Page 26 of Mark my Words

“Sup,” Taylor nodded as I headed to the fridge, hoping they hadn’t cleared out the groceries again.

“Hey, how late were you guys out last night?” I asked as I started pulling out ingredients for omelets.

“Not late enough to avoid the ‘Oh, yes! Harder, Sam!’ coming from your bedroom,” Caleb laughed, lifting his beer bottle and tipping it in my direction with a wink.

Shit.

“Who you got in there?” Taylor teased as he wiggled his eyebrows and nodded toward my bedroom door.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I deflected as I reached under the sink to pull out the cutting board.

Of course, Kristine decided to take advantage of my offer, and the shower turned on at that moment, sending my roommates into fits of hysterical laughter.

“Yeah, right. Who is she? Some random hottie from the bar last night?”

You could say that. She had looked hot last night. But Kristine was far from random.

“Don’t be dicks.”

“We’ll leave the dicking to you,” Caleb tittered as he killed his bottle and reached into the cooler between their seats to twist open a new one. My roommates were so immature sometimes. Both were super smart, working in computer programming and information technology systems, but they were having trouble letting go of their teens and realizing that we were adults.

“Do not say anything if she comes out here,” I warned, pointing the knife I’d been using to chop an onion in their direction. “I will end you two.”

“Geez, dude. You must like this one,” Taylor laughed as he mimed cracking a whip in the air.

“I...” wasn’t even sure how to answer that. I did like Kristine much more than I should, but this wouldn’t turn into a relationship or anything. She’d been adamant that last night was it, and with her reaction this morning, I wasn’t expecting any repeat performances. It didn’t matter that I now had a highlight reel from last night to fuel my imagination. So many things we didn’t do kept scrolling through my mind.

“Shit.” Caleb looked at me with wide eyes, taking in my expression. “You DO like this one. Who is she?”

“No, no.” My head shook as my eyes darted to my room, where the shower had turned off. “It’s not like that. I work with her. Please don’t be jerks about this. She’ll castrate me if you embarrass her.”

“Damn, who knew Mr. Aloof Professional had it in him to hit the office dating pool.”

They both knew that I refused to date within my office. We’d run into coworkers at bars before, and they knew I was not likely to hook up with someone and make it awkward, which was what my dumb ass had decided to do last night. But Kristine wasn’t just some random assistant or intern. I’d thought we were becoming more friendly toward each other, but then I hadn’t been able to keep my hands or mouth off her last night, the sexual tension that’d been building as we edited Evan’s book finally reaching a boiling point. We’d both been helpless to resist it anymore.

“She’s a friend, I guess.” I wasn’t sure what we were anymore. “I’m begging you, don’t say anything to her. She’s...”

“I’m...?”

My eyes flashed with panic, sending my roommates into giggles as I twisted to look back at my door. Kristine’s hair—loose, damp curls—fell around her freshly washed face. The shorts I’d given her were rolled up at the waist, showing off her long, toned legs, the compression tank tied in a knot, hanging slightly over her shoulders, and revealing a sliver of her abdomen. Last night she’d looked fucking hot, but now...

I was in so much trouble.

“Well, hey there.” Taylor grinned as he sat upright in his chair, threw his controller toward the coffee table, and combed his hair back from his forehead.

“Hey.” Kristine looked toward me nervously, that rare vulnerability showing through her eyes, and then slightly waved in their direction.

“I’m making breakfast,” I jerked my head back toward the ingredients I’d prepped on the cutting board, trying not to scare her off.

“I see that,” she said with a smile as she looked down and tucked her damp hair behind her ear. When she looked back up, my breath caught at the soft smile aimed in my direction. The shower had reset her from her earlier panic mode. Part of me was glad she wasn’t putting the walls back up, but the other part was entirely out of its depth.

“You can sit at the table until it’s ready,” I offered as I glanced toward my roommates. They’d both turned their chairs to watch, Taylor’s chin propped on his hands. I caught him admiring Kristine’s legs and glared at him. He glanced up and cringed as he shifted in his chair, turning back around and smacking Caleb in the arm as he put his headset back on.

“I can...uh. Can I help?” She shifted awkwardly, biting her lip as she glanced up from beneath her eyelashes.

“Sure.”

This interaction should be interesting.

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