Page 30 of Still Love You

He's taking this flirting up a notch. Time to give it right back.

I slip my hands under his shirt, along his abs, and give him a flirtatious smile. "So, what should we do while we wait?"

He chuckles. "I know what you're doing."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's not going to work." He grasps me around the waist. "It'll just make me do this all the more."

"Do what?"

He leans down and kisses me. A bold, assertive kiss. A kiss that buckles my knees and leaves me breathless. Then he pulls away, waits a moment, then says, "Would you like me to take the shirt off? It seems to be in your way."

I look down and see my hands are now halfway up his shirt, my fingers splayed out over his chest. I quickly yank them away.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"No problem." That smug grin appears again. "Maybe we should eat out back. Otherwise it'll smell like pizza in here for a week. Doesn't make for the greatest atmosphere."

"Why do you care about the atmosphere? Are you having people over?"

"Just one." He kisses my cheek, then takes my hand, tugging me out of his room and down the hall.

"You're being very strange."

"Good. I'd hate to be normal. Normal is boring."

I like this new Silas even better than old one, and that's saying a lot because I really liked the old one. But the new one is way more assertive, in a good way. A sexy way.

He grabs a couple sodas from the fridge. His mom lets him have soda. My mom refuses to buy it.

"Right this way." He holds the door open for me and we go in the back yard. It's a small yard but has trees and bushes around the perimeter, giving it privacy.

"You have a fire pit? When did you get that?"

"They got it last year sometime. Martin surprised my mom with it. She always wanted one."

"Can we light it later tonight?" As soon as I say it, I realize I just told him I'd be sticking around after dinner. I assumed he knew that, but maybe not. "Unless you have somewhere you need to be."

"We'll light it after dinner." He hands me my soda and I sit down on one of the patio chairs. He sits beside me and laces his hand with mine, looking out at the yard. "I need to move. I shouldn't still be living with my parents."

"Where would you go?"

"That's the thing. I checked rent prices and they're ridiculous. Even if I got a roommate, it'd still be too much."

"It's not that bad living here."

"I know. I'd just like more privacy."

Why does he need privacy? Is he planning to bring girls here? Or is he referring to us needing privacy?

When we were dating, his mom almost walked in on us doing it. We didn't hear her come home, but luckily we heard her walking up the stairs and stopped what we were doing before she got to his room. At least his parents' bedroom is on the main floor so he has some privacy being the only one upstairs.

Our pizza arrives, and after we eat, he lights the fire pit and we sit around it and talk until almost midnight. Then he walks me home.

"I had fun tonight," I say as I stand outside the door.

"Can you come over tomorrow? I'll probably be done with work around seven."

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