Page 97 of Forever with the CEO

She bent at the waist, putting her ass up in the air. I could see the shape of those round lumps perfectly.

I quickly got up to carry everything to the kitchen, not bothering to clean up. I could deal with that later.

Something in her body language was still off, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it, even if it meant playing poker. Clearly I’d said something wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what for the life of me. Was she so bothered by my family trying to matchmake us?

I set our glasses down on the small coffee table in front of the couch as she approached it.

“You do know the rules of poker, yes?” Allison asked.

“Yes. I prefer a bigger round. Then again, I haven’t played in years.”

“Aha,” she said. “Then prepare to have your ass beaten by me. I happen to be very good at poker.”

“How come?” I asked.

“My friends and I played obsessively in college. I’m sure I’ve still got it.”

“Is that so? Challenge accepted, then.”

As she started to shuffle the cards, I decided to be up-front. “Allison, something’s changed since dinner.” She glanced up at me, and her hands stilled. “You were relaxed, and then you couldn’t get away fast enough. Did I say something wrong?”

She shook her head. “No, not at all.”

“But something is off.”

Her shoulders drooped. “Nick, this is...” She sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it without sounding silly.”

“I promise not to judge.”

She pressed her lips together. “I thought that once we’d lived together for a bit, things would get easier...”

“But they’re not,” I finished for her.

“No, not at all. Every time I think I have things under control, something happens and...” She closed her eyes. “I realize I really don’t, that I’m still not sure how to best handle this. I figured poker would be a very safe way to spend the rest of the evening. There’s no way to turn it into an innuendo.”

“Weeeeell...” There was strip poker, after all.

Allison looked at me, jerking her head back and then shaking it. “Nick, you know what? I don’t even want to know.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

She went back to shuffling, then looked up at me and sighed. “No, I do want to know.”

“You just said the opposite.”

“I know, but otherwise I’ll think about it for the rest of the evening. How would you make this into something dirty?”

“I could suggest we playnakedpoker.”

She blinked rapidly. “You mean strip poker?”

“Exactly that. I just jumped to the naked part.”

She turned red faster than I thought possible.

“See, we were both far better off if I’d kept this to myself. Like, every time you lose, I’ll imagine what clothing item you could take off.” I tilted forward slightly. “I don’t imagine you have too much on.”

I knew I’d gone too far the second she exhaled sharply. But I’d lastedweekswithout openly making a move on her, hadn’t I? Being alone with her tonight changed things.

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