Page 27 of Beneath Southern Stars

Her response isn’t what I expect, and I lean back, searching her eyes for an explanation. “My real name. Laney is a nickname. Not nearly as cool as Pepper but my full name is Langston Ann.My gran called me Laney Ann my whole life. You may hear it when you’re in town.”

“Langston,” I say, the name rolling off my tongue with ease. It fits her but so does Laney. Kind of like two sides of one woman.

“Well, I’d like to get to know both Langston Ann and Laney Ann. If I’ve learned anything in the last year, it’s that life is too short. I never understood that expression as much as I do today. Tomorrow isn’t promised and I won’t let something that could be special pass me by. It’s not just me, Pepper is part of the package, but the way she is when you’re around, it brings out the part of her that’s been missing.”

Laney shifts on my lap, making me groan. It’s been a long time since a woman has been this close to me. My focus has been elsewhere, and I’ve never been one for casual hookups. Having this beautiful woman on my lap, her heat pressed against me, the need to feel more of her builds.

I lean forward, pulling her lips to mine. It’s a soft kiss, one to remind her of our connection. The way we fit together perfectly the other night. How real our shared connection is. Her hands cup my face and then slide around my neck, her elbows resting on my shoulders as she controls the kiss. My hands settle on her backside, lifting her slightly and settling her closer but still with too much space between us. Laney slips her glasses to the top of her head and with more force, pulls me to her.

Soft mewls from deep in her throat light a fire inside me. It’s been so long since any desire built this quickly. I feel a teenager again, needing to touch and rub. Pulling her against me, her hips rotating slightly, a moan escapes as I move my lips to her neck. I tug the sweater down more, my tongue following her clavicle.

“Ryan,” she moans as my lips climb back to a spot on her neck right below her ear. Her breath hitches and she melts intome, hips shifting again. I can tell she’s close, a climax building inside her.

“Fuck, Laney.” My hands slide under her sweater, the softness of her skin a tease of what I know is beneath her leggings. She continues to move, chasing what I know she needs. “That’s it, baby. Are you going to come?”

Her words are mumbled as she gasps, her head dropping to my shoulder.

“Ohmygod. What just happened?”

I chuckle and pull her close to me. “Do I need to spell it out?”

The glare I’m given is enough to remind me to shut my trap. Still, a smirk isn’t something I can easily hide.

“Do not get embarrassed. This was not what I planned when I asked you over. This is a pleasant change of events, and I have no regrets.”

Laney looks down between us then looks up, eyebrow raised.

“Nope. No regrets. I would like to spend more time with you. I’d really like to take you out on a date but with Pepper, I don’t have anyone?—”

“Honey will watch her. They have a whole fist bump thing between them.”

That blush is back on her cheeks, and I lean forward to kiss her. Mostly because I can.

Chapter Seventeen

Laney

“You did not!”

I hush Honey and Olivia from across the table. Sugar & Sage isn’t full of customers like it was when I walked in the door, but still, I don’t need anyone hearing their simultaneous outbursts. You’d think the two of them were twins and not best friends. Dramatic best friends.

“Stop shouting, for heaven’s sake.”

“Why are you whispering?” Olivia mocks.

My attempts at a scowl are short-lived. I’m being ridiculous. Not only about their gleeful squeals that actually don’t draw much attention, but also because these are my friends. It’s why I called an emergency coffee-and-carbs meetup.

After I left Ryan’s place, my legs—like a baby giraffe taking its first steps—and my mind floating in the clouds, I tried talking through my emotions with Steve. Unfortunately for me, it was a one-sided conversation. A few hours with my hands in the dirt and compiling data on the new humidity reader in the greenhouse and I was no further along in my efforts to make sense of the evening’s events.

“So what? You climbed him. I think that’s okay. What do you think, Honey?” Olivia nudges our friend.

Honey taps her chin. “When you say ‘climb’ do we mean like a slow slithery motion or a leap?”

Groaning, I drop my head to the table. My so-called friends snort out laughs and while it goes against everything I want to convey, I join them. The entire situation is laughable. I met a man only days ago and we both made assumptions and accusations toward one another. I wasn’t sure we’d become friends, let alone neighbors who have made out and made plans for a date.

“Truthfully?” I ask.

“Uh, yeah.”

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