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My mind went straight to the gutter, the thought bringing life to my dick again. “I love the challenge. We should hit the gym here tomorrow morning if you want. Burn off whatever calories Jacqueline insists on serving us if we make it out of here before the restaurant closes,” I suggested.
Knowing her, she had the meal ordered already and wouldn’t give us a choice in what we ate.
Fucking control freak.
“I didn’t pack any gym clothes,” Preston said.
“Then I guess we’ll just have to lift naked,” I tossed back.
He snorted a laugh, and I grinned, loving the hell out of him being fully relaxed for a change. I hadn’t seen him like that since…fuck. Before I’d moved out for college.
“Are you happy, Preston?” I asked on a whim, expecting our light conversation might turn grim, but I needed to hear how he’d fared in all our years apart.
“Happy enough,” he answered, sitting up a bit so he no longer rested against me.
I kept my arm around him so he had freedom to lean in again if he needed to.
“I have a gorgeous condo overlooking Boston’s state house, a job I enjoy, and I’m rich as hell.” He shrugged. “What more could I possibly ask for?”
Definitely ace…maybe? Fuck it. I needed to know.
“No woman in your life?” I asked, a little hesitantly.
Pink rushed to his cheeks. “Uh, no.”
“Man?” I held my breath.
A sarcastic snort left his nose. “Could you imagine what Jacqueline would say if I told her I was dating a guy?”
“Nothing good,” I answered honestly, disappointed he hadn’t exactly answered my question. “Have you come here to see her very often?”
“Hell no. I avoid New York like I did any and all social gatherings in high school, except for Nancy and Michael’s.”
“You went to some of the dances with me,” I pointed out, tugging him against me again because I couldn’t not take advantage of the situation we were in.
“Yeah but only because you promised to stick by my side.” He snuggled in, and I sighed, my eyes closing in bliss. “You’re the only one I felt comfortable with and the strength I needed at my back to exist outside of the penthouse.”
My heart swelled at the truth I’d helped him to enjoy more normal teenage years he wouldn’t have had without me. “You grew past all that, though. You went to college by yourself,” I pointed out, hoping he would own that confidence too. “Graduated with honors, my dad said.”
“Because it was that or hide away in my bedroom where Jacqueline would have eventually forced society—hers—on me.” Preston snorted. “No thank you. I may come from old money, but I want nothing to do with others who have the same.”
I’d seen enough of the Casswell family society to know what he spoke of and thoroughly understood.
“Dad told me Jacqueline turned your world upside down when she said that you wouldn’t be taking over as CEO of Casswell Global.”
“At first, I was sure she was trying to manipulate me. Then I wondered if she might actually care about my desires.” Preston shrugged, but I could tell it hadn’t been a small thing. “Wishful thinking, perhaps, but I’m pretty sure you know me when it comes to Jacqueline.”
He hadn’t spoken of his feelings about their relationship, but he hadn’t needed to with me.
“Has anything changed between you since I’ve been gone?”
Preston hesitated before answering as though gathering his thoughts. Or wracking his brain for a hint of a positive. “She calls me a few times a week, and while it’s mostly to nitpick whatever information she can get out of me about my life, I think it’s proof that she cares.”
How he chose to see that in a positive light, I had no fucking clue.
“Well, I for one am fucking proud of you, kid.”
“Not a kid,” he muttered, and I laughed, loving how easily we fell back into our friendship.
