Page 40 of Resisting the Grump

He took two quick steps back over to the counter, swept my hand into the air, and kissed the back of it, his thick head of dark hair bowing dramatically before he lifted his gaze again. “It’s a promise.”

My insides clenched as he searched my eyes, probing depths I didn’t mean to show him. And something told me our next date would be no different. Because I was putty in this guy’s hands, and he seemed to know exactly how unprepared I was to resist him.

I stared at the door after he left until Grace’s presence interrupted my trace. “Whoa.”

“I’m so fucked.”

“It looks that way, yeah.”

“Do you see what I mean now?” I asked, turning towards her. “Do you see why I had to go out with him?”

“I know I gave you a hard time before, but I think you were right to make an exception in his case.”

“I think he’s really into me.”

“Into you?” Grace leaned back. “He could barely keep his hands to himself just then, and his eyes…”

“What?”

“You better be careful, Avery. He just looked at you like he not only wants to hook up with you, but like he wants to ruin other men for you.”

I sighed. “I think he already has.”

T W E N T YT W O

- Oliver -

I didn’t mean to open the package. I was on the phone with Mac, sharing my big idea, when the box came, and I wasn’t paying attention. But when I saw the contents of the box, arranged artfully atop pink tissue paper, I was no longer listening to Mac.

I flipped the lid over. “Elaine Seinfeld?”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing, sorry. Go on.” Number Seven’s name was Elaine Seinfeld? Seemed odd. The lube, on the other hand, looked… berry intriguing.

“Who should I take the idea to first?” Mac asked.

I pinched the lacy, black negligee between my fingers and lifted it from the box, revealing a pair of matching panties so skimpy my brain short-circuited. Was my dick hard from Mac biting on my business idea or from opening someone else’s smut mail? Could I go to jail for this? No. Enough. I put the kinky items back in the box. “I have to go,” I said, wondering if the leash had been a good present after all.

I set the phone down, unworried about leaving Mac’s question hanging in the air, least of all because answering it was his job, not mine. Then I stood back, stared at the box, and tried not to picture Avery in the lingerie. But I couldn’t help myself. She was the hottest woman I knew, and it was obvious that my mind would settle for any excuse to think about her.

I needed to tell her I lived in this building.

Also, I needed to make amends with my annoying neighbor pronto because shit just got awkward, and I wasn’t having fun anymore.

…Not that there wasn’t fun to be had.

I imagined renting a UPS costume, complete with tight, bunching shorts, and showing up on her doorstep to reveal I had her package the whole time. Except the fantasy wasn’t enticing if I imagined anyone besides Avery opening the door, which didn’t shed any light on what I was supposed to do with this stuff.

Would Elaine want me to apologize? Or would she rather I reseal the contents and redeliver it discreetly. My gut told me the latter, but I’d invaded her privacy so brazenly it seemed unfair to get off so lightly. Then I Googled “Elaine Seinfeld” and realized it was probably a pseudonym, and I likely hadn’t invaded her privacy at all.

I sighed. What to do, what to do.

My phone pinged, and to my surprise, it wasn’t Mac having a fit.

“How do you keep in such great shape?”

I smiled at Avery’s text. We’d been messaging each other at regular intervals. The perfect amount. I was falling for her fast, counting down the minutes till I’d get to see her tattoos up close, and she was getting closer to seeing how talented my tongue truly was.

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