Free Break You by Jennifer Snyder

hers.
    Sarah jumped off Brian so fast, I thought there was a good chance she could have broken something of his in the process. From the way he was glaring at me, it might be a possibility. I downturned my eyes and covered them with my hand, but not before I caught sight of a tattoo I didn’t know Sarah had. It was a vine of some sort that zigzagged its way from her hip to her underarm. It was exotic and sexy looking, and I knew I would be seeing images of it for a while after this that would be beyond my control.
    “Jesus Christ, Jason! What the fuck are you doing home so soon, man?” Brian asked.
    When I opened my eyes I noticed he’d draped his T-shirt over his nether regions and was smoothing a hand over his face. Sarah had wrapped a sundress from somewhere around her and was scurrying to Brian’s room. It was safe to look now, safe to enter the apartment, but that didn’t mean I wanted to. This was beyond awkward. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened between the two of us—hell, once it had even been reversed roles—but that didn’t lessen the sense of discomfort embedded in the situation any.
    I rubbed my forehead and chuckled. “I said I was on my way home. I texted you and everything, dude.”
    “I know, but damn it, I thought we had a little while. Shit! Now she’s gonna wanna leave. Fuck, man.” Brian tossed the T-shirt he’d been using to cover himself with at me. I dodged it and caught sight of his bare ass as he made his way down the hall to retrieve Sarah.
    Closing the front door behind me, I laughed and tossed my duffle bag in the recliner. The couch would be tainted to me for a while, maybe forever. Murmurs from Brian’s bedroom met with my ears. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it didn’t sound like they were picking up where they left off. I wondered for a moment if I should head somewhere else for a bit to give them a moment of privacy so they could do just that, but then I remembered I was the one who’d just driven four hours. They’d just have to deal with my presence or go someplace else.
    Dumping my watered-down soda in the sink and tossing the cup in the trash, I pulled out my cell and got on Facebook. The desire to see if Blaire had given in like I thought she would was eating me alive. I waited for the page to load and heard Sarah coming down the hallway.
    “Hey, Jason, glad you made it back okay.” She smiled. “Sorry you had to come home to… that .” Her cheeks tinted a pretty shade of pink and she darted toward the door.
    “Don’t leave,” I said. “You two can pick up where you left off. I can always sit on the deck if you’re worried I might hear something.”
    She’d paused at the door and turned to glance at me over her shoulder. “I don’t think so, I needed to head to work anyway.”
    “All right, if you’re sure.” I grinned, unable to help myself. This was such an awkward conversation.
    “I’m good,” she said. “ He might need another minute or two, though.” She flashed me a wicked smile.
    I knew exactly what she was talking about and I’ll be damned if this little joking thing we had going didn’t turn me on, regardless of the topic. It was official, I really needed to get laid.
    Sarah left without another word. I was glad, because it was wrong on so many levels for me to even be thinking about her the way that I was. Some guys were like that, I wasn’t one of them. I didn’t enjoy stealing another’s girl, nor did I enjoy undressing them with my eyes, or having fantasies plague my mind while in their presence. Shifting my attention back to Blaire and Facebook, I realized I still didn’t have the response back from her that I wanted.
    “You’re timing totally sucks, bro,” Brian said. He made his way to the kitchen, dressed in a pair of blue basketball shorts, and grabbed himself a beer from the fridge.
    I followed suit, popping the top with the belt buckle I’d bought for this sole reason. “Glad