Page 49 of The Story We Wrote

I was unable to take my eyes away from the flowers when I said, “You know how to treat a woman, Boone.” I meant that and I wanted him to know it too. He was doing everything right, any woman would be lucky to have him. Deep down, I wished I could have him all to myself. But, I knew this was coming to an end. We shared our last date, but neither one of us brought it up. Boone was free to do whatever and whoever he wanted, and that made me sad.

“Good?” he asked.

“Amazing,” I muttered. When I looked up, I swore I saw him smile to himself. I wanted to know what he was thinking and where his head was after last night. Right now, I’d do anything to stop this from ending. Curiosity got the best of me, so I asked, “How are you feeling after yesterday?”

Boone paused, placing the brown bag on the counter before saying, “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

My stomach dropped, that wasn’t what I expected him to say. “Me too, but you go first!” I wasn’t going to tell him how much I thought about it today or the fact I wanted to do it over and over again, especially if he was going to reject me. That’s why he brought the flowers, to butter me up and let me down!

“Last night was amazing,” Boone said, crossing his arms over his chest. My shock was very clearly written all over my face. “I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Everything, not just the sex.”

“Me neither,” I said, playing with one of the petals on the flowers. Hearing him say he felt the same way was reassuring.

Boone pushed from the counter and got in my space, standing toe to toe with me. I looked up from the petals and into his blue eyes.

I think I was falling for this man and falling hard. The thought of allowing myself to be with Boone was crazy. If you asked me years ago if I’d be falling in love with Boone Cassidy, I would’ve laughed.

With him standing here, telling me he hasn’t stopped thinking about our night together gives me the courage to share my feelings too. “I don’t know what to do about it. When we made this deal, I promised myself I wouldn’t let my guard down. I can’t tell if it’s lust or what, but I don’t want whatever this is to ruin our friendship.”

Boone took the flowers from my hands and placed them on the counter. “What if we changed our deal? What if wego on another date, or maybe two, and blame it on needing inspiration?” He had a good point, could I trick my mind into believing this was all under the disguise of my writing career? If I agreed, it would mean more moments alone with Boone outside of the porch swing. It could mean more sex, you know, for research. I wasn’t a scientific girl, but for the sake of my libido, I would definitely participate. There was nothing wrong with being friends who had sex. I was a grown woman and could keep my emotions out of it.

Putting my hands on my hips, I nodded, “On one condition.”

“I don’t think rules work well for us, Darling,” Boone said, giving me a cheeky grin.

“I get to see you shirtless whenever I want,” I said, winking at him.

Boone laughed out loud, his head tipping back exposing his neck. The same neck I kissed, licked, and sucked just last night. Suddenly, I had the urge to leave my mark. “That’s a rule I think I can follow,” he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder to escort me out the barn-style doors.

“Wait!” I squealed. “My flowers.” I spun away from his grip and jogged over to the counter, grabbing the flowers, Boone’s muffin, and the rest of my belongings.

Boone sucked in through his teeth and said, “Whoops, I was too focused on the ‘take your shirt off’ part.”

Of course, he was. I felt like, when given the chance, Boone Cassidy would show off those rock-hard abs. I resumed my position under his arm and we both walked back to the cabin.

“Did you want to come over for dinner?” I asked, hoping he would say yes. However, my refrigerator was not prepared to offer him a cooked meal. The only thing I could do was probably pasta and some garlic bread, that is, if my loaf wasn’t moldy. I don’t ever market myself as the “wife” type because I can’t cook to save my life.

Boone and I stopped directly in the middle of both our cabins, he spun to face me and placed both hands on my shoulders. “Let me go get cleaned up. I doubt you want to spend any more time with me while I smell like this.” Oh, how wrong he was, that just added to the appeal. The light dirt smudged on his face, the messy mullet, I would climb him like a tree just the way he was. However, I nodded, shooing him away.

“Go get cleaned up, Cowboy.” Spinning around I raced up my stairs and inside the cabin. I had to make my bed and clean up before he came over. My place was trashed, and I couldn’t let Boone see it like that.

Doing a speed clean, I quickly put my bed back together because morning Aspen wasnotawake enough for that. My dirty clothes were put where they belonged, in the hamper, and I made sure to quickly light a candle in the bedroom. Ironically, it was one of the candles Boone had bought at the farmers market.

I walked to the bedroom window and pushed open the curtain, hoping to let in a little more light so it looked less like a cave and more inviting. I forgot why I kept this curtain closed all the time. I was quickly reminded when I saw right into Boone’s cabin.

To be fair, the curtain was closed when I moved in. I never had the urge to open it until now. Not only could I see into his house, but it faced directly into his bedroom. I stood, unable to look away because Boone was already in his bedroom with a gray towel around his waist. My brain forgot how to blink and breathe at the sight of his damp and dripping skin. His hair was still wet and messy like he’d just dried it with a towel.

There was something about a man fresh out of the shower that was as alluring as a man filthy from hard work. I wasn’t going to let him know this little secret. Boone turned away from the window, dropping the towel and I had a full view of his ass,what an amazing ass it was. I watched him step into his boxers and turn towards me, adjusting himself.

My skin got hot and prickly, I brought my hand to my throat. The motion brought me flashbacks from last night when he pinned me down with his hands wrapped around my neck. I was wet, not from sweat, from something entirely different. What did having sex with Boone do to me?

Before last night, I had gone months without sex and didn’t even think twice about it. Now, I felt like a fish out of water, gasping for air. I needed to take myself away from this damn window.

I walked into my kitchen, pulling a pot from my cabinet. Cooking would get my mind off of what I just saw.

After filling the pot with water, I placed it on the stove to start the boil. While the water was warming up, I took the flowers Boone brought me and laid them out on my table. I took stem by stem and cut the ends to make them short enough to fit in my vase. The pretty colors looked so good together and I was able to create a beautiful display to put on my little desk. In the far corner of my living room, I set up my writing space.

I bought the piece of furniture a while ago from a second-hand store. When it was in my apartment it just held my junk and things I didn’t know what to do with. Now, I was finally putting it to use.

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