Page 71 of Mutual Discord

With my lip tucked between my teeth, I ripped off the wrapping paper and carefully removed the top of the box. Inside, nestled in tissue paper, was a business card. Printed on it was a woman’s name I didn’t recognize, but her title gave me pause. Chief Marketing Officer of the WNBA.

I whipped up my head, my brow crinkling. “I don’t understand.”

Alex settled next to me, his fingers sifting through my curls. “I was on a call with marketing folks from other teams and league officials when Mallory pitched the idea of a documentary or series to celebrate the league’s thirtieth anniversary. And I thought of you.”

“You did?” I whispered, turning to look at him.

He nodded, his eyes dipping to my lips before meeting my gaze. “Of course. I floated your name and how you have a background in marketing and you’ve built your platform celebrating women and their achievements. How you’ve already highlighted pioneering women in basketball, and how you would be the perfect person to bring this idea to life. After I showed them several of your videos, they agreed.”

“Wow.” My head spun, and all I could do was stare at the business card. “So what does this mean?”

“What it means is that if you’re interested in discussing the project, you can call Mallory directly.” Alex lifted a shoulder. “I know that you struggle with seeing yourself as a content creator, so I don’t want you to feel pressured to accept this. It just seems like an opportunity that aligns perfectly with your interests and talents. And I wanted you to have a chance to explore it further.”

“Would I need to create a pitch? Design a presentation? I could—”

Alex pressed his fingers to my mouth, silencing me immediately. “The only thing you would need to do is have a conversation with Mallory. If she likes you, we’ll go from there. Okay?”

No, I was not okay. I was so overwhelmed I could hardly draw in breath. Because Alex was right—this was the perfect convergence of all my interests. A million different ideas raced through my brain, and my fingers itched for a notebook to sketch them out. It was an opportunity that never would have been possible without Alex.

Turning to him, I opened my mouth to say thank you, but a sob came out instead. Clapping my hands over my mouth, I tried to stem the flow of my tears, but there was no dam that could hold them back.

Because this amazing man, who made me smile and laugh and had just given me two perfect orgasms, who understood me almost better than I understood myself, could never be mine to have.

Chapter Nineteen

It took me several minutes to convince Alex I was okay. He held me close, stroking my hair and kissing the crown of my head as I tried to control my emotions.

“I swear I’m fine,” I told him. “I just haven’t slept, and between this gift and”—I gestured to the rumpled sheets around us—“I’m a tad emotional.”

“That makes sense.” Alex pushed a curl back from my cheek. “Why don’t you freshen up? Take a shower even. And then maybe we can find a panadería or doughnut shop that’s open and pick up some pastries before heading back to your parents’ house. How does that sound?”

“Good.” Taking a moment to brush the lingering wetness from under my eyes, I smiled weakly at Alex. “Thank you for being so kind to me.”

His dark gaze holding mine, Alex cupped my cheek and slowly leaned forward to kiss me. Although my mind screamed at me to break away, to not allow him any more liberties, my heart—my traitorous heart—urged me to lean closer, especially because I now knew how good he tasted.

A moment later, I managed to pull away, promising Alex I would be out in a few minutes. Gripping the edges of the sink, I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My curls were in disarray, and red marks, which I assumed came from Alex’s early-morning stubble, covered my chest and neck. Red, swollen lips were contrasted by my eyes, large and bright and smudged with mascara. I looked like I had been thoroughly fucked.

Thoroughly fucked by my best friend’s boyfriend.

Clamping my eyes closed, I slapped my hand over my mouth and let out a muffled shriek. What in the hell had I done? I had prided myself on being a good friend, especially to Caitlin, who always had people looking to benefit from their proximity to her. Yet hadn’t I just done the same thing?

Why did I have to feel more alive, more like myself, with the one man I could only ever have illicitly?

With a groan, I flipped on the sink faucet and reached for Alex’s face wash. I desperately wanted to rid myself of the makeup I had been wearing since the night before, and I figured that since Alex had already seen me naked, perhaps he wouldn’t be so surprised to see me au naturel. When my face was clean, I borrowed some of his toothpaste and brushed my teeth with my finger. I did my best to tame my mass of curls and then wrapped a towel around my body before cracking the door open. Alex sat on the love seat I had occupied earlier, dressed in the clothes he’d laid out before we’d had sex.

I approached him cautiously, unsure of how I was supposed to act—what would be the best way to act?—now that we were officially cheaters. Should I mention Caitlin? What if he didn’t want to talk about her…or worse, what if he flat-out stated he had no intention of breaking up with her? Could I possibly live with myself if I was the other woman?

Wasn’t I already the other woman? Nausea bubbled up my throat, and I pressed my lips together tightly.

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, jumping up and walking toward me. “I hoped you’d feel better after washing up.”

“I do. I’m fine.” I swiveled my head to look around the room. “I just need to find my clothes and get dressed.”

“They’re right there,” he said, jerking his thumb to where he had laid out on the bed not just my jumpsuit, but my bra and panties, too. Seeing that Alex had displayed them in such an intimate way sent flames licking across my cheeks.

To my surprise, Alex helped me dress. Like a Victorian lady’s maid, he held out my panties for me to step into…until he popped the waistband on my ass. Then, as I slipped the bra around my torso he stepped behind me to fasten the clasp, smoothing his hands around my body to cup my breasts when he was done. And when I slipped on the jumpsuit, Alex dragged up the zipper, pressing a kiss to the side of my neck when he was done.

“Now that I’ve finally kissed you, I don’t ever want to stop,” he whispered, his nose nudging against the sensitive shell of my ear.