Page 87 of Yours Truly

“Nope,” he replies. “I wanna smell you on me tomorrow.”

“Gross,” I reply, but I’m still smiling.

Thirty minutes later, his leg is tangled with mine and I’m lying on his chest, listening to his heart beat as we find deep, restful sleep together.

And no matter what I dream while asleep, nothing is better than my current reality.

TWENTY-SIX

Can we keep this between us?

Trace

“Open up,” Deuce hollers, throwing his fist into my door over and over.

Stumbling out of bed, I grip the wall as I traipse down the hall, my head killing me, my mouth full of cotton. Yanking open the door, I bring my arm over my face, blocking out the egregious morning sun. “Jesus Christ, man, is the house on fire?”

“Why aren’t you answering the phone?” he questions, peering around me into the house. Opening the door, I let him in and close it, still waking up.

“Because I was asleep.” I motion to my fucked-up hair and near-naked body.

He looks at his watch. “It’s ten a.m.”

I rub my eyes. A painful whomp radiates through my head. “I was up late.”

Leaning in, he studies me. And it takes me a moment before I realize what he’s doing.

I shove him back, more awake now that I understand. “Fuck off, I’m not hungover.”

He studies me another moment, his dark eyes roving over me like a parent to a child. Finally, his shoulders sink and he huffs out a deep breath. “Thank God.”

“You really thought I’d go back to all that shit?” I ask, moving around him to get to the kitchen. Rinsing the carafe, I fill it with water and pour it into my Mr. Coffee. I like this coffee maker. It’s simple, makes 12 cups, nothing fancy. Ivy got it for me. And when she sleeps over, we have enough for both of us. I got her protein powder, too.

“I don’t know, you asked for the day off today and Ivy didn’t sleep over last night. Those two things…” he trails off with a shrug. “I’m just making sure.”

I scoop out some grounds and dump them in the basket, slapping the lid closed. “Okay,” I say, considering his words. A breath in through my nose and out my mouth, another one, and I meet his gaze. “I can see where you may have thought that.”

Deuce’s head swivels back, his eyes wide, a real dumb look on his face. “Wow. You’re not gonna be butthurt for an hour because I dared to check on you.” He lets out a low whistle, shaking his head. “You better marry her.”

I don’t respond to that, because I’m still working things out in my head when it comes to Ivy and marriage. Instead, I tell him exactly why I’m home on a workday, why my beautiful girlfriend slept at her place when she’s basically been living with me for the last few weeks, and why my head is killing me.

“I lied to her and told her I didn’t feel good—told her I didn’t want to get her sick since Dolly’s pregnant and she’s around her so much. So that’s why Ivy didn’t sleep over. She thinks I’m sick.” The coffee’s slow drip makes my skin tingle. Fuck, I need caffeine.

“And… you’re not sick?” He narrows his eyes. “You look kinda shitty.”

“That’s just what I look like, asshole,” I reply, getting out two pieces of bread from the box on the counter. Ivy said I needed a bread box to keep things off the counter, but to keep my bread fresh. It doesn't make sense to me because the bread box sits on the counter, but I got one anyway. I’d get a fucking bread box tattooed on my cock if she told me. “But no, I’m not sick. I stayed up all fucking night planning a party and because I’ve never planned a party, it was a lot harder than I thought.”

“Dude, my brother-in-law hosts the town farmers market every week. He’s great at planning shit. You coulda called me.” He sinks into the couch, stacking his boots on my coffee table. “What party you plannin’?”

A smile curls my lips as I dig Juni’s jam and butter from the fridge. “Well, Ivy’s last day as the shop apprentice is next week. And I thought we’d have, like… I don’t know, a graduation-style party? But just for her, for ending the program.”

Deuce just stares at me. I stare back.

“What?”

He shakes his head. “I just… I don’t know. You’re so different.” He smiles in a way that tells me I’m about to get annoyed. “I was right about you coming here. Admit it.”

I roll my eyes. “Does Ev never compliment you or what? You gotta come over here and get me to make you feel good?” The toast pops up, and I snatch it, laying the pieces across a plate.

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