Page 11 of If You Need Me

He takes it, grudgingly. “Dr. Bert Cleaver.”

“Seriously?” I ask. Whiskey lips have no filter.

“Yeah. I’m a cardiologist.”

“Huh. Good for you.” Why does Willy know a cardiologist? Is she having heart problems? Does all my bullshit cause her too much stress? She’s definitely been stressed lately. More than usual.

“Thanks.” His eyes move between us suspiciously. “How long have you two been a thing?”

“Oh, it’s new. Very new. We just made it official.” She looks up at me, imploring.

I jump in with both feet. “I can’t tell you how awesome it was when she finally said yes to being my girlfriend.” I kiss her temple again. Her nails dig into my ribs. My dick rejoices. “Gotta be honest, I’ve been trying foryearsto get the girl. And now, here we finally are.”

“Wow. That’s…” Bert swallows compulsively and smiles woodenly. “Well, I guess you turning me down for dinner makes sense.”

I plaster a smile on my face. “How do you two know each other?”

“We went out a couple of times,” Willy says.

“Four times. We went out four times,” Bert clarifies.

“Four times. Right.” Willy’s cheek brushes my chest.

I hug her tighter to my side.

“Your dating profile is still active,” Bert states.

“I need to take that down.” Her voice rises three octaves.

I smile and stroke her cheek, tipping her chin up so I can kiss the end of her nose. “Always keeping me on my toes.”

“That’s me. The toe keeper.”

Yeah. Willy’s freaking out.

“Hey, Bert, can you take a picture? For posterity’s sake? It’s life changing when the woman of your dreams agrees to be your girlfriend. I don’t have enough pictures of us together, you know?” I pass him my phone, not giving him the chance to say no.

“Uh, sure. Okay,” he says.

I move to stand behind Willy and wrap my arms around her, nuzzling through all her long, wavy hair so I can rest my chin on her shoulder and press my cheek to hers. I’m in heaven.

“Oh my God, is that your dick poking me in the ass?” she asks through gritted teeth.

“Probably. Every part of me is super excited.” I can’t help myself. I kiss her cheek. “Smile for the camera, honey.”

Her nails bite into my forearms, sharp stings that make my entire body sing with absolute fucking delight. Bert takes a bunch of pictures. I switch up the pose and wrap Willy’s arms around my waist. Now my hard-on is inconveniently pressed against her stomach. I rest my chin on top of her head and smile my face off while Bert snaps several more pictures and Willy’s talon nails dig into my back.

Bert passes me my phone.

“Thanks, man.” I clap him on the shoulder. “You’re the best. Can I buy you a beer?” I turn to Willy.

She shakes her head. “Oh, we don’t need to do that.”

“Sweetness, honeycakes, yes we do.” Fake or not, this is a big moment, and I plan to celebrate the hell out of it. More whiskey will not do. Wilhelmina trusted me enough to let me help her out of a bad situation. It’s huge progress. I call over to the bartender. “Marianna, a bottle of your finest champagne. Wills and I need to toast being madly in love. Isn’t that right, angel?” I hug her to my side. “And a beer for Dr. Bert. You’re probably an ultra-light-beer guy, right? Keeping the carbs down?” I point to his flat stomach.

“Oh, thanks, but I, uh…I should go back to the bar.” Bert thumbs over his shoulder and then gives us the thumbs-up. “Congratulations. Wilhelmina’s an amazing woman. You’re a lucky guy.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate that.”

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