Page 39 of Come Fly with Me

“Of course,” I say, laughing. “Best way to pick up girls,” I add, squeezing her shoulder. “But in any case, not everyone was considerate of their fellow dorm occupants when they came home blind drunk.”

“Hang on, that wasn’t you, was it?”

I finish the rest of my ice cream. “Me?” I ask in mock offense, a hand on my chest. “No, of course not. I was a very considerate and respectful drunk.”

Taylor chuckles. “Right,” she mutters.

“In any case, those who did come home, blind drunk and banging on doors, waking up everyone, tended to eventually pass out in their rooms, unaware of what they’d done or what was coming for them,” I say. “Which is why we used to grab the big rubbish bins on campus, wheel them into the dorm before filling them with water.” I glance down at Taylor, watching as she licks her fingers having finished her own ice cream.

I have a sudden urge to pull those fingers into my mouth, suck them clean before moving onto her mouth, her neck, her whole fucking body. God fuck, this woman drives me crazy, and I swear as she looks up at me, the want I have for her is written all over my face.

“What did you do with them?” she asks, our gazes locked.

I swallow hard as I smile. “Then we’d lean the bin against their closed bedroom door and go back to bed.”

Taylor’s brow narrows before it sinks in what happens next. “So when they woke up the next day, they’d get a load of water gushing into their room when they opened the door?”

“Yep,” I reply, chuckling. “Was a great payback, especially as they were super hungover.”

Taylor laughs and shakes her head at me.

Eventually, we turn around and head back toward our cars, both of us now sober enough to drive home. I walk her to hers, wait as she unlocks and opens the driver’s door before turning to face me.

“Text me when you get home,” I say, stepping closer. “So I know you got there safely.”

“I will,” she whispers, staring up at me.

“And thank you for today,” I say, closing the gap between us as I reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear. “It was a lot of fun.”

“Thank you for the ice cream and…” she whispers, just as I brush my thumb along her bottom lip, silencing the rest of her words.

Leaning in, I put my mouth to her ear. “I very much enjoyed watching you eat that ice cream,” I whisper, smiling as I hear her breath catch. I put my lips to the corner of her jaw, pressing the softest of kisses there before I move my mouth so it’s only inches from hers.

“I’d like to cover you in ice cream one day,” I say, my eyes on her mouth. “And then lick it off your entire body.”

Taylor groans and without thinking anymore, I close the gap, lowering my mouth to hers so I can finally have a taste. Her lips are incredibly soft against mine, parting ever so slightly as I brush my mouth against hers, forcing myself to take it slow, to not push it any further than this.

“Good night, Taylor,” I whisper as I pull back. “I’ll see you soon,” I add, smiling as I turn her toward her car.

I step back, watch as she gets in and fumbles with her seat belt before finally getting it on and the car started. She reverses out of the car park and it’s not until her taillights disappear from view that I turn and head back to my own car, my whole body humming with what just happened. With everything that I’ve now just realized.

I am totally head over heels crazy for this woman.

Thirteen

Taylor

I’m a complete mess as I drive away, my heart racing, my mind a foggy haze of replaying what it felt like to have Jake brush his lips against mine. It wasn’t even a kiss, but something about it was far hotter than the random hook ups I’ve come to know.

A person blasts their horn at me as I pull out of the parking lot, startling me back to the present. I almost feel like I need to pull over to put myself back together, but instead, I grab my phone and call Carrie.

“Please tell me you’re calling to describe what Jake’s body looks like naked,” she says, her greeting making me laugh.

“No, but he did sorta kiss me.”

“What do you mean he sorta kissed you? That sounds…”

“Weird,” I respond, finishing her sentence. And while I’m still reeling from the sorta kiss, I’m also questioning what the hell I’m doing. The last time I got involved with someone from work beyond just casually, it ended in a messy divorce.

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