Page 42 of Love: Take Two

What the hell happened?One second, I'm watching Yong-rae act like a champ, Dean's brooding anger flowingoff him in waves, and the next I'm back in the dorm room, remembering what it felt like to touch and tease the woman sitting just a few feet away.

I have no idea what triggered the memory. Maybe it was the small bed? There were two doubles in the scene, and our dorms all had twin longs. Or maybe it was my proximity to the woman in question, paired with the sex in the air. Her attention was rapt on the monitors, and I couldn't help noticing the vice-like grip she had on her chair. She looked exactly how I felt: pent-up and practically vibrating with lust. Like whoever she's with these days isn't taking care of business the way he should.

I shake my head and splash some more water on my face.

I shouldn't even be thinking about whether or not she's getting the dick she deserves. It's not likeIever had the chance. Well, I may have had the chance, but I wasn't stupid enough to go through with it. Everything about her back then said "long term" and "serious", and I'm not just talking about her demeanor. Her pussy was…

I wipe my face with a paper towel; the memory remains.

Her pussy was fucking amazing. Plump outer lips that beckoned to my mouth and a tight little channel that strangled my fingers with every thrust. I'll never forget how she made me paint my pants that night. How glad I was that my hoodie was long enough to cover the spot. It didn't feel right leaving her, but part of me knew her pussy was the kind thatmakes a man burn his little black book. I was happily single. I wasn't ready for all that.

And now?

Now, there's a tenuous truce between us, a distance that's probably my fault, and the success of a promising franchise hanging over both of our heads. If I'd sat there any longer, I'd have asked her out again, and she made it clear the last time that she didn't want to cross that line. Maybe I shouldn't either, but being this close to her, with memories flooding back and her looking more beautiful than I remember? It's testing my resolve.

I pull out my phone and start texting.

Council of Brothers

Tell me someone has a second to talk.

Henry:First Damon, now you. Since when do we have so many talking emergencies?

I assume that since my twin can text, he can talk, and press on his name to initiate the call. He picks up on the third ring.

"Noah, that wasn't an invitation," he answers impatiently. "I'm trying to finish this last brief before the wedding stuff gets too crazy."

I wince, remembering he's just weeks away from walking down the aisle. I don't mean to pile on, but he's right; thisisa "talking emergency".

"My bad," I offer. I'll keep it quick. "Listen, I'm on set and I just popped a boner."

There's silence on the line.

"Hello?"

Henry sighs. I imagine he's taking off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose, a habit he and Awa share.

"I'm trying to figure out what you want me to do about you getting an erection on set. This isn't high school. I don't have a book you can borrow or anything."

"Fuck you," I snap back. "That's not why I need to talk. I need to talk because the boner is over a woman that I hooked up with in college and essentially ghosted."

I'm met with silence again, and a chill runs up my spine.

"I didn'tactuallyghost her," I amend quickly, "but we did stop hanging out shortly after we got physical. Now we're stuck on set together and my body's forgetting that she's better left a memory."

If I had really disappeared on a woman I was seeing, Henry would have my ass, then pass me to Dad to finish the job. We were raised to be gentlemen, even if we chose not to settle down until recently. But Awa and I were never dating, so I was just an asshole, not a fuckboy.Right?

"Hmmm," is his response. I want to reach through the phone and punch him.

"Hmmm, that's interesting? Orhmmm, that sounds bad?"

"Hmmm, I don't know," he answers, and my knuckles actually go white from clenching so hard. "I guess," he considers,in that annoying lawyer way of his, "it depends on what you want from this woman. Does she seem open to starting something again?"

"Negative," I answer.

"Then what are we even talking about?"

I roughly comb my fingers through my hair.