I didn’t know what to say. I always want to kiss you, too? That was the truth. But it wasn’t the whole truth. The whole truth was that I wanted so much more than someone sexy to kiss. Maybe for the first time in my life. And admitting that felt scary. But what terrified me even more was that, deep down, I sincerely hoped Oliver would turn out to be both the sexy someone and the more I was looking for.
He might not be perfect, but I couldn’t imagine him ever taking me for granted or becoming less interesting to me. His writing was gripping. The ease with which he won people over was masterful, myself included. And the bottom line was that I liked being around him. Kissing him. Pleasuring him. Letting him treat me.
So what if he broke my heart? Better a spent heart than a safe one.
Except I didn’t know if I really believed that. All I knew was that there would be no peace in my life as long as I pretended I was cool with being “just neighbors.” Maybe if I’d never discovered how good we were together, ignorance could’ve been bliss. But it was far too late for that. The way his hard body looked in boxers had been burned to the back of my eyelids and distracted me with every blink.
“You staying up for a while?” I asked finally.
“Probably,” he said. “Still have some cleanup to do in the kitchen, and I have to write in my diary about what a wonderful night we had.”
I should’ve insisted on helping him clean up. Then again, I’d been wearing my peacocking shoes, which could barely support my weight, much less the weight of me and a plate. “What are you going to write?”
“Probably a list of all the things I would’ve done to you if you’d decided to stay.”
Decided to stay?! He’s the one who sent me packing with a goody bag. Speaking of which… I put the lobster salad in the fridge and sealed the fresh rolls in a ziplock bag. Then I went to change out of my dress into something more comfortable. Normally, I’d pull some sleep shorts from my pajama drawer on autopilot, but when I slid it open, the first item that caught my eye was the neglected negligee. I held it up by the thin straps, wishing it was a souvenir from a sexy night well spent instead of a symbol of… My phone pinged.
“All the indecent, filthy things.”
My insides fired. Why was he telling me this now?! Oh right. Because he knew I was trying to make a point, and he was determined to make it hard for me. The question was, how hard?
“I even set aside some extra whipped cream and chocolate sauce for the occasion.”
I bit my lip, wondering if I should tell him to warm it up. Give him the punishment he wanted instead of the one he deserved.
Instead, I answered him by showing up at his door in a silk robe two minutes later.
“What a nice surprise,” he said, like he wasn’t surprised at all.
I let the robe fall open, revealing the naughty negligee he never got to spend the night with. “Let’s try this again…”
T H I R T YE I G H T
- Oliver -
The last thing I expected to see was Avery rocking that negligee on my doorstep, but I wasn’t about to pinch myself. I stepped back and gestured for her to come in, checking her out shamelessly as she stepped inside.
“You forgot to give me the tour,” she said, like she was wearing street clothes instead of sexy lingerie that made me forget everything but my burning loins.
“My sincerest apologies,” I said. “There’s no excuse for such negligence.” I pointed towards the bathroom door. “You saw the half bath already, right?”
“I did.”
I walked further into the apartment and extended a palm to my right. “And the kitchen?”
She studied the space, as if she needed to refresh her memory. “Also known as Batman’s lair.”
“I like a dark kitchen,” I said with a shrug. “How about the sitting room?” I asked, leaning an elbow on top of my leather recliner. “I think you’ll find it’s suitable for all your sitting needs.”
She looked at me out of the corner of her eye like she was almost done playing along. “It’s lovely.”
“I’ll tell my friends at Wayfair they did a good job,” I said. “Though I get to take credit for the cat tree and the Peloton.”
Her eyes traveled up the cat tree until they reached the platform Simba was lounging on.
“Well, that’s everything,” I joked. “Unless you have any questions.”
“No bedroom then?”