Page 15 of Just Watch Me

The evening passed more quickly than any I could remember. My sides hurt from laughing at his stories of places he’d lived and people he’d worked with, cultural faux pas he’d made as a kid being shuttled from country to country. It was all I’d ever wanted in a friendship—even a relationship, should I ever get lucky enough to have one like that—but the temporary nature of it broke my heart.

He was charming, hilarious, understanding, and surprisingly perceptive. Eventually, the conversation drifted to our families, not quite sharing war stories but pretty close.

“Thirteen high schools?” I couldn’t wrap my head around it. “How did you handle the constant change, let alone deal with meeting so many people? That’s more than a new school each semester.”

Skylar’s smile was tinged with sadness. “I learned quickly how to read the room and be who I needed to be to fit in. Sometimes I was the class clown or the jock or the quiet guy.” He relaxed farther into my couch.

I nearly lost the fight against my urge to snuggle against him. I would fit perfectly under his arm.

He tapped his thumb against the mouth of his empty beer and looked over at me. “It’s nice to not have to pretend for once. I feel like myself around you. Thank you for that.”

Since I faced him, I rested my cheek against the back of my couch. “It’s part of my sheltered upbringing. I’m the least intimidating person you’ve probably ever met.”

Skylar frowned. “You’re plenty intimidating, J.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” He gently pushed my shoulder and turned to face me fully. “You’re funny and brilliant and clever. In my work, I’ve learned brilliant and clever don’t always go together, but with you, they do. I know we don’t really talk about work, but the way you know your job and have all the ideas and passion for other work? I admire the hell out of you. Not to mention you’re so sex—”

I pulled Skylar in for a kiss and half noticed a thunk of his beer bottle as he leaned into me. The soft, plush feeling of his lips against mine was too much. I moaned. He wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me closer. I wanted more. I wanted it all. I wanted Skylar more than I wanted my next breath.

When his mouth opened, I slid my tongue inside and was rewarded with a sexy noise deep in his throat. It was like a switch turned on in me that unlocked a needy side I didn’t know existed. I wanted to seduce him for Chrissake. I’d never been the aggressor before, but Skylar did something to me, and it terrified me.

I pulled back and let out a shaky breath. “Wow.”

Skylar rested his forehead against mine. His breath smelled of sugar and beer. “Yeah. Wow.”

The kiss was tame compared to what it could be—what Iwantedit to be—but damn it was hot. “I’m sorry,” I blurted. While I focused on how excited my dick was, part of my brain acted like a foreign double agent sent to cockblock me.

Skylar’s fingertips danced against my lower back. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because we work together. I probably shouldn’t do that.” I knew if I touched him any more, I would never be able to act chill at work again. Or as close to chill as was in my repertoire.

“If you’re not comfortable with it, that’s okay.”

I pulled back. “Really?” My voice was high-pitched and a little bit accusatory.

He chuckled as he squeezed my hip then pulled back to where he’d been sitting.

No. Why did I do that? Don’t move away from me.

He stared into my eyes, and I hoped he found whatever he sought. “Yeah, it’s always okay to pull back, J.”

I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed to hear that. I didn’t have much experience with men or sex beyond a couple of short-term boyfriends and a handful of awkward hookups. Despite that, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had no idea how to crave him and not be clingy. My need to touch him terrified me because I’d never felt like that before. If he were sticking around, I might be more willing to take the risk.

Touching Skylar was like eating my first pixie stick. My mom had been furious when she’d found out I’d had one at a friend’s tenth birthday party. I’d been begging her to try them for weeks, but she’d always turned me down with warnings of cavities and tooth rot. One pixie stick had hooked me. If I kissed Skylar again, it would be like a direct ingestion of a thousand pixie sticks, and I would have no way to cut myself off. The feel of his lips was already burned into my memory.

“It’s just that if I touched you, I don’t think I’d be able to stop. I’d act all weird because I have no chill, Skylar. Seriously. And with us working together, kinda, I—”

He cupped my cheek. “Hey. You don’t have to explain yourself. You have every right to stop things at any time. No reason required.”

“Did I black out andWeird Scienceyou into existence or something?”

Skylar tilted his head back and laughed. The sound sent a shiver through me. I managed to restrain myself from kissing his exposed neck—barely. I was like a vampire hungry for blood.

“You crack me up.” He smiled at me one more time then stood. “I should head home. It’s pretty late.”

Fuck.I’d shut him down, so he was leaving.Smooth move, ExLax. God, I sounded like my dad.“Yeah, sure. Okay.” I stood and picked up my beer.

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