Page 60 of A Conflict of Interest

“Better?” Kelcey said, her eyes glinting as she looked at me from where she lay on the bed next to me, holding my hand, bothof us finally dressed back in our pajamas again, although she still went without the pants. I didn’t mind literally the smallest amount.

“Hm?”

“You hadn’t had sex in a minute. Hadn’t even masturbated in a minute. You must have been pent-up. So… better?”

I laughed. “You just wanted to pitch in and help out, huh? Aren’t you a sweetheart?”

She grinned. “Maybe not just that. But I want to know I do a good job.”

“I’ve never felt this satisfied in my life… I’ve never felt anything that good. You’re kind of… incredible.”

“Mm.” She nestled closer to me, planting a swift peck on my lips. “As are you, beautiful. And for the record… you have my full permission to masturbate thinking about me.”

“Ah… thank you. I plan on making very good use of that.”

“Although you can always ask me for help too.”

Did that mean this wasn’t just a tonight thing? This was… pillow-talk. Sex-drunk floating in bliss. Nothing here was indicative of reality. But maybe… maybe wecouldkeep doing this.

Still, I laughed. “Just show up at your door likehey Kelce, could really do with licking pussy right now…”

“Justpussyin general?”

“Ah, of course not. There’s no replacement for yours.”

She giggled. “I’m not saying I’d saynoif you did show up like that. I mean, you do know you’re ridiculously hot, right?”

I closed my eyes, holding her closer into me. “If you think so, then I think I’m doing well.”

“You’re doing amazingly,” she whispered, and I guess I thought maybe… maybe I’d take her at her word for that. Just enjoy it. Just enjoy all of this.

Chapter 17

Kelcey

Veronica was cute all sleep-rumpled in the morning. That was another thing that felt right to have back in my life.

“Kelce?” she said, coming bleary into the kitchen, where I had music playing and a pot on the stove. “When did you wake up?”

I laughed. “Vee, you woke up with me. You saidgood morning, and I saidyou can go back to sleep,and you said,no, I’m totally up…”

“Ah.” She scratched her head, coming over to me with a playful gleam in her eyes. “Clearly, I was not.”

“Indeed. Good morning,” I said, and with that nervous, shy way she approached me like she wasn’t sure what was allowed, I helped her out by shifting to press my back up against her, taking her hands and wrapping her arms around my waist. “It was like half an hour ago… not much. I’m making breakfast. Because I wanna spoil you just a little bit and prove I’m not totally clueless.”

“Clueless? You’re an angel. What are you making?” She settled readily into it, resting her head on my shoulder, and I felt like my heart would burst. Was this… it? Were we doing this now? We hadn’t talked about it last night, hadn’t talked about what we were doing, what this meant for us. And from the way she talked about things, I assumed that she’d… have said yes. If I asked to just go ahead, do it all, be all the things we once were.I’d never in a million years have dreamed I’d give her another chance, but maybe that was a different Veronica.

“Boiled eggs and toast. Made just the way the lady likes.”

“You’re actually perfect… thanks, Kelce.”

“Cappuccino?”

“In one second… I’m enjoying this.” She squeezed me tighter into her, and I giggled with that nervous, bubbly sensation all through me.

I just adored this girl. Maybe it wasn’t too far-fetched to think she actually had changed, that she meant all those things she said about how she was wrong, how she was sorry, how she wanted to do better.

She looked at me with that soft, adoring gaze the whole time I finished putting breakfast together, even though she insisted on making our coffees, and I whipped out our book again after we’d finished eating and were working through our coffees, so we could enact the next part of our dramatic live reading as we finished our coffee. I shifted closer to Veronica’s side over the course of it, giggling at her delivery and slipping a hand to the small of her back, and when I found myself holding her hand and resting my head on her shoulder, nothing could have felt more right. Made it all too easy, once we finished the chapter and closed it together giggling at each other, to turn and cup my hand on her cheek and meet her in a kiss—long and slow and sweet, like a slow dance by moonlight, neither of us rushing to go anywhere.

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