Free Ask Me Something (The Something Series Book 2) by Aubrey Bondurant Page A

of
Charlotte was a five-and-a-half-hour drive west from coastal Carolina. I
stopped twenty minutes out of Beaufort to fill up the rental car with gas and
called Brian.
    “Well, how did
it go?” he immediately asked.
    I relayed the
details, then hopped back into the car and let the phone transfer to the
Bluetooth while I continued driving.
    “Wow, you didn’t
take any prisoners, did you? Your brother-in-law said nothing?”
    “Oh, I don’t
doubt he had plenty to say later. I think he was stunned for the moment.
Anyhow, I’m done and heading west as we speak.”
    “What do you
mean heading west?”
    “I’m driving to
Charlotte, coming in a night early. I know if I’d stayed in town, Addison would
have brought the kids over first thing in the morning, forcing them to spend
time with me and trapping us all into an afternoon none of us would end up
enjoying.”
    “Wait, you’re
heading to Charlotte now?”
    I loved the way that
I’d taken him completely off guard. “Yes, driving as we speak.”
    “Shit, I’m still
in Virginia. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
    “I’d hardly
expect you to drop everything. It’ll be past midnight by the time I get there,
and I’ll get a hotel room. I might even go into the office to work tomorrow.” I
was full of adrenaline and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do at the moment.
    “Can I call you
right back?”
    “Sure.”
    It was ten
minutes later when he did so.
    “I’m sending you
my address, so you can input it into your GPS when you’re closer to Charlotte.
My place is twenty minutes north of the city,” he said.
    “You’re with
your family for the holidays, Brian, and even if you weren’t, I don’t know that
it’s the best thing if I stayed at your place.”
    “I’m about to
leave for Dulles airport. I should arrive before you do if I can catch this
nine-thirty flight.”
    “You’re joking.”
I had hardly expected him to drop everything.
    “I’m not.”
    “It’ll be late
by the time I get there.”
    “I don’t care if
it’s three o’clock in the morning. I want to see you.”
    Brian wanting to
see me made me warm and tingly. “I should still be annoyed with you for calling
me complicated last night.”
    “I should be
ticked that you implied I should find someone else at the strip club and made
that crack about your ex-boyfriend.”
    “But you’re
not?” I tested, smiling.
    “The
ex-boyfriend bit made me crazy jealous if I’m being honest.”
    “The Jamie
comment set me off. No woman needs to hear that you have a sure thing any time
you’d want it.”
    “I know and I’m
sorry it came out that way. This is probably a good time to bring up rule
number three, I think.”
    “Which is?”
    “No dating or
going out with anyone else.”
    “I thought we
went over that, we would be monogamous. I get it.” Considering I wasn’t exactly
doing a whole lot aside from working, it wasn’t an issue for me. Besides this
ensured he wouldn’t be seeing Jamie, which was a relief.
    “No, this is
different. Our arrangement won’t be known by a lot of people; however, we
aren’t dating others or taking anyone else to events in the meantime, either.
Not even as a cover.”
    “Wait, but what
if Catherine asks me to go speed dating with her or double?” Not that I sought
to do either, but I also didn’t want to abandon her if she needed me.
    “That’s exactly
what I’m talking about. No.”
    I didn’t mind
not dating other people, considering I hadn’t done it in quite some time;
however I couldn’t make my friend feel like she was now on her own. “I can’t
hurt Catherine’s feelings, and more importantly, I don’t want her going out
alone with some stranger. Plus what would I tell her?”
    “Tell her you
have other plans, then come home and fuck me.”
    I sucked in my
breath with that vision now firmly implanted in my mind. “I can agree in
general, but not with Catherine. I need to be available to go out with her. I’m
her wingman, or