Page 101 of Foreplay on Words

I leaned over and kissed her head, slipping my arm around her lower back. “You don’t need to hire me. I’d be happy to help you. I have this outline I use to make series bibles.”

“You’re too adorable this morning.” She reached up and ruffled my hair. “Do you have any of the dialogue started, or did you only work on the outline?”

I used the tip of my finger to tap the screen to switch to another tab.

“Someone has been productive this morning.”

“I have,” I told her as I looked into her eyes and ran my finger down the side of her face. “Something has me feeling extra inspired lately. And as long as we keep up with the detailed research, I should be able to handle this jump into a new genre.”

“Love looks good on you,” she sighed happily. Her soft lips caressed mine as she ran her fingers into my hair.

“Is that what this is?” I teased. “I thought I looked this good all the time.”

“And you’ve got jokes, too,” she giggled. “You don’t need me to inflate your ego. If you actually tried, I doubt you’d have any problem with the opposite sex.”

“Except for the fact I haven’t been able to handle a normal conversation with one in years. You saw how I behaved when we first met. Think that times 100. Only your pervy brain seems to bring out this side of me.” I kissed her softly and took the laptop back, saving the various open documents and closing the lid. “Do you want me to make you breakfast?”

“Have you eaten?”

I shook my head. “Not really, only some coffee and a piece of toast.”

“Do you want to go out to breakfast somewhere?”

My pulse raced at her question. It was innocent enough––and would be nice––but being back in the city still made me nervous. The familiar panic I felt when surrounded by this many people started to build.

“We don’t have to,” she backtracked, and I immediately felt guilty, diffusing my chaotic feelings. If I could convince myself that it wasn’t terrifying, maybe I could manage to let Chase distract me long enough to get through it. Simone always thought it was obnoxious that I was such an introvert, but she later realized it made it easier for her to control me—and my career.

“No, it’s okay,” I assured her, determined to leave my comfort zone. I couldn’t hide away from the world with Chase by my side. “Let’s do it. Want to take a shower with me?”

“Do you really have to ask that question? I’m always up for ogling you naked,” she laughed.

“Ah, so that’s why you keep me around. We both know it’s not my sparkling personality,” I rolled my eyes dramatically.

“Hey, I happen to love your personality. And your dick. But mostly how you don’t realize what a catch you are.”

“I’m glad someone sees more than my awkward staring,” I teased. “Let’s get ready.”

Chase and I showered quickly, surprisingly keeping our hands mostly to ourselves. We took an Uber across town because neither of us felt like dealing with traffic. She gave the address to the driver and cuddled silently against my side in the back seat until he pulled up at the curb.

“Okay, so this place looks like a college hipster spot, but they have amazing breakfast sandwiches,” she explained as we opened the door to the nondescript restaurant.

“Do we need to stop at a thrift store for some ironic fake glasses or a fedora?”

“It’s not that bad,” she sighed.

“I’m out of touch with the youth of today.”

“Alright, Grandpa. You make it sound like you’re eighty.”

“I wasn’t known for my ability to be trendy in college,” I confessed. I was just as awkward back then but hadn’t taken up hiding from it yet.

“I’m sure you broke all kinds of hearts, Mr. Soccer Star,” she cooed as she batted her eyelashes at me.

“Hardly,” I scoffed. “You know Raj from Big Bang Theory?”

“Yes?”

“That was my nickname,” I confessed. It’d been accurate in comparison as well.

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