Page 23 of Virgin Skin

“You’re right. If you’re staying up for a while, do you want to watch a movie or anything?”

“You’re going to think I’m weird, but I can’t do movies. They either put me to sleep or make me super fidgety and obnoxious. I know they’re usually only two hours, but it feels like an eternity. The right TV show I can binge for eight hours straight no problem, but something about movies just doesn’t jive with my weird-ass brain.”

I chuckle. “A TV show works.”

His face lights up. “Cool. I’ve been meaning to watch the last season ofCobra Kaiand just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Are you up for it?” I open my mouth to answer but he cuts me off. “But I should warn you, I might get so hyped watchingCobra Kaithat I karate chop the coffee table right in half.”

I bark out a laugh. “I think I can handle the risk. I’ll cue it up while you put your laundry in your bedroom.”

“And start a pot of coffee?” Milo bats his eyelashes, and I laugh again.

Fuck, that’s dangerous.He’sdangerous, and I wish that made me want to stay away rather than making me desperate to get even closer.

“Sure, I’ll put on a pot of coffee.”

“Thanks.” He shifts on his feet again, balancing the laundry basket against his hip with one arm. He hesitates for just a second, then leans in lightning quick and brushes a kiss to my cheek.

The touch is so brief I could almost convince myself I imagined it if it weren’t for the way my skin stays hot right where his lips touched long after he pulls away and struts down the hallway.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

This is going to be so much harder than I was hoping.

Chapter 9

PISTON

“Dammit,” I mutter asa drop of water hits my forehead. “This is why it’s better to do shit yourself, otherwise you end up paying an arm and a leg for someone to do the most half-assed…” The drips come faster, and I shimmy out of the way before the gush of trapped water comes pouring out. “Should have had a damn bucket too,” I grumble to myself, sitting up to reach for a rag that I’m sure should be around here somewhere.

I startle when I realize I’m not alone in the kitchen. Milo has been living here four days and I haven’t known him to be the quiet type so far. But this morning, he’s sitting at the table without a word, staring intently at his phone with his lips parted and his eyes dancing with amusement.

“How long have you been there?” I ask, noting that he doesn’t even have a coffee mug in front of him yet.

He doesn’t respond right away, his eyes moving across his phone screen with intense focus.

“Hm?” he hums absently without looking up.

I chuckle, finally finding the rag to dry my hands, then tossing it under the sink so I can mop up the mess before I finish what I’m working on.

“Must be something interesting over there.” The teasing has more of an edge to it than I intended. Is he talking to someone? Obviously, someone young and hot like Milo isn’t going to sit around pining after a guy nearly twenty years older forever. He’s new in town, he’s magnetic as hell, if he has an M4M profile, he’s probably getting a dozen matches a day.

My gut clenches even as I try to remind myself that Milo getting out and meeting someone is exactly what I should be hoping for. The sooner he starts dating someone else, the easier it will be to keep my hands off of him. So why does the thought of anyone else evenlookingat him make me want to fly into a fucking rage?

He hums again, finally tearing his eyes away from his phone and looking over at me. “Oh, I didn’t know you were up.”

I laugh again. “Should I be offended that you didn’t notice me sprawled out on the kitchen floor with my head under the sink when you came in?”

He blinks and yawns, looking around the kitchen as if he’s just now realizing he’s sitting at the table.

“Shit, I was seriously hyperfocused. What time is it? Fuck, are we late to work?” His dazed expression is replaced with panic. “I can’t be late on my first day. Not when you all were nice enough to give me a chance and my dad vouched for me even though I tried to warn him that I’m fucking hopeless with keeping a schedule and—”

“We’re not late,” I assure him.

His shoulders sag with relief and he lets out a long breath. “Oh, thank god. I need coffee.” He gets up and shuffles over to the pot to pour himself a cup.

“Something interesting on your phone?” I ask again, managing to sound more casual this time even though I’m still trying not to grind my teeth at the thought of him scheduling a hookup with some pushy asshole only worried about getting himself off.

“Oh, yeah.” He chuckles. “Don’t ask how, but I ended up down this rabbit hole of X-rated fanfic where Gomez and Thing are a couple.”

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