Page 36 of I Could Never
I chuckled. “She’s thought that for a long time. So nothing new. I guess I only confirmed it.”
“She doesn’t want to want you…” He smirked. “But she does.”
“Carly doesn’twantme. Believe me. She just thinks I’m attractive. That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Sure. Tell yourself that.” He snickered. “I can’t imagine how tense things must’ve been after that.”
“It was pretty much right before I came out here. I think we both needed a break, which is why this trip came at the perfect time. Even if it’s only for a few days.”
“Well, then…” He placed his hand on my shoulder. “We should make the most of your time back here. Let’s go to the club.”
Jordan would use any excuse to keep the party going. The Ivy Club was his go-to place for a nightcap. I already felt like I’d had one too many, but...
“Yeah. Sure. Why not? It’s my last night.”
Once we got to the club, I continued to feel out of sorts as I nursed another drink and pretended to be interested in this woman who’d started a conversation with me. But I knew I’d be going home alone tonight. And that was fine.
On the car ride back, I noticed I’d missed another text from Carly.
Carly: Goodnight, Josh.
I felt bad that she probably thought I’d chosen to ignore it. But I didn’t want to wake her by texting back in the middle of the night.
I stared at the phone for several seconds, thinking about the fact that she’d bothered to text me goodnight. Goodnight texts were not something I got from anyone on a regular basis. Sending someone a text before bed implied that you were one of the last things they were thinking about. It made me feel…undeserving. But also good—warm inside in a way I wasn’t used to. I knew we couldn’t be more than friends, yet I basked in that feeling for a moment. As uneasy as this situation made me, I couldn’t wait to get back to Woodsboro.
CHAPTER 10
JOSH
CARLY PRACTICALLY JUMPEDoff the couch when I entered the house the following evening.
“Josh!” She ran to greet me. “You’re back early.”
“Yeah.” I dropped my travel bag on the floor. “Things at work wrapped up sooner than anticipated, so I caught an earlier flight.”
She had a huge smile on her face. “I’m not happy you’re here to relieve me or anything.”
“Not at all.” I winked and bent to pet the dog, who’d been circling around me for attention. “Hey, Bubba. Your boytoy is back.”
Then I moved to the couch and sat down, wrapping my arm around Scottie. He hadn’t had much of a reaction when I walked in.
“You miss me, buddy?”
An automated voice from Scottie’s iPad said,“I want to take a bath.”He’d pressed the bath icon on his picture-board app.
Carly laughed. “I think he misses your naked manshowers.”
“Oh, I’d bet he’s going to miss your bikini ones more.”
Carly blushed and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I’m making gluten-free pasta and that sauce you like. Are you hungry?”
Fuck.Was I ever hungry. Her question reminded me of the dream I’d had last night about fucking her while she called me an evil pig and pulled my hair. And of course, that only confirmed the fact that Iwasan evil pig to be having that kind of fantasy about Brad’s woman. I felt like a dirt bag.
I cleared my throat. “I’m starving, actually. Thank you. I’ve had nothing but peanut-butter sandwiches and alcohol the past few days.”
“Sounds…nourishing.” She chuckled.
I stared at her for a moment. Carly had sauce on her white shirt and her hair was all over the place, but she still looked stunningly beautiful—somehow even more beautiful than before I left. For a moment, I imagined a world where I’d just come home to this woman, lifted her up onto the counter, and kissed the hell out of her. A world, of course, where she hadn’t also been the love of my best friend’s life.