Carrying a large bowl of popcorn, Tami plopped down on the couch with an exaggerated sigh, “Ugh! I can’t believe we’re both in watching Netflix on a Friday night.”

Jake smiled as he reached across Tami and grabbed a handful of popcorn, “Well, I can believe you are. I’m absolutely stunned about myself!”

Giving her best friend a playful shove, Tami laughed, “Are you kidding me? You are the one who called to see what I was doing tonight!”

“Yeah, because I knew you weren’t going to be out. You haven’t had a man since you broke up with Mike,” Jake pointed out.

“And? That doesn’t mean I haven’t been out. In fact, I had a date just last week.”

“Yeah, with your vibrator,” he teased.

Tami shoved him again, “Shut up! I didn’t. I don’t even own a vibrator.”

“Really?” Jake asked as he raised an eyebrow showing his surprise and doubt.

Tami pulled the bowl of popcorn from him, cramming a handful of the buttery saltiness into her mouth. Even though he was teasing, she hated that Jake knew her so well. “Hey, I have no problem getting laid, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Just keeping a man, right?”

“As if I’m looking for all that. Feelings and relationships are messy. I love being a single woman.”

Jake frowned, “See, that’s where you girls have it easy. You can say things like that and have no problem finding a guy who wants the same thing. But, us guys, man, every chick I meet wants a ring on her finger by the end of two months and that’s before we even sleep together.”

“Oh, no, do not complain to me about not getting action, Jake. I know you better than you know yourself. Girls always flock to you when we go out and I’ve heard from more than one, that you have no problem keeping them in the bedroom.

Jake raised a curious brow, “Who told you that?”

“Shana. Shana Phillips. In college, she told me you ‘laid it on her, for a white boy’, her words,” Tami laughed out loud.

Jake smiled as he remembered Shana, his freshman year girlfriend. The sex was good, but remembering Shana caused him to remember why the relationship didn’t last, he became interested in someone else at the time.

“Then, there was Maxine. She told me that she was quite impressed with your skills, and Maxi was all kinds of freaky, so if she gave you her approval,” Tami shrugged her shoulders, “Makes me wonder what the hype is all about.”

Jake hadn’t thought of Maxine in years. Maxine was a lot of kinky fun, but that’s all it was with her. She had the attention span of a gnat. Jake shot Tami a wicked grin, “You don’t really want to know, do you?”

“Ew, no! Of course not. Jake, we’ve been friends since freshman year. I mean, we met while I was dating your roommate Rob. You’re almost like a brother to me,” Tami wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I would never go there with you.”

“Never? Like ever?” Jake asked out of curiosity.

“Yes! Like ever!” Tami said, then after a second thought, “I mean, I would have to be really drunk or totally desperate or both, drunk and desperate,” she laughed.

Jake threw a handful of popcorn at her, as he feigned hurt feelings, “Wow, that’s harsh!”

“What? You don’t agree?”

“Maybe,” Jake said as he took a swig of beer. “I mean, you’re kind of hot, but it probably would be too weird, like, ew, I don’t want to even think about it anymore. Come on, we’re supposed to be watching this movie,” he said trying to change the subject.

Knowing Jake so well, Tami also knew when he was lying. He had a tendency to evade the question when he didn’t want to reveal the truth. Tami wouldn’t drop it, “Weird, huh? You think hooking up with me would be weird?”

“Yeah, I mean, Tami, you are like one of the guys and I can’t -- can we just change the subject?”

Tami pouted as she stood up, “You wouldn’t be able to handle all this anyway,” she threw over her shoulder as she headed to the kitchen for another beer.

Jake smiled as he watched her walk away. Tami was wearing grey leggings and her tee shirt barely covered her ass. Noticing how her ass jiggled as she walked, he had to look away and take a long swig, finishing off his beer. They had to get off of this topic soon. Jake knew that he was a terrible liar and that his best friend knew his tell.

“Hey, Tam, can you grab me another…”

“I already have,” she said as she returned with beers for them both.

“You’re the best!” Jake said as she settled in on the couch next to him, again.

A few minutes into the movie, Jake turned to her. “So, what was that supposed to mean?”

“What?” Toni asked unaware of what he was asking about.

“What you said about I wouldn’t be able to handle you?”

Tami grinned, “I guess you’ll never know.”

“Come on, Tami. What? You think you’re hotter than I am in bed?”

“Jake, I’m not comparing my sex life with yours. It’s like apples and oranges.”

“Yeah, and an apple a day, as the saying goes, is good for you,” he teased as he sat back on the couch and they returned their attention to the movie. There was a long silence, then Tami turned to him.

“What did you mean by hot? You said you think I’m kinda of hot,” she asked curiously.

“I meant hot, like hot.”

“So, you think I’m sexy?”

Jake thought for a second before responding, “The very idea that I think you’re hot means that I think you’re sexy. Like, if I didn’t know you, yeah, I’ll hit that.”

“You would try!” Tami laughed.

They fell into silence again as they directed their attention to the movie. During the evening, Tami stretched out on the couch and propped her feet on Jake’s lap. By the end of the movie, Jake had laid behind her as big spoon to her little spoon. She gave a soft moan as she snuggled against his warm hard chest.

“Comfortable?” Jake asked rubbing her arm.

“Mm-hm,” Tami smiled.

“Good,” he said moving his hand down to her waist, instinctively he pulled her closer to him.

Tami wiggled and pressed her ass against him. It took her a minute to realize that the thick object pressing against her was Jake’s dick. She pulled away putting space between their bodies before asking, “What are you doing?”

“What?” he asked innocently.

“That!” Tami said referring to the hard-on bulging in his pants.

“Oh, so are you accusing me of getting hard when you’re the one rubbing your ass all over me like that? We may just be friends, but I’m still a healthy male,” Jake pointed out.

“I wasn’t rubbing against you, I was...” she was interrupted as Jake leaned forward and kissed her.

Jake placed his hand on Tami’s cheek as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. He kissed her like this for a long while before Tami finally wrapped her arms around his neck. Tami ignored all the alarms going off that this was uncharted territory for them and likely a major line crossed, all she could think about was how perfect his kisses were. He tasted of salty buttered popcorn, beer, and eight years of repressed sexual attraction.

As they continued kissing, Jake moved his hand down her belly and slid his fingers into her panties. He waited for her to push his hand away. He promised himself that would be cool, but when she didn’t stop him, he rubbed her clit, then dipped a finger into her wet slit. He hadn’t expected her to be so wet already. He took satisfaction in knowing that he wasn’t the only one aroused from their cuddle session.

Tami moaned against his lips but didn’t make him stop.

He slipped another finger inside her.

“Yeah,” Tami breath caught in her throat as he slowly slid his fingers into her pussy. She reached between them to cup his denim-clad erection, running her palm against the throbbing bulge, feeling his length harden even more. As he slid his fingers back and forth in her slick opening, she fumbled with the zipper on his jeans until she could feel his cock unrestricted. She wrapped her hand around him and tugged on his thick length, running her palm up and down until Jake cursed out loud.

He sat up as she straddled his lap. “Are we really doing this?” Jake asked out loud, but more to himself as he realized he was going to fuck his best friend.

“Mm-hm,” Tami said nodding and smiling at him.

Jake kissed her once more before sliding up unto her waiting cunt.

“Oh, my God! Yes!” Tami cried out surprised.

Jake held her hips and slowly eased her up and down on him. He realized how big of a lie he told when he said it would feel weird because right now he could only think about how perfect it felt.

“Fuck!” Tami moaned as he pushed deeper on each stroke. She was more than impressed that all the stories she heard were true. Not only was Jake’s cock big, but he obviously knew what to do with it as he thrust deeper into her hitting all the right spots.

Tami leaned forward, grabbing the back of the couch as she ground against him. He moved his hands under her tee shirt and cupped her breasts, sliding his fingers under her bra to tweak her tight nipples until she moaned even louder. He continued moving his hand down her slim body, grabbing her plump ass in his large hands as she rode him faster nearing an orgasm.

Jake tried to lean forward and kiss her lips, but she planted her hands on his chest, firmly holding him down as she brought herself to orgasm on his cock.

“Are you done?” he asked as she laid against him panting for her breath to steady.

Tami raised her head, “What is that suppose to mean?”

“Just that I haven’t come yet and I bet I can make you do that again,” he grinned playfully, “That is if you think you can handle all this?”

Tami’s playful smile was enough to let him know that she was up for the challenge. He scooped her up and carried her to her bedroom where he tossed her back in bed. He finished undressing them both then laid between her legs, kissing her neck softly before heading south. He took his time as he went down, stopping to tongue lash her dark perky nipples and draw circles around her belly button. He parted her smooth brown thighs as his mouth lowered to her moistened pussy.

Arching her back in pleasure as his tongue fluttered against her clit, she moaned even louder as he worked his tongue between her folds, lapping and sucking at her juicy cunt. She appreciated his precise strokes, not messy or procedural. She could tell that he actually liked licking pussy and wasn’t just doing it to earn points with her.

“Fuck!” Tami cried out, caressing his short dark hair, encouraging him not to stop, but Jake started back up her torso, licking and sucking on her dewy skin.

“Did you enjoy that?” he asked teasingly.

“You know I did,” she smiled wrapping her legs around him.

“Me, too,” Jake admitted as he slowly entered her again. He moved gently in her as he placed soft sucking kisses on her neck, slowly building pace with practiced control.

Tami moaned anticipating another orgasm. She was sure Jake was going to come, too, but then he held back, more focused on pleasuring her. She raised her hips to him, offering herself completely to him, but he firmly held her in place as he thrust deeper.

“Oh, come on,” she practically begged for him to come inside her.

“Don’t worry. I will,” Jake kissed her before he raised up onto his forearms and increased the pace, fucking her harder and faster.

“Fuck! Oh, my God, yes!” Tami screamed gripping the bed sheets as she stared up at him.

“I’m going to come,” Jake finally groaned losing control of himself as he grunted over her. His body tightened and convulsed as he unloaded deep within her.

“Damn! That was a good one!” Jake laughed out loud as he collapsed in bed next to her. He laid there for a moment before turning to Tami who has been silent for a while, “Are you okay?” he asked concerned.

Tami just nodded her head, speechless, then leaned forward and kissed him. She locked her fingers in his hair as he returned the feverish kiss. Afterward, they just laid back in bed breathing heavily. Tami felt as if she was floating on clouds, weightless, and mellowed out as she drifted off to sleep. Jake curled up next to her and slept like a baby.

.oOo.

Tami woke up early the next morning and saw the rumpled sheets around her naked body. The memories of last night quickly came flooding back to her as she recalled that she had slept with her best friend, Jake.

“Shit!” she fell back in bed and stared wide-eyed at the ceiling. She always had a way of fucking up relationships. Rather with friends or boyfriends, her well-practiced skill of self-sabotage always reared its head. Jake had been one of her longest friends she ever had. She thought about that phrasing and blushed, yeah, that was still fitting, she smiled. All the college stories were true. Tami couldn’t believe that it took her this long to find out.

Tami pulled on her robe and headed to the kitchen. She stopped when she saw Jake standing at the stove wearing only his jeans that hung low on his waist, showing off his slim tapered torso. She stood there for a moment admiring his golden skin and muscular back. His upper back was covered with a large tattoo of a snake that wrapped around under his left arm and continued to his chest. Tami remembered when he first got that tattoo during sophomore year Spring break and how she ridiculed him for weeks, but standing here now she could only think how sexy it looked on him.

Jake looked over his shoulder, finally noticing that Tami had walked into the kitchen, “Hey, Tam. Finally awake?” he smiled as he continued scrambling eggs in the frying pan.

“Hey,” Tami smiled back as she continued to the refrigerator. She poured herself a glass of orange juice, before asking, “What are you doing?”

Jake pointed to the pan of fluffy yellow eggs and a plate of perfectly browned crisp bacon, “Making breakfast. Are you hungry? I was going to make toast, but I couldn’t find your toaster.”

Tami opened an upper cupboard and pulled out the appliance,”You should put a shirt on,” she said taking a sip of juice.

“Why? Too distracting?” Jake grinned as he flashed his washboard abs to her.

“No,” Tami lied as she averted her eyes away from him, “You’re going to burn yourself.”

After scooping the eggs evenly onto two plates, Jake wiped his hands on a dishtowel. “Okay, I’ll put on a shirt.” Before he left the kitchen he pulled Tami into his arms, surprising her with a kiss. It wasn’t just a soft peck of a kiss, but a deep passionate kiss that left Tami speechless and staring after him as he walked away. She’d never knew Jake had such a domestic side to him. With a sarcastic laugh, she thought today was the day that all secret talents were revealed.

When Jake returned with his t-shirt on, he grabbed the toast just as they popped up and sat down at the breakfast bar to dig into the bacon and eggs.

Tami sat opposite him as she picked at her eggs with a fork. After a bite, she had to admit they were really good.

“I should make some coffee. Do you want some coffee?” he asked.

“No, Jake, this is fine,” Tami responded quickly, then added, “Actually, this is more than enough.”

Jake sensed she was upset by her sharp tone. “What? What’s wrong?”

“This!” Tami said gesturing to everything. “We stupidly hooked up last night and now you’re making breakfast for me?”

“It’s just breakfast, Tam,” Jake said clueless.

“Yeah, like last night was just sex.”

“Yeah, it was. What? Do you want it to be something more?” Jake asked curiously.

“No, God, no!” she said. When she realized how awful that sounded she quickly added, “I didn’t mean it like-- Shit!” Tami just hung her head and scrambled her eggs around on the plate in an attempt to keep herself busy.

“I know you didn’t mean it like that. We had fun and you more than enjoyed it last night,” he smiled.

His smile oozed with all the cocky self-confidence that Tami expected from him. She hated that he was so right. She dropped her fork onto her plate and stood up, “I’m going to take a shower.”

“Wait," Jake reached across the counter and grabbed her hand, "Want me to join you?” Jake offered, still wearing that self-congratulating smile. He knew he was just pushing her buttons, but he couldn’t resist as he watched her storm off toward the bathroom and slam the door shut.

Jake hadn’t stayed to cook breakfast for any reason other than he was hungry and thought that she might be, too. It hadn’t occurred to him that it might appear that he was lingering around for round two. Or was it round three or four? He’d lost count of how many times he had made her come. But, when he saw her standing behind him with messy bed hair and her robe loosely tied around her waist with a glimpse of her dark breasts and protruding nipples underneath, he realized that he did want something more with Tami and not just another round of hot sex. It was the first time in a really long time that he’d really looked at Tami without thinking of her as “just one of the guys”.

He remembered feeling this way the first time she walked into his dorm room and introduced herself as his roommate's girlfriend. Now, whatever history they had before had been rewritten after the night they just had together. She was the hot girl he hooked up with last night and there she was looking sexier than he could’ve ever imagined. He wanted her, but he didn’t want to make her run away as was her way when relationships got too heavy. If she wanted fun and commitment-free, he could definitely give her that. Jake thought that if he equally pushed her away, he would eventually get what he wanted. So, after putting their dishes away, Jake pulled on his sneaks and quietly left her apartment.

When Tami got out of the shower, she had to admit she was a bit surprised that Jake had left already. She was even more surprised by the conflicting emotions that had her almost wishing that he’d stayed. That part of her that liked that he stayed to make her breakfast and wished he had joined her in the shower was a bit foreign to her.

With her towel still wrapped around herself, she went to her phone to text her friend Cherry for answers. Cherry was a good friend of hers that lived in the same building. Tami felt comfortable sharing the bits of her life she wouldn't even dare share with Jake. After pulling on jeans and a tank top, Tami walked over to Cherry’s apartment and plopped down on her couch.

“You won’t believe what I did last night,” Tami said.

Curious, Cherry settled in next to her on the couch, “Hm, I bet I could guess. You hooked up with some really hot guy and had crazy hot sex all night long.”

Tami wasn’t shocked that Cherry went straight to the truth, “Well, the crazy hot sex part is right, emphasis on the crazy hot sex. It’s not the issue of what I did, but who I did,” Tami admitted, then added with a shameful whisper, “I slept with Jake.”

“Oh my, God, Tami! Jake? Jake Leahy?”

“Yes! It was so crazy! One moment we’re hanging out on my couch watching Netflix, the next minute we’re fucking like animals.”

“Were you drunk? Was he?”

“No. I mean, we had a couple of beers, but definitely not that drunk.”

“Wow! I have to say though, I’m not all that surprised, Tam,” Cherry admitted with a shrug.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just saying, it was bound to happen. While I was dating Jake, I always thought you two had something going on. I mean, you're both hot and sexy and actually make a really cute couple. Guys and girls are rarely ‘just friends’ for as long as you and Jake have been without something more to the story. Usually, there’s some history or some current benefits involved, you know what I mean.”

“What? I’ve never been attracted to Jake like that, you know that.”

“It’s not a bad thing, Tami,” Cherry said, then added teasingly, “And as I remember it, it’s actually a really, really good thing.”

“Oh, God! It was so good!” Tami screamed, “It was amazing!”

“So,” Cherry grinned, “You two a thing now?”

“No!” Tami answered quickly, then added more reflective, “I mean, no. I don’t think so. It was just sex. Good sex, amazing sex, but, you know, we’re best friends. Jake and I know each other sordid histories and that can’t be a good thing.”

Cherry shrugged, “Or maybe it could.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m just saying, you’re both good friends, no secrets between you two. You know his baggage and he knows yours. Makes you both start on a level playing ground.”

“Ugh, Cherry, you’re not helping! You're supposed to discourage this. You’ve dated him. You're supposed to tell me to run, run as far away as I can.”

Cherry shrugged again, “Just because it didn’t work out for us doesn’t mean it won’t for you two. I’m just being honest. There’s something there, Tam, rather you realize it or not, there has always been something there."

.oOo.

Thursday night was the weekly hangout night at their favorite bar. Tami sat in a booth surrounded by friends when Jake walked in late to join up with them.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” he greeted their mutual friends, then nodded towards Tami with a smile.

“Hey, grab a seat and join us,” Rob told Jake.

As Jake pulled up a chair, Tami couldn’t help but take stock of her friends at the table. Not only had she just slept with her best male friend of over eight years, but to her right was her college ex-boyfriend and Jake’s friend and roommate, Rob. Next to Rob was his current girlfriend, Liz. On her left was Cherry, Tami’s neighbor and good friend who happened to be one of Jake’s ex. She had to laugh at all the complicated relationships that were now a normal part of her life. So far, she had tried to stay untangle from their web of relationships, hook-ups were for guys outside their circle of friends.

Over the course of the night, Tami tried to avoid being alone with Jake. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Although she tried to convince herself that hooking up with Jake was a one-time occurrence, there wasn't a day the went in the past week that she didn't think about that night and possibly other nights.

Later, as they are all leaving the bar for the night, Jake offered to walk Cherry and Tami back to their apartment building. Cherry declined the offered as she was exchanging texts to meet up with her latest hook-up.

“Are you sure?” Tami questioned Cherry, mainly because she didn't trust herself to be alone with Jake, again.

“I’m really sure, besides Jake has been looking at you like he wants to eat you all night. And as I remember it, you definitely want him to eat it!” Cherry smiled then nodded towards Jake waiting for her to join him.

As they started off to her apartment, Jake asked, “Are you mad at me or something?”

“No, why would I be mad?” she said staring down at their feet.

“I just wanted to check. It’s been a couple of days since we, you know, hooked up. I just thought I would have heard from you.”

Tami shrugged, “I’ve been busy with work, you know.”

“This is weird for you, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Tami admitted. “I kind of liked that I could’ve always talked to you about anything and be real, you know. I’ve had some of my best times hanging out with you, and now, all I can think about is how good your dick game is.”

Jake laughed.

“What? It’s not funny. You were one of my best male friends, Jake.”

“Were? We’re still friends, Tami. That hasn’t changed. You’re not just some girl I randomly picked up at the bar, so I’m not going to allow you to just ghost me.”

Jake realized that his plan to give Tami space was not as effective as he thought it would be. Time to switch to plan B. When the stood in front of Tami’s apartment, Jake decided to put it all out there. “So, this is us just being friends, real talk, right?”

“Okay, sure,” Tami said.

“Well, you’ve been single for awhile now and I’m not seeing anyone, this might be a good time for this...”

“What is this?” Tami asked confused.

“I’m not talking about anything serious, just you know, whatever. Whenever, you know, get lonely and want me to come over to ‘Netflix and chill’,” he smiled knowingly at her.

“You want to be fuck buddies?” she said bluntly.

Jake laughed, “I wouldn’t put it like that, more like friends with benefits.”

Tami struggled to reject his offer. She did really miss him over the past week. Finally, she couldn’t help smiling back at him, “Why do you have to be so damn sexy?”

“So, is that a problem for you? I’m too sexy?” he teased her.

“Yes, it is!”

“Well, I’ll see if I can be less sexy,” he slouched his shoulders and inflated his usually flat belly to a potbelly. “Less sexy, now?”

“And don’t make breakfast for me, again.”

“What? You didn’t like my eggs? What’s wrong with breakfast? It’s the most important meal of the day.”

“It’s also very boyfriend track material, not friends with bennies.”

“So, let me get it straight. You want me to be a slob and then you want me to fuck you and leave. Is that right?”

Tami stepped closer to Jake, standing toe to toe as she pressed her lips to his, “Yes. Starting now.”

“Okay, I can do that,” Jake grinned as he followed her into the building and up to her apartment.

.oOo.

“Where’s my bra?” Tami asked as she searched the clothes haplessly strewn across Jake’s bedroom floor. She actually remembered the exact moment her bra came off. She was in the kitchen standing over a large cheese pizza as they were supposed to be watching their university basketball team in the March Madness tournament. Jake walked up behind her, pulled her into his arms and started kissing her neck.

She also remembered his hands finding their way under her shirt, tugging on her hardened nipples. She rocked her ass back against him, stroking his thick erection beneath his jeans as his lips traveled from her neck to her earlobe. His breath warm against her skin as he whispered what he wanted to do to her at the moment. Basketball and the pizza were forgotten for the moment as they did everything he asked for and more. As Tami recalled how they spent the night fucking, first on his kitchen counter before moving to the bedroom, she was certain her bra was still in the kitchen.

“I don’t know. Where did you take it off?” Jake asked as he sat up in bed and smiled at her as she searched his room wearing only her panties. Jake liked the easy comfort she felt with him to let him watch her like this without covering up or hiding her beautiful brown body from him. He imagined them years from now when the same easy carefree sensibility of their relationship matured even more. He scolded himself for thinking of long-term when he couldn't even keep her in his bed for a few more hours.

It’s been over a month since they both decided to be friends with benefits, an arrangement that they both enjoyed. Even though it was his idea, Jake couldn’t help thinking that he was pretending with Tami because he didn’t want to push her away with a pursuit of a real relationship. Like now, as he watched her get dressed to leave while what he really wanted was to spend the whole day next to her in bed, smiling and laughing at her corny ass jokes over leftover cold pizza and beer as they watched the highlights of last night's game.

Tami realized she had been delaying getting dressed because she was waiting for an invitation to stay longer from Jake. She hoped that he would call her back into bed and add to the shortlist of things that they didn't last night. She shook her head, dashing those hopes away. She was the one that laid out the rules of this arrangement. She only slept over because she had been so utterly exhausted after their all night fucking session. “Were we still in the kitchen? Could be in there,” Tami said as she finally left the room.

“Found it!” Tami announced as she walked back into the room pulling on her black lace bra. She continued to dress under his watchful eyes. Any moment now, she was expecting a last-minute plea for her to stay. She would hesitate and make up an excuse why she had to leave, telling him she had a busy day, but eventually give in to his tempting kisses.

When she pulled on her shoes, Jake hopped out of bed completely nude and offered, “Let me walk you to the door.”

Tami stopped with one look at him. She couldn’t help smiling as his gorgeous body moved across the room to the door. Although his cock hung limply between his leg, she couldn’t get over how thick he was. She had a moment of forgetting about him extending an invitation to stay and just invite herself. She imagined spending the rest of the morning on her knees before him taking him deep down her throat before pulling him onto the bed to ride him like a stallion.

“What?” Jake asked with a smile when he saw her just staring at him, “Thinking about staying a bit longer?”

Tami hated that Jake could read her so well. She also noticed that he did not offer her to stay. She shook her head, “Um, no! Are you just going to sit around naked all day? You need to take a shower and put some clothes on,” she said turning away from the temptation of his body.

“So, I was thinking about going to the movies later. You should come with me, or is that too much boyfriend track thing to do?” he said with a big smile as they stood at the front door.

Tami found it hard to resist his smile, especially as he stood before her naked and proud, “Friends still go to the movies together. What time should I meet up with you?”

“Maybe around seven, depending on what’s showing.”

“Okay, text me.”

“You know I will,” Jake grinned as he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips.

Tami lingered on his lips, not wanting this quiet intimate moment to end too soon. She hated that she has grown to crave his kisses more than anything. She pulled away abruptly, “Yeah, I should go.”

.oOo.

Tami laid back on her couch with her cell phone in her hands. Her fingers hovered over Jake’s name. She hesitated and considered the message she wanted to send to him.

Hey, what’s up? That sounds exactly like something that Jake would send to her, she thought as she pouted and deleted the text.

Wanna stop by and watch Netflix with me? Nope, too obvious! Besides, she didn’t want to get any ideas in his head. Everyone knew watching Netflix together was a euphemism for hooking up, while Tami actually did just want to hang out with her friend. She’d missed just talking without it leading to sex. Yes, the sex was always hot and amazing but she really just wanted to share her day with her best friend and hear about his day.

Hey, what are you doing? Nah, too invasive. What if he’s busy or out on a date? Is he seeing someone? Tami pouted at the thought of Jake actually being out with someone else. They hadn’t talked about seeing other people, maybe a single date or two but nothing serious. Did she care if he was seeing someone else? Tami got stuck on that thought, trying to find out why she cared if Jake found a girlfriend.

While she was still trying to figure out how to get Jake over to her place without offering sex, her phone buzzed with an incoming text from Jake.

Wanna hang tonight? he simply wrote.

Tami was relieved that she didn’t have to think about the right thing to say. She also liked that his message didn’t imply anything else other than hanging out. She smiled as she typed into her phone, Sure.

Her phone buzzed again with his text, be there in 15.

When Tami opened the door for Jake fifteen minutes later, she had her answer for why she cared if Jake found someone else. Just the sight of him brought butterflies to her stomach. She didn’t remember ever feeling this way before they started hooking up. No, before he was just Jake. Now, he was so much more. Now, he was Jake that gave the sweetest kisses. He was Jake that made her toes curl with orgasm after orgasm everytime they had sex.

Jake immediately leaned in for a kiss, but Tami pulled away.

“What's wrong?” he asked as he followed her into her apartment.

“Nothing. I was just hoping we could talk.”

He pulled her into his arms as he nibbled at her neck, “Yeah, we can talk.”

“Part of being friends with benefits, is that we are actually friends first, right?” she said as she reluctantly pulled away from him and sat down on the couch.

“Of course, Tam. We’re friends. We'll always be friends," Jake smiled as he sat next to her and ran his hand up her thigh.

She found it hard to resist his smile and his touch. Part of her wanted his hand to move higher between her thigh, dip into her panties and slide into her pussy as she grew wetter by the second. The other more sensible part of her knew this conversation was an important step before going forward so she pushed those thoughts aside.

“Want a beer?” she asked as she hopped off the couch, away from his exploring hands, to head to the kitchen. Putting some distance between them was the only way she knew how to do this without succumbing to the temptation that was swiftly chipping away at her resolve.

When she walked back into the living room with two beers for the both of them, she finally worked up the courage to just tell Jake what’s been on her mind. “So, um, I kinda like someone,” she blurted out.

“Oh, really?” Jake asked curiously.

“Yeah, it’s just kind of came out of nowhere, these, um, feelings for this guy,” Tami said before taking a long swig of beer.

“What happened to ‘relationships are messy’ and ‘I’m happy to be single’?” he said mocking her previous stance on getting seriously involved.

“Yeah, well, it’s still kind of messy, but we -- I mean I, I’m ready for something more with this other guy. I think it's time.”

Jake took a long pause as he processed what she was saying. He was almost certain that this mysterious guy was himself. He was flattered. He honestly thought it would take longer for Tami to admit what was happening between them.

“Um, okay, so this, this thing with us is shelved then?”

Tami shook her head as she smiled at him, “No, not at all.”

“Um, so how does that work? Won’t this other guy be jealous? I mean, I would be if my hot girlfriend was fucking some other guy. Do I even know this guy? Is it that one dude from your job? What was his name, Stan? Dan? Something like that? I’ve never liked guys named Dan. I bet he’s a hipster. I bet he drinks craft beer, wears flannel shirts, and has a beard, right?”

Tami rolled her eyes. When Jake went so far off the subject, she knew that he was just stalling and changing the conversation on purpose. She headed to the kitchen to get another beer, “You know, maybe you are right. This other guy I’m interested in might be extremely jealous. We should end this benefit program right now.”

Jake followed her to the kitchen, “Hey, hey, let’s not be too hasty. I mean, maybe we can have one last go at it before this Dan guy is in the picture, huh?” he lightly spanked her ass before pulling her to him.

Tami resistance was absent. She knew she'd promised herself that tonight wasn’t going to be about sex, but she couldn’t help herself around Jake. Not when he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. As they undressed each other, Tami noticed the mood was different from past hook-ups. Jake has always been an attentive lover, but now there was a lingering feeling of something more behind his touches and kisses.

As they laid tangled up in one another arms, Tami smiled up at him. “It's you," she admitted, "I have feelings for you, Jake. I think I'm ready for us to be serious about this."

"Of course, it's me!" Jake said as he slid between her legs, into her warmth.

"Ugh! Why do you have to be so smug?" Tami sighed as she pulled him closer and rocked her hips up to meet his. She was always surprised at how well they fit together. She thought every part of him was aligned to give her the ultimate pleasure. Since the first time they fucked, she knew he had ruined it for other lovers. Jake was the only one for her.

"I've patiently waited for this since we'd first met, so I can be smug. I knew you would always be mine," he said as he placed a sweet kiss on her shoulder. "It just took you longer to realize it."