Twenty-five and practically a virgin for all the times a guy had made me come.

I’d always thought it was me. That somehow I was just so bad at sex that I wasn’t capable of getting to that point, but maybe if I gave Max a try . . .

God, just thinking about his hard cock pressed against me made me shiver.

I stepped away from the table and yelped when I discovered I’d stepped on a plastic tea set spoon. After stuffing it into the bag with everything else, I strolled in through the back door and set a pan of water on the stove to heat.

No matter what I decided, it was going to take some time to sort everything out. There was no doubt about that. I’d have to learn to live with the fact that his assistant—the woman he saw every day—had nearly been with him too, along with who knew how many women. That he wouldn’t stay in my life forever. That it wouldn’t be love.

But for me, it had never been love before. What difference would it make?

I pulled the items I needed for dinner from the fridge and set them out on the counter. A roar sounded from the living room, but I barely heard it.

Because I only had twenty-two more hours to decide whether Max was worth the risk, and I had no frigging clue what to do.

Chapter Thirteen

Max

“And an extra-large order of fries. Do they supersize here?” I asked.

Zach glanced back at me, a stupid grin on his face. “Yeah, we got it the first couple of times you said it, chief,” he said with a laugh. “Burgers, and as many fries as they’ll give us. We’re almost to the speaker now.”

I stared out the window from the backseat, squinting at the too-bright drive-through sign. Why did it seem like there were two signs? I closed one eye until the second one faded.

“Maybe a burger too,” I added. “And four chicken nuggets for Dylan.”

“We told you, it’s the middle of the night, man. Pretty sure Dylan is already asleep,” Matt cut in.

“Shit,” I whispered. “Did I call Addison? Did I tell her—”

“We’ve been over this.” Zach sighed. “Matt and I called her before we left the office. She had no problem with you enjoying your birthday having drinks with friends.”

“And boy, have you enjoyed it,” Matt said with a snort.

I frowned. Even now, with the edges of the world so blurry, I could only remember bits and pieces of my night. The two of them had shown up at my office door an hour before I usually left, and insisted that I go with them to some shithole of a bar down the street. At the time, I’d agreed because it was just for one celebratory birthday drink.

But one drink turned into five. Then I lost count as we toasted everything from my thirty-fifth birthday to the quarterbacking prowess of Peyton Manning. The last thing I remembered with any clarity was clinking glasses and chugging a shot in honor of J.Lo’s booty at the request of a howling Zach.

“You guys are a bad influence,” I complained. I’d told the guys last week that I didn’t want to do anything for my birthday, and not surprisingly, they hadn’t listened.

“That’s why you like us,” Zach said as Matt, our designated driver, motioned for us to quiet down while he ordered. We pulled up in the pickup window’s line, doubtlessly full of other people who’d been thrown out of the bars at two a.m., and I tapped my fingers against my jeans, a little amazed at the texture of the fabric.

How did I never notice that sober? They were so soft. Like unicorn fur.

“I still think you should have gone home with that girl,” Zach said. “She said she was a nurse. You’re going to need one tomorrow.”

“I need one tonight,” Matt murmured, holding up his hand for a high five from Zach.

“No, no, I don’t want a nurse. I want Addison,” I slurred, flopping back against the seat with a groan. “She’s got great teeth. Have you ever noticed that?”

Zach blinked, then Matt reached out the window and then turned to hand me a bag filled with food.

“Eat up, buddy. It’s for your own good,” Matt said, and I stuck my hand into the bag, not bothering to look inside before I fished out a paper-wrapped burger.

I peeled away the wrapping, took a huge bite, and savored the meaty, cheesy goodness. I rarely ate fast food, and this was so hot and delicious, I found myself wondering why. I chewed, pausing only briefly to swallow.

“They’re so straight.”

“What?” Zach asked, shooting me a look over his shoulder.

“Addison’s teeth. She’s got a great smile. The other day she was smiling at Dylan, and I was just looking at her like, ‘Whoa, that’s a hell of a smile,’ you know?”

Zach and Matt exchanged a look, but then Zach pointed to the bag and reminded me again to eat.

“You’re going to need some water and aspirin when you get home too,” Matt said.

“Addison will know what to do,” I said with my mouth full. “She always does.”

“Right.” Zach sighed. “Okay, almost home.”

We passed the rest of the ride with the guys talking about the nurse who’d hit on me. It was true, she’d been pretty—buxom and brunette with legs that looked like she might have been a dancer. She was exactly the kind of girl I would normally want to tie to my bed and keep there all weekend. But now, when I thought of my bed, I could only picture one woman there, naked on top of the sheets and waiting for me.

“Okay, we’re here.” Matt popped the car into park, and Zach climbed out to open my door for me.

“What am I, Cinderella?” I asked. “Get the fuck back in the car. I can walk myself to the door, Prince Charming.”

Zach raised his eyebrows and barked out a laugh, pulling out his phone. “Right. You got it. But if you fall, note that I’m videoing you, and it’ll be on Instagram inside three minutes for the world to see.”

I flipped him and his cell-phone camera the bird and pulled myself from the car, momentarily surprised when the world spun around me as I stood.

“You sure you’re okay?” Matt asked.

I frowned at him. “I’m fine.”

“Be careful not to wake the baby,” Zach reminded me in a singsong voice.

I waved them off. “Go home. I’m fine.”

Before they could say anything else, I started for my front door and listened as their car pulled away behind me. Without their headlights, it was pretty dark out, but the porch light was still shining. Addison had probably left it on for me. She was so thoughtful that way.

I fumbled with my keys, then opened the door and stumbled over the threshold. I didn’t remember the door moving quite so quickly before, and it crashed against the wall beside it.

I winced. “Dammit.”

A light clicked on in the living room. Addison peered at me through sleepy eyes, a book spread open on her lap.

“Were you waiting for me?” I asked, trying not to weave on my feet.

“What? No.” She shook her head. “I fell asleep reading. You look like you had a fun night.”

Her lips quirked, and I tried my hardest to remember why I wasn’t supposed to cross the room and kiss her face, but nothing was coming to mind.

“Looks like you could use some water. Come on.” She motioned for me to follow her, and I was careful to close the door quietly behind me before doing just that.

In the kitchen, she had a glass with ice water waiting for me, and was opening a bottle of ibuprofen I kept above the sink.

“I don’t need that,” I muttered, then gulped the crisp, cold water. I made a mental note to drink more water. It was so refreshing.

“Do it for my sake then,” she said, holding out a few pills in her palm. I took them and popped them in my mouth, if only in hopes that it would make her smile at me with those straight white teeth of hers.

“Okay, time for bed, I think. What do you say?”

She strolled away and I followed her again, this time watching her curvy hips sway beneath her boxer shorts as she moved. My cock flexed, waking from its drunken slumber to weigh in on the view.

She led me up the stairs and into my bedroom. I flicked on the light as we stepped in. On the nightstand sat a single cupcake with a little “Happy Birthday” flag stuck into the perfect swirl of chocolate icing.