Page 70 of One Day

“I would have bribed you with me, but I didn’t think your neighbors would love to hear all about the dirty things I was willing to do to you if you opened the door for me,” she says, her free hand coming up to my chest to push me deeper into the apartment so she can step inside.

“Was?”

Her smile grows. “Still am,” she says, closing the door behind her. “I am even willing to give you this pie if you tell me what happened with your mom.”

A sigh falls from my lips, reluctantly taking the pie from her hands before walking into the kitchen. “How do you know about that?”

“I ran into Flynn at The Roast House.” She presses her hand into the small of my back, wrapping her arms around my waist until her chest is against my back. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly.”

She presses her lips to my shoulder and moves to my side, keeping one hand on my back. “Want to do it anyway?” she asks, her free hand moving to the pie box to keep it closed before I can open it and use it as a distraction. “Cowboy, remember what I said?”

I shuffle and move my hands to her hips, lifting her up onto the kitchen counter. She opens her legs for me to step between and holds her hand out for me to take. When my fingers slip between the gaps of hers, her knees press into my hips. “I don’t think holding my hand is going to make this better.”

She leans forward, her nose brushing mine until her lips are touching mine. Our tangled fingers move behind her, resting on the counter as her tongue touches mine, our bodies melting together. She becomes an extension of me. “How about now?” she asks, whispering as her lips move to my jaw. “Feel a little better?”

“No, I think you should get naked.”

“Anything you want,” she says, squeezing my hands. “After you tell me what happened.”

“She basically hung up on me. I told her I wasn’t coming home for the summer. I told her that I got an internship here in Michigan. I told—”

“You got an internship?”

There’s a pause between us, and pride runs through my veins for the first time since I found out. Seeing the look of excitement in Sonya at my success, it slows me down enough to be excited. “Yeah. Gilmore and Boseman. I haven’t accepted it yet, but they extended the offer this morning.”

“Walker.” She untangles our fingers and moves her hands to my neck. Her thumb traces along my jaw, the darkness knotted in my chest from my conversation with my mom met by her light. “That’s fantastic! Congratulations,” she says, leaning forward to kiss me quickly. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

“She didn’t take it very well?”

“No, she was upset I wasn’t coming home and that I turned down Mr. Richard’s offer for the summer. She especially didn’t love the likelihood of me not coming home ever.”

“She was probably just caught off guard. She loves you, Cowboy. This is just a hiccup in the road. She wants what is best for you.” She rubs slow circles over my skin, curling her fingers into the ends of my hair. “It might just take a second for her to get there.”

“I know,” I say, swallowing as I lean forward and rest my head against her shoulder. “I know. You’re right. I have just never felt so in pieces when it comes to her.”

“I know, but it’s temporary. It’ll be better before you know it, and until then, I’m right here to hold your hand or get naked or whatever you need.”

“The naked part sounds really good right about now.”

She laughs, kissing me quickly. “How about we have a piece of pie, and then we can talk about getting naked. I might even give you a show.”

“A show, huh? What exactly would that entail?”

“Well—” she starts, but before she can get started, there is another knock on the door. My irritation grows deeper when I am forced to pull away from her.

“Hang on, it’s probably just Flynn. She must have forgotten her key,” I say, swaying back from her and taking the few steps needed toward the apartment door. “Flynn, you could not have worse timing,” I say, pulling the door open only to pause at the sight waiting on the opposite side of the door.

“Hi, Peach.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

WALKER

Leave it to my mom to show up completely unannounced after getting into an argument, but that’s on me. I should have known better. We have never gone more than a few hours with tension pulled between us. It’s not in our nature. It’s one thing that has let me exhale, knowing we would never go to bed upset.

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