Not the Friend with Benefits: A BBW New Adult Serial Romance (Not the Hot Chick series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

okay."
    "No. You're not," he said after a pause. "I'm coming over."
    Yes, please, she wanted to say. But then she'd be that needy, whiny chick. "I'm all right, really. Anyway, don't you have to work?"
    "I'll figure something out. You just hang tight. I'll be over soon."
    He ended the call before she could say more.
    ****
    He showed up at her door forty minutes later, bearing a pizza box. "I brought a pie. Did you eat lunch?"
    What time was it? She wasn't sure where she'd left her phone. "Uh, no. Not hungry." But the appetizing aroma of tomato sauce and spices put the lie to that answer, as did the audible rumbling of her stomach.
    "Uh-huh." He slipped past her and set the box on the coffee table. Flipped it open and grabbed a slice, which he handed to her. "Here. Pepperoni and mushroom."
    She snagged it and took a greedy bite, suddenly ravenous. A blob of sauce landed on her shirt. So what?
    Cam grinned. "Slow down, slugger. You got napkins? Paper towels or something?"
    "Kitchen," she mumbled through a mouthful of pizza.
    He left and came back with a handful of paper towels. She took one and wiped her mouth, then dabbed at the spot on her shirt as she wolfed down her slice.
    With a raised eyebrow, Cam took a slice for himself and sat. "What have you been up to?" He indicated her rolled-up sleeves, mussed hair, and reddened face.
    "Cleaning up," she muttered, pushing back her mop of hair and smearing tomato sauce on her forehead. Grimacing, she swiped it away, then rubbed her fingers on her leggings. "Getting rid of the evidence."
    "You mean that?" He dipped his head toward the mattress leaning against the living room wall.
    "Yeah." She sat, setting down the remainder of her slice, finally ready for a breather. "It's not heavy, just clumsy to move."
    "That's where the deed was done, huh?"
    Layla's mouth crimped. "Yeah."
    "Didja catch them mid-act or something?"
    "No." She described the scene she'd walked in on, and Jessi's glee. "She planned it, and she wanted me to know." Pain jabbed her chest as she recalled Drew's look of fear and the malicious glint in Jessi's eyes.
    "Man." The word was a sigh of disbelief. "I'm so glad I never fucked that bitch."
    "That's why she hates me."
    He blinked. "Huh?"
    "She wanted to know how I liked sloppy seconds. She still can't stand that you and I hooked up and that you turned her down."
    "Shit." He shook his head in disgust. "If I'd known it was gonna go down like that, I'd've gone ahead and slept with her."
    Layla gave a little laugh. "Take one for the team, huh?" She rolled her eyes. Sleeping with Jessi would be no hardship. Most guys would fall all over themselves to get with her. Just as Drew had done. But Cam had managed to resist. "Selfless of you."
    "Selfless. That's me to a T ," he joked. "So what are you gonna do with the mattress?"
    "Trash it. I don't want it. I'm sure as hell not going to sleep on it." She'd already junked the sheets in the Dumpster. She hadn't the heart to dump Grandma Messner's quilt, so she'd rolled it up and hidden it in back of her closet. First chance she got, she'd get it professionally dry-cleaned. Two or three times, maybe, until she was convinced Jessie's evil touch had been completely eradicated.
    He looked puzzled. "What do you plan to sleep on? The box spring?"
    "Yeah. I don't care. I just want it out."
    "Okay." He chewed what was left of his pizza, then grabbed a paper towel and stood. "I'll help you get rid of it. And you won't have to sleep on a bunch of springs. We'll go get a new mattress for you."
    It was an expense she could barely afford, but at least she could put it on her credit card and pay it off over time. "How will we get it back here, though?"
    "I've got the Suburban. It'll fit in back just fine."
    "Super." She bounced off the sofa, invigorated by this plan.
    "Hold on." He smiled and wiped the paper towel over her forehead, then showed her the pizza sauce he'd removed. "You're a wreck, babe." His gaze softened as he smoothed a strand