Page 52 of Clueless Romeo

"Son of a bitch," I whisper-hissed. A familiar black SUV was parked along the curb as an older version of Caleb and me smoothed down a crisp white designer dress shirt as he spoke on the phone. I groaned, not remotely in the mood to deal with my father this early in the day. Not to mention I'd have to explain why I wasn't home. "Thanks for the heads-up, pops."

Cursing again and again, I scrambled around, snatching my wrinkled clothes off the floor and tugging them on as fast as possible. I didn't need anyone to figure out I was doing the walk of shame from my neighbor's apartment. I was sure I could come up with some excuse, but I'd have to think on the fly, and my brain was still foggy with sleep.

The bathroom door opened as I shoved my feet into my shoes, and Roman walked out with a navy-blue towel wrapped low around his waist while he ran another over his wet golden strands. My heart thumped an extra beat at the sight of his dewy skin and the crooked smile he cast me. "You making a run for it?"

I scoffed as I stood. "Yes, but not to escape you. My dad's here, and of course, he didn't feel the need to mention he'd be coming by." I scanned the room for my keys, spotting them on Roman's black dresser. "Can I go out the back door?"

"Don't want to introduce me to your dad, CJ?" Roman smirked as I scooped up my keys and phone.

I snorted, but I was surprised by the question, joking or not. "Maybe when you don't look like you just got out of the shower, and I look a little less…"

"Fucked?" he offered with a waggle of his brows, and I glared.

"Yes. Exactly that."

"I happen to think you look perfect that way." He strolled forward, leaning in to place a quick kiss on my lips.

My willpower was weak at best when it came to him, but when I tried to deepen the kiss, he chuckled and pulled away.

I scowled, and he shot me a wink. "Wouldn't want to make it worse now, would we?"

He had a point, but that didn't mean I had to like it. "You're an asshole, you know that, right?"

Roman chuckled as he walked to his closet. Glancing over his shoulder, he scanned me head to toe. "Believe me, if we had time, I'd have zero issues sliding back inside your tight—"

"That is not helping," I snapped, cutting him off before I had to explain a hard cock as well.

His grin broadened, cocky bastard. And he had reason to be. He slid a pair of jeans off the hanger and dropped the towel. My gaze dipped to the semi, begging me to stay right there with Roman. Who cared if my dad had questions?

"I have to go," I croaked out before I could sink headfirst into the temptation.

Roman's teeth sank into his lip before he shook his head. "You better go fast before I do everything I can to convince you to stay. Then we'd both be in trouble when I don't show up to work."

It wouldn't take much to talk me into staying, but he was right. "The back?" I asked again.

"Sure, go ahead. I'll be down there to lock up in a minute." Roman paused and then took long strides toward me, surprising me with a gentler kiss than before. A sweet press of his lips sent warm gooey stupidity to my heart. He pulled back, a softer glint in his eyes as he whispered, "You better go."

Though I really didn't want to, I forced my feet into motion, speeding up once I hit the stairwell. Taking the steps two at a time, I sprinted for the back door. Once out on the back porch, I paused. I had no idea if anyone would be downstairs to witness my entrance and question why I was coming in the back door when my Jeep was parked out front. The other option was circling to the front where my dad would see me, and that was worse.

I hesitated, glancing around. Roman's lifted black truck was parked feet from the porch. A truck he never seemed to drive, opting to walk instead. I found it odd that it was an older model with more than a few dings to the body. When I'd met him, I figured he'd drive some sleek sports car or something.

I was stalling.Shit. Heavy knocks were already coming from the front door, so I eased the backdoor open and stepped lightly inside, breathing a sigh of relief when I didn't spot Caleb.

Closing the door softly, I felt like I was still in high school with all the sneaking around, but I wasn't ready to tell anyone about Roman. I wasn't sure Roman wouldeverbe ready to tell anyone about me. I'd have to think about everything later when I wasn't about to face my overbearing father.

I rushed through the shop, finger-combing my hair to the best of my ability. Instead of ogling Roman, I should have glanced in a damn mirror. At least I'd showered the night before and could still smell his soap on my skin even if he'd messed it up during the middle of the night.

My dad was staring through the glass, so I didn't have time to compose myself further before opening the door.

A smile tilted his lips as he spared me a quick glance before scanning over the space, pausing on each fixture and display of sports team apparel and accessories.

I hid my annoyance at the unannounced visit. "Hey, Dad."

He appeared to approve of how I had set up the shop, and when he looked at me, pride shone in his gaze. "Good morning, CJ. Where's Caleb."

The Jeep was out front, so Caleb was probably upstairs, but I erred on the side of caution, ignoring the question completely.

"I wasn't expecting you today," I said as I stepped aside and let him inside.

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