Page 28 of Sack

And promptly choked on a snow pea.

“Are you okay?” She slid closer and started pounding on his back.

Coughing, Colt reached for his water and swallowed everything down. Gaining his breath, he waved Ivy off. “What?”

Scooting back to her plate, she picked up her fork and speared a piece of broccoli. “I think we should have sex.” She bit off the floret then added the stem to the pile of other discarded stems that already filled the side of her plate.

He watched her chew, completely speechless.

She swallowed. “What do you think?”

He opened his mouth and willed words to come out. “You’re telling me this now, in a Chinese restaurant?”

She shrugged, forking up another bite. “I just decided.”

He watched her chew, still not knowing what to say. She’d thrown him for a loop.

Setting her fork down, she turned on the bench seat toward him, hiking up a leg to get comfortable. “I’ve been thinking about the kiss.”

He gave himself a mental high-five. Shehadbeen thinking about it.

“I know you said you wanted a platonic association, but, and hear me out before you say anything.”

No problems there. He was still trying to find words.

“You say the reason for that is because you want to keep your focus on football and relationships can get… complicated. I think we both can agree we’re attracted to each other—that kiss alone proved it. And that, in and of itself, can be a distraction. If it’s just sex, we can scratch that itch without the messy feelings that go along with a traditional relationship.”

Their kisswasdistracting. The proof being the fact that it’s been all he’s thought about since it happened.

“There would need to be rules.” Was he actually contemplating no-strings sex with Ivy? Hell yeah, he was.

“I agree. There needs to be boundaries.”

“No. Well, yes, that too, but I was thinking more in line with exclusiveness. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like sharing. I want to make it clear that while we’re having sex, neither of us has sex with anyone else.”

“No need to worry about that.” She waved a hand. “I’m not having sex with anyone else at the moment.”

His jaw locked. How could he love her honesty yet hate it at the same time?

“Okay, so rule number one is we’re exclusive friends with benefits.” She took a sip of her water and set the glass back down on the table.

“And rule number two is we don’t call it that.”

“Fuck buddies?”

“No.”

“It really needs a name.”

“No. It doesn’t.”

“Oh, I get it. If we don’t label it, it’s not a thing.” She nodded, smiling as if she discovered the meaning of life.

That’s not what he meant, but he didn’t bother to correct her. His ego had taken enough of a beating for one day. Any more of her nonchalant attitude might do him in.

He moved on. “Rule number three—”

“I think it would technically be rule number two as your rule number two wasn’t technically a rule.”

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