Page 53 of In a Pinch

“I will make it up to you, I swear.” I put my available hand up in promise.

My breathing is labored by the time I drop the last bag on the ground. Sam grunts behind me as he drags the box with my new dresser through the door and drops it down. Unfortunately, the futon was sold out. And Sam really would have had to ride on the roof if I got that. So, it worked out for the best.

Ignoring the perfectly sittable barstools, Sam collapses down and lays on his back.

“A bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Folding my arms across my chest, I roll my eyes at his theatrics.

He brings just his head up to look at me and points to the dresser. “Did you see how heavy that freaking box was? I’m going to need food before you get any more free labor out of me.”

My apartment is littered with random boxes and bags. The clutter is making me feel a bit itchy. Unable to rest, I start unpacking as Sam sucks on air until his breathing evens out.

Before I know it, Sam has the new dresser set up, and I have the new dishes running in the dishwasher. Most importantly, according to Sam, pizza’s on the way.

This went pretty freaking smooth. My restlessness is better now that most things have found a home. I have empty totes stacked in the hallway, leaving a small path to the bathroom. Just a handful of boxes need to be unpacked now, but I have a working kitchen, and I’ll have somewhere to sleep any minute.

The bed delivery and set up was seamless. At least for me. Sam cussed the entire time. I’ll be lucky if he ever wants to hang out with me again. Every thought I have ever had about him not being a stand-up guy has been wrong.

Sitting on my bed, we destroy the pizza in record time. As it turns out, moving builds up quite the appetite. Sam was kind enough to leave me two pieces of pizza, and he ate the entire rest of the pizza.

“Damn, that was impressive,” I say as he licks his fingers clean, the action entirely too arousing for how innocent it is. This manis quickly becoming my weakness. His presence is addicting, and I find myself dreading that he will be leaving soon.

“Well, someone worked me to the ground today and made me skip lunch.”

“But look how much we got done.” My arms spread wide, pointing out just how much progress we made. “I just need to unpack those boxes and I’m pretty much moved in. Now I just need to add some pizzazz.”

“I’m scared to ask what your version of pizzazz is.”

“You’ll see.” I hop off the bed and wash my hands in the kitchen sink.

Sam comes up behind me. His scent fills my space. Goosebumps rise when his arm brushes mine as he reaches for the soap.

His voice shakes my trance. “Ready to finish up?”

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. You’ve done more than enough. Seriously, I’d be screwed if you weren’t here to help.” No part of me wants him to leave, but also, I’ve worked the man to death today and should probably let him off moving duty.

“It’s no problem.” His small, warm smile triggers mine. “It was oddly a very good day.”

Yes. Yes, it was. One of the best I’ve had in a while.

We move to the floor of the bedroom area. The studio space will take some time getting used to, and trying to make it feel like a home and not a dorm room will be a struggle. We each grab a box and open it. I freeze when I realize what box he has. How could I have been so dumb and forgotten about it?

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” His gaze heats and my heart drops out of my ass.

I lunge at him from my spot and try and grab the box, which causes him to fumble it. My battery-operated boyfriend flies out, along with my lingerie stash that hasn't been used in so long thatit’s probably collecting dust. And a box of condoms so old there’s a chance they are expired. And his T-shirt that I stole the other day. Thank God he doesn’t know his scent on that T-shirt sends me over the edge every time I use said toys.

His smile turns devilish when he realizes everything that’s in the box. My whole body is doused with a mix of embarrassment and desire. Seriously, this man’s smile could probably just melt my panties off my body. He wouldn’t even have to use his hands.

“What do we have here?” His eyebrows raise suggestively as he repeats his question, and I struggle to form an answer.

“A box. Of things.” Avoiding his gaze, I look everywhere but at him. Sheepishly, I try to hide my face because it feels so hot that it could probably catch fire.

“This looks like a box of all my favorite things.”

I bite my lip while processing and deciding on how I’m going to play this. I haven’t gotten laid in over a year. I cut myself off from dating after my last boyfriend, swearing I’d hold off until a good one rolled around. By the looks of it, he has arrived and is staring at me like he wants to devour me.

“Never in my life did I think I would see the shy side of you, Shortcake.” He picks up my favorite piece of lingerie: an all-black lace teddy with red stitching under the breast. Seriously, this thing makes me look like I’ve gotten a boob job. “This is hot.”

“You should see it on.”

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