Page 49 of One Touch

She shrugged, averting my gaze. “Honestly? I’m not really enjoying it at the moment.” She grabbed another towel from the cupboard and wrapped it around herself. “I didn’t know those were there, or I would have covered up sooner. Sorry about that.”

Please don’t apologize.

“What do you mean, you’re not enjoying work?” I asked, concern etched on my features.

Lily let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s just . . . I’m not sure how I feel about romance anymore. Not really sure if I even believe in love.” Her eyes, suddenly dark with desire, fixed on mine. “Lust. I believe in that. Only lust.”

I clenched my jaw. “Who needs love?” I asked, squeezing the soaking-wet filter into the sink. “All it leads to is hurt, anyway.”

“Me and Vlad.”

“Fuck Vlad.”

She looked at me, wide-eyed. “Yeah. Fuck Vlad.”

“Right! Fuck that guy. He was an idiot.”

“Who needs fairytales and happily ever afters?” she said with a shrug.

“They’re just children’s stories.”

“Exactly. And no amount of pooping birds, death-wish deer, and shooting stars can convince me otherwise.”

“Excuse me?”

“My point is, the universe isn’t trying to give me any signs! It’s just doing random stuff that I’m assigning meaning to!”

As she finished the sentence, a spurt of water shot so forcefully out of the tap that it splashed all overmytop now, too.

“Okay,” I said, shocked by the force of the water, “I think I’m going to need to call a plumber.”

But Lily didn’t reply. She was too busy looking at me. I watched her eyes as they traced up my black t-shirt, which was now plastered to my body. Finally, they seemed to get stuck at my lips.

I’d never felt so wanted. It felt like being undressed.

“We should probably take our clothes off,” she said softly.

“To get dry.”

“Mmhmm. To get dry.”

“Not for any other reason, right?”

“Of course not. Why don’t you take your top off, boss?”

Oh, shit. “Boss.” Why did it feel so good to hear her call me that?

“Or I could help you with it?” she suggested.

“Lily,” I said, “I don’t think this is a good idea. I know things got very . . . full-on . . . between us the other night. But I’m still very aware that you’re . . . and I’m. . . .”

“You’re a man and I’m a woman?” asked Lily, smiling mischievously.

“I’m much older than you.”

“Yep.”

“And you’re on the rebound.”

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