Coda 05 -Paris a to Z by Marie Sexton Read Free Book Online

told myself that over and over. I tried to be rational instead of letting my emotions take over.
    But seeing Cole and Jared together in the lobby had destroyed any attempt at rationality. It made me livid. It didnt help that Jared was grinning at me like it was all a game. It also didnt help that Zach and Angelo were on the other side of the elevator, not looking at me, doing their best to pretend like they had no idea what was going on.
    They all thought I was being a fool, and on some level, I knew they were right. But it didnt change the fact that I could not stand to see Cole with Jared. I hated to think about all of the times theyd been together. And I really hated to see them touching.
    Zach and Angelos room was in the opposite direction, so we parted ways after leaving the elevator. I followed Jared to our room. It was a suite. It was overdecorated and ridiculously ornate, and it only seemed to underline the fact that I was horrifically out of place.
    The bellboy had already brought our bags up and left them in our room. I felt like Id been wearing the same clothes for ages, and I was dying for a shower. On the other hand, I knew Jared was probably thinking the exact same thing. I figured Id let him go first because I certainly wasnt in the mood to shower together.
    “You know,” Jared said to me over his shoulder as he started to undress, “if you glower like that all week, youll give yourself aheadache.”
    “Im glad you find it so amusing.”
“Come on, Matt,” he chided. “This is supposed to be fun.” “Watching Cole put his hands all over you isnt my definition of
    fun.”
    He was down to only his boxers, and he stepped up close to me and started to unbutton my pants, grinning up at me as he did. “Are you going to be jealous like this all week?”
    “Maybe.”
    He slid his hand into my pants, and I did my best to ignore him. I didnt completely succeed, but I was still mad, and I was determined to not let him distract me. “Cole and I have known each other a long time—”
    “I know .”
“So what makes you think that now , after all these years, were suddenly going to become more than friends? Hes getting married , Matt.” His hand was still moving on me, and although I wanted to stay angry, there were other parts of my body that werent so resolved. “I love you. Not him. Do you really think thats going to suddenly change?”
Did I? No, not really. It wasnt that I thought Jared wanted Cole instead of me. It was the fact that Cole had already had Jared. It was their history together that drove me nuts. I had to force my words out through clenched teeth. “I cant give you anything you havent already had with him.”
That surprised him enough that his hand quit moving. He blinked up at me in confusion. “Is that really what you think?”
“Youre the one who keeps pointing out how long youve known each other! It drives me nuts to think that everything we do, you did with him first!”
He absorbed that for a minute, and then I saw a wicked glint appear in his eyes. A playful grin spread slowly across his face. “Not everything,” he said as he kissed me. He pulled off my shirt and started to push my pants down over my hips. “There are lots of things I never did with him,” he said. “Let me tell you all the things I never did with him. Ive never been mountain biking with him. Ive never shared a sleeping bag with

    him.” And as he talked, he continued to undress me, his hands moving everywhere, his lips finding mine between sentences. “Ive never been camping with him. Ive never been geo-caching with him.” He nipped at my earlobe, and one of his hands went back to my groin. “Ive never lived with him. We may have had sex, but we were never lovers. I never fell asleep in his arms. I never woke up to him kissing the back of my neck or pulling my hair.”
My resolution to stay mad was fading. Partly it was him; his hard, lean body against mine, and his hands moving exactly right. It was his