Page 33 of Getting Down to Business

Chapter 8

Grayson didn’t know where to look when Alyssa came out of the bathroom later that night. She all but ran into him, wearing only a thin cotton tank top and shorts that were so short it looked like her ass got hungry and was trying to eat them. Her nipples were hard and poking through the fabric. It was a sexual fantasy overload, and he couldn’t do anything about it thanks to the friends arrangement they’d agreed to.

He should have put in a clause stating that if a person looked this sexy when she left the bathroom, all rules were null and void. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

“All yours,” she said.

“Excuse me?” He coughed, hoping she meant she was all his.

“I’m done in the bathroom and I only left one shampoo and conditioner in there, per the agreement.”

“Right. Thanks.”

He hobbled into the bathroom and turned the water to lukewarm. He had a feeling he would be taking a lot of lukewarm showers in the future. When he picked up her shampoo and sniffed it, he was instantly flooded with memories of the two of them in his bed naked. His cock lurched, eager to make the fantasy a reality.

“Sorry. No can do. I shook on it.” He frowned at his penis and picked up his own shampoo.

When he finished, he paused by her door for a second before heading to his room. He wasn’t sure if he should wish her a good night or maybe ask for a kiss. He decided just to let it go. He rarely told Trent good night. He would use his past roommate relationship as a guide in this new relationship with Alyssa. From the handshake on, obviously.

He lay there awake for a long time, thinking of how stupid he was for agreeing to this. Eventually he fell asleep, but didn’t stay that way for very long. He woke to the sound of a female screaming.

Some stupid instinct had him out of bed and running into her room to protect her before he even contemplated he might need a weapon. Fortunately he didn’t. She was dreaming, just as Sasha had predicted.

He flipped on the light to find Alyssa thrashing around in bed as if being attacked by an invisible threat. The light woke her, and she looked around, her chest heaving. Yes, he noticed her chest heaving even in the middle of a crisis.

“What is it?” he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed. She was having a hard time catching her breath. She coughed a few times and he noticed her shaking hands. “Bad dream?” he guessed. She nodded confirmation as he took one of her hands and stroked it.

“You’re fine. Do you want to talk about it?” She shook her head quickly. “Want some water?” He hadn’t had a nightmare in a long time, but he remembered his mother bringing him water. Again she shook her head.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice raspy. “I should have warned you about this. As Sasha mentioned, I scream in my sleep, but not all night. It happens sometimes. It should be better once I’m used to my surroundings. It’s worse in new places.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure I’ll learn to sleep through the blood-curdling screams.” This was only a slight exaggeration.

“You’re a good guy.”

“So they say.” He shook his head and stood up, trying to be the good guy and stop ogling her breasts.

“You can leave the light on,” she said quietly. Was she still frightened? He opened his mouth to offer to stay with her, but closed it. He didn’t need to find excuses to get into bed with her. He’d made an agreement, and he was keeping his word.

* * * *

Doug strolled into the office on Monday morning feeling like a new man. His first stop was Grayson’s office. His friend had come to work after ladies’ night with a smug grin. Doug wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Except Gray still had the grin.

“Seriously?” Doug complained.

“What about you? You’re smiling too. What’s that all about?”

“I had a very good weekend.”

“I thought you had Lucy on Saturday.”

“I did. We had a great time at the park. But the smile is from the awesome sex I had on Friday night after you didn’t show. And then had again last night.” He nearly fell over when Chanda called Sunday afternoon to invite him over.

“Not that it’s a competition, but the last time I had sex was Sunday morning, so I guess you win.”

Doug had definitely won.