Just Good Friends (18+)

Ch. 12: Apple pie

I'd never felt closer to Amelia. She was wearing my shirt and was cuddling up against me so I could hold her and keep her safe from the world all night. It was easy to pretend she was mine at the same time she'd never felt more distant. She'd let her guard down and let me have her the way I'd fantasized about for years. I already knew she was gorgeous, but seeing her on that chair with her legs spread for me? That would forever live in my imagination rent free.

The flight back to Denver was a quiet one. Neither of us said much, and I struggled to keep my hands off her and give her the room she said she needed. How she thought we'd go back to how it was before the trip to Germany was more than I could to understand. I didn't want that. I wanted more. She'd given me a taste of heaven and now I couldn't live without it. Unfortunately, it turned out that I had to when she came over to my office at lunch break one day and gave me one of her widest smiles.

"I've met someone."

"What do you mean?" I asked and hated what she was about to say already before she opened her mouth.

"His name is Axel Thornton, but he calls himself Axel Thorn, like the opposite of Axel Rose. Get it? Rose and Thorn?"

Oh. My. God.

"Uhm," I said and cleared my throat awkwardly. That was about the stupidest thing I'd heard all year. "Yeah, that's an awesome reference."

"He even has a tattoo of a branch with thorns without the rose. Like, not the standard barbwire thing, because that would be kind of lame."

That would be lame?

"Oh, and he has a motorcycle. A Harley Davidson."

"I hope you're wearing a helmet while you're riding both of them," I mumbled and leaned back in my chair.

"What?" she asked, confused, but I plastered a smile on my face and pretended like nothing.

"So... A real badboy, huh?"

She blushed and giggled. Then she came over, sat on my desk, and crossed her legs. I swear it would be the end of me if she was wearing a skirt with the way she folded her hands over her knee.

"Yeah. And I want you to meet him. You know, since you didn't like Todd, it would be nice if you got to know him. Maybe hang out sometime."

Hell no!

"You want my approval?"

"Sort of," she said and giggled. "And he has a cousin about the same age as us, so I figured we could all go on a double date. What do you say?"

I wanted to stand up and tell her exactly what I meant about her suggestion, but she seemed so hopeful that I didn't have the heart to do it.

"So you guys are serious?"

"I think so."

She bit her lip to hide a smile, and I wished so badly that she could smile like that because of me. Unfortunately, I couldn't force her to feel that way. However, I could use that date to piss this Thorn guy off. A smug grin gradually transformed my grumpy expression.

"Sounds good to me," I said and clenched my jaw and counted to ten when I saw how happy she was. She literally jumped down from my desk and clapped her hands. That's why I was petty enough to add a little detail. "I haven't been on a date since Saturday anyway, so that'll be fun."

Amelia's smile dropped.

"That wasn't a date, Mike. I told you that and you agreed."

Just like I agree to the stupid double date, I thought to myself, but didn't dare to say it out loud. This would be my chance to make her prince in shining armor back off. I couldn't ruin that.