Page 58 of Make It Without You

“Thank you,Lana Del Rey.” Adam holds his hands in prayer pose as he looks up to the ceiling and I can’t stop the small laugh that escapes.

“You’re such a goof. Then it would beKendrick Lamar,Hozier,Miley Cyrus, andFlorence & the Machine. But I’m not too picky. As long as a song hooks me I’ll obsess over it for weeks until a new song comes along. And repeat the obsessive process all over again.”

“Solid choices, Ms. Bailey. Breakfast is done. Where should we sit?”

I have a couple of options: the balcony that has a small table or my dining table that can easily seat six.

“Let’s do the dining table.”

Adam makes his way to the table as I reach into my refrigerator to pull out the bottle of syrup and some napkins.

I join him at the table and sit caddy-corner to him for maximum closeness without sitting on top of him. Although I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.

Taking a bite of my pancakes, I let out a moan that should only be heard in the bedroom. “Holy shit these are good.” I see Adam shift in his seat and I hide a smirk that my moan affected him. “Are you okay?”

He clears his throat. “Mm-hmm. So I see you like them?” Adams asks as he shovels food into his mouth.

“Mm-hmm,” I respond in the same way and shovel more pancakes into my mouth.

We eat in comfortable silence with only the sound of our forks on our plates and The National crooning in the background. When my plate is clear, I push it to the middle of the table and sit back on my chair. Adam mirrors my position.

“That was good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. So you mentioned your birthday a while back. How old did you turn? If you don’t mind my asking.”

“I turned twenty-seven,” I state proudly.

Adam lets out a whistle of surprise.

“What?” I ask with a small laugh.

“I knew you were young. But I didn’t think you were that young.”

“And you’re so old and wise?” I joke as I get up to take our plates to the sink. Turning the faucet on, I rinse off the sticky residue of syrup and pop the plates in the dishwasher. Adam joins me in the kitchen and places the syrup back in the fridge.

Wiping my hands off on a dish towel, I turn and mirror his stance.

“As a matter of fact, I am old and wise.” He stalks closer to me, causing my heart rate to amp up.

I steady my breath. “Just how old are you?”

“Thirty-eight.”

Our sock-covered toes are inches from touching as Adam stops in front of me. My chest heaves like I ran a marathon as he cages me in. His scent, mixing with the syrup from breakfast, is a heady sensation. His warmth cocoons me as I rest my hands on the waist of his jeans.

“You can let me know how forty is.”

Adam

Ibarely let the final word pass through her lips before mine descended on hers and I’m swallowing her gasp. I’ve been wanting to kiss her again since I walked through the door. But I needed to play it cool and tread carefully. Emily is like a skittish cat that warms up to you until a loud noise causes her to retreat.

The pressure of her hands on my waist gets more noticeable as she pulls my body into hers. My hand snakes up and tangles in her hair, angling her head as I deepen the kiss.

Her tongue teases the seam of my lips, surprising me and I let her in. The moment our tongues touch it’s like a fire has licked up the back of my neck. She rises to the tips of her toes and wraps her arms around my neck, fusing our bodies together.

I roam my hands down her body and pick her up by her toned thighs.

“Couch,” Emily pants out before diving in for another kiss.

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