Page 55 of Against the Clock

“Why do I get the feeling you’re going to make me regret this?”

“Oh, come on… it’ll be fun.” Her grin’s just as wicked as mine, and when she squeezes my butt, I laugh again.

Her hands migrate up to my shoulders, the smile fading. “Thank you. Thank you for listening. It means a lot to me.”

“Always,” I tell her, drinking her in. “Who have you been dating that hasn’t wanted to listen to you?” It’s a rhetorical question. I don’t want to know who she’s dated. That way I can’t be jealous of them.

“Not you. I wasn’t dating you,” she replies, and I cut off whatever else she’s going to say with a kiss against her lips.

“I’ll see you tonight,” I promise, finally pulling away long enough to collect my sweats and shirt, pulling them on slowly, my shoulder and hip still bothering me.

“Tonight,” she agrees, and I hold her hand as I walk to the front door, where I slip my shoes on.

I give her one last quick kiss before leaving.

The door closes behind me, and I’ve never wanted to go back inside an apartment so badly.

CHAPTER 22

KELSEY

The morning passes by faster than I imagined, and even though I would have loved to skip work today to snuggle with Daniel, I’m glad I didn’t.

I’m slammed.

From sources reaching out to verifying information and prepping for the next time I’m on camera with a segment, the hours fly by.

When Cameron stops by with a brown paper bag and a coffee for me, I finally look up, blinking blearily at her.

“You need to take a break,” she says. “You’ve been on DND all day, and when I came to check on you earlier, you looked so into what you were doing I didn’t want to interrupt. Now you’re taking a break with me.”

I yawn, glancing at my minimized internal chat. Sure enough, I’ve missed at least ten messages from her, and dozens from others.

“Why are you so tired?” she asks, pitching her voice low. “Did… something exciting happen last night?”

“Cameron, please.” I wrinkle my nose, taking the bag from her. “What’s in here?”

“Bacon cheeseburger.”

“My favorite.”

“I know. Take a walk with me. You need some fresh air. You look like you’re about to crash.”

“I’ll try restarting myself,” I say.

Cameron groans. “That was literally the worst joke I’ve ever heard.”

I stand up slowly, then stretch, cracking my neck. “You’re right. I feel like I’ve been sitting all day.”

“You have been. Come on. Lap around the building while you eat.”

“Thanks Cammy-boo.”

Her lip curls in disgust at the nickname. “Don’t.”

I snort. “Sorry. Okay. Yes. Lap around the building, bacon cheeseburger, and I need to talk.”

Cameron fist-pumps, then pulls her dark, near-black hair back into a ponytail. “Hell yeah. You know I want the hot goss.”

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