Page 63 of S.O.S. Perk

What was he going to hit her with?

“Yeah, Perk?”

“No more pinching yourself or biting your lip. I want all your parts unscathed so I can do the pinching and biting next time I see you.”

A thrill went up Sloane’s spine, which… Was that even possible? They’d spent the entire day ravaging each other’s bodies with their hands, tongues, and every other available appendage that seemed apropos, and here she was jonesing for Perk again?

Damn.She had it bad.

“You can tell me that all you want,” Sloane warned, “But—”

“But nobody tells you what to do and lives to see the next day,” he chuckled. “I get that. I also love the challenge you present, and I’m not afraid to call you out. We’re going to have some epic battles, and I look forward to every single one.”

Sloane snorted at Perk’s assertion, but felt tears come to her eyes. Nobody had ever gone this route with her before. Not one person in her life before had ever looked at her as a welcome…quest.

“Are you for real?” she whispered.

“If you stick around long enough,” Perk avowed stridently, “you’ll find out.” He turned serious again. “I’m just worried you’ll talk yourself out of things before I can prove to you that I’m dead serious.”

“And I’m worried you’ll wake up one day and resent who I am,” she threw back before she could stop herself.

“Listen. There are no guarantees in life,” Perk countered. “But I want to be perfectly clear. I like who you are, Sloane. I like your take charge personality, and how you own it. I can handle that. I’m not someone who’s insecure in my…” He stopped, and coughed. “Okay. Let me rephrase that. I’ve often been insecure about looking young, and my family has been complicit in making me feel vulnerable in that regard. But their irritating attitudes have actually made me stronger. These days I assert myself, whereas a few years ago I’d roll over and show my belly. Tell me if I’m wrong, but with you I’m envisioning things as more of a give and take. You push, I yield. I push, you capitulate. Sometimes we end up tussling for supremacy aggressively, but it’s a clash we’ll both enjoy.”

“You…really feel that way?” Sloane asked in a small voice. She needed to believe him.

“I do. And if you give me the chance, I’ll spend every minute making sure you see how serious I am.”

“Okay,” Sloane finally gave in because she wanted to trust Perk. Shedidtrust Perk. These were her own insecurities speaking. He was right in what he’d said before. There were no guarantees in life. And if she kept backing away from taking chances, she’d never know if she could beat the odds.

“Okay?” he emulated with a pointed question in his voice.

“Yeah. Okay,” she told him. “I’m going to believe, for now, that you like the bossy me. And I won’t be toning anything down for you, nor will I be running away. How’s that?”

“Perfect, Sloane.” Perk sounded jubilant. “And just to let you know, I can’t wait to see you on Monday.”

“Me, too,” Sloane replied, also wanting to lighten things up. “I miss you already. I—”

WTF?

It had been on the tip of her tongue to say “I love you”.

Did she? Could she?Fuck!

Nope. Shut down! Shut down!

Love was the ultimate in vulnerable, and she wasn’t ready to go there yet.

“…I…need the address,” she amended.

“Oh. Right.” Perk rattled off the pertinent information, then wished her a supremely cute “sleep tight” before hanging up.

Sloane sat still in her car for a few moments after the connection had been cut, figuratively wiping sweat from her brow.

The last time she thought she “loved” somebody, shit had turned out so wrong it had gutted her. Not the break-up—which meant she hadn’treallyloved her ex—but the hit to her ego, constantly being told she was overbearing, domineering, and unlovable. Could she risk that again? This time with someone who could wreck her for life?

Sloane sighed loudly, put the car back in drive, and headed home.

Doubts poured back in regardless of the positive attitude she tried to adopt, and of course, the only person she wanted to talk to about everything was Melissa. But…Dammit. She was always dropping her self-effacement shit on her bestie. That wasn’t fair.

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