Page 93 of Steamy Ever After

JANE

“What are you watching?”

“One of those ghost hunter shows,” Joe replies, his long body spread out on my couch.

The sun lights up the living room and little flecks of dust float through the air, but all I can stare at is the way the sunshine brings out hints of copper and gold in his eyes.

“Fun,” I say, feigning interest, and drop the laundry basket at my feet. “Have they found any proof or just your run-of-the-mill floorboards creaking?”

“They heard a doll say something, but other than that, it’s a bunch of nothing.”

He stretches, folding an arm behind his head. The sleeve of his dark gray T-shirt strangles his bicep, the cursive writing of his tattoo peeking out enough to entice. I turn my attention back to the laundry and start folding.

We haven’t spoken about last night and the lump lodged in my throat has gotten as big as the elephant sitting in the corner of the room. A sheen of sweat forms on the back of my neck, which I blame on the warm towels and not because the sight of Joe makes my insides melt.

“Joe?” My voice cracks.

“Yeah, hun’,” he replies, keeping his attention on the show.

The lump in my throat gets bigger. The casual way he throws that nickname around blurs the line between him as a roommate and him as more.

“Are we going to talk about last night?”

“What do we need to talk about?”

I purse my lips. “Well, something major happened… and almost happened.”

I’m still annoyed that Gaby interrupted Joe and me last night, but she was beside herself. I’m glad we talked it out, but super irritated because she texted me this morning to inform me and she and Zach were back together. So, she made me miss out on what would have likely been spectacular sex for nothing.

Joe remains silent, so I go on. “And we said we’d take a rain check, so I figured we should?—”

“Actually, you said rain check. Not me.”

My chin drops into my chest. “Oh, right. That’s true, I guess.”

Amused, he smiles, then glances over his shoulder, one eyebrow lifted. “Janey? Do you want to ask me something?”

I shrug, avoiding his heated stare. “I thought that maybe we would… Do you still want to sleep with me, Joe?”

“I thought you wanted me to fuck you,” he replies dryly.

“Ha-Ha. I guess you have no interest in doing it anymore,” I state.

“Did I say that?”

“No, but you’re not saying anything.”

“Jane, I would gladly sleep with you. Or fuck you. Or eat that pretty little pussy. Name the time and place.”

“You know what? Forget I brought it up.”

“If you say so.” He turns back to the show, dropping his hands onto his flat stomach.

Without his warm honey gaze on me, I have no trouble finding my words. “I thought what we were doing was…”

“Was what? What exactly were we doing?”

“I think you know what I’m saying.”

---