of the hot liquid. It was
Friday night, four days after the ‘incident’ in the basement, as she’d taken to
calling it a little shamefully. She still couldn’t think about what
she’d let Josh and
Troy
do to her without blushing. It was weird—three years with no dating, no man
touching her at all since Pete had died, and s
he’d just jumped right
into it with them. It wasn’t like her to be so impetuous. It was as if her body
had been touch-starved. The two men were a cool drink of water after a long,
dry trek in the desert.

She
sighed and took another sip of her drink. Now was not the time to think about
it. She’d figure out what to do later.
Maybe this weekend.
Or not
, she thought, smiling to herself. There was no harm in just
letting it happen, was there?

She
forcefully pushed all thoughts of Josh and
Troy
away, looking around the café. It was a
cute little place: bright blue tile on the floor, yellow tiled tables. The
lights hung down from the ceiling on long cords. Each one had a different
colored glass lampshade. She liked it. She’d never been here before, but
someone at the office had recommended it and she’d decided to give it a try.

I
need to know where I can get a quick bite to eat that’s near the new building
so I don’t starve to death
, she told herself. Her
cooking skills were abysmal. The sandwich she’d eaten had been excellent and
she’d ordered some chocolate ice cream to finish off her meal. She pulled out
her phone, absently reading the news on it while she waited for her dessert.

“Hi, Felicity.”

She
looked up. Josh and
Troy
were standing by her table, identical grins on their faces.
She
smiled back, strangely happy to see them.
“Hi!”

“We
didn’t expect to run into you here,” Josh said, eyes twinkling.

Here
we go again
, she thought as her body reacted to
their utter masculinity. Josh was wearing black slacks and a purple shirt, of
all things.
Troy
had on tight jeans and a black button-down shirt. Desire rolled through her
like a slow-burning fire.

Troy
pulled out a chair. “Mind if we join you?”

She
waved a hand at the table and put her phone away.
“Of course
not.
Sit down. I was just reading.” She felt light inside, as if she’d
been waiting for them to show up, which was ridiculous. She hadn’t been able to
dredge up the courage to call them all week. Her face went hot as she
remembered where the three of them had been at this exact time on Monday night.

“I’m
sorry I didn’t call you,”
Troy
said as soon as he was seated across from her. “It wasn’t my fault.”

Josh
dragged a chair over from the corner and nudged it next to hers. “He lost your
number.” He snorted.
“Because he’s a moron.”

Felicity
chuckled. “Well, we work in the same building. We were bound to run into each
other again.”

“That’s
what I said.”
Troy
glared at Josh peevishly.

Felicity
grinned. “How did you lose it? Isn’t it in your cell phone?”

Troy
looked abashed. “I lost my phone.”

“I
still think it was stolen,” Josh said, frowning. “We should be more careful
with the doors to the office.” He glanced at Felicity. “We tend to leave them
propped open.”

“Who
would steal my cell phone?
In our building?”
Troy
shook his head.
“That makes no sense. We’ve been working there for years now and never had any
trouble. I probably just misplaced it somewhere. Maybe I left it at the gym.”

“Whatever.”
Josh waved a hand impatiently. “You’ve got a new phone. I know you wanted to replace
your old one anyway.”

Troy
made a face at his friend. “You’re awfully cavalier about it.”

“I
didn’t have to pay for it,” Josh said, flashing a smile.

Felicity
giggled.
“Guys, hey.
Do you always argue this much?”
They reminded her of brothers going at it.
Only not quite
, she thought,
remembering how hot they’d looked kissing each other. She licked her lips,
staring at
Troy
.
He was so handsome. She switched her gaze to Josh. The curl in his upper lip
begged for her to lick it.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Josh said, oblivious to her staring.
“We bicker a lot.” He paused for a second,
then
laughed. “I’m glad we ran into you here. You have a way of distracting us,
Felicity,” he said.

Her
face heated as the meaning of his words belatedly sunk in.
I’m the one who’s distracted
, she thought.
“Um,
sorry?”
Embarrassed, she switched back to looking at
Troy
.

Josh
shook his head. “Don’t apologize. I like it, but it’s a good thing we’re in
public this time. We’d never get a chance to just talk, otherwise, and I’d like
to get to know you better.”

“Felicity,
you’ve got to stop looking at me like that,”
Troy
said roughly. He shifted in his chair.

She
flushed harder, looking away from his lush mouth. Josh turned his head and she
couldn’t help it. Her eyes fell back to his lips. She remembered what it had
felt like to have them on her clit. God, she wanted that again.
Badly.

“Oh
hell,” Josh muttered, eyes going hot.
“
Troy
’s right, Felicity.”

She
watched him swallow as he stared at her. She wanted to lick him all over. She
wanted to put her hands in his smooth hair and just hang on.

“Looks
like your dessert
is
here,”
Troy
said, a note of relief in his voice.

Felicity
jerked her eyes away. The server was standing next to her, smirking. He winked
at her and put the dish of chocolate ice cream on the table. “Would you like a
couple of extra spoons?”

She
pasted on a smile. “No thanks,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
“This is fine.”

“Okay.
Just let me know if you need anything else,” he said, smiling as he walked
away.

“The two
of you make me crazy,” Felicity muttered, picking up her spoon.

Josh
coughed. “You’re the one who was staring.”