Page 27 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“What about me?”

“Anyone special in your life? You know, I never told you, but I saw you kissing Marge a few years ago.”

“You did?” His cheeks took on a brighter shade of red.

“In the store. She came to get some bread. Were you dating?”

“We were trying to, but we didn’t want to confuse you and Nick.”

“So, you didn’t because of us?”

He nodded.

Well, that was funny. Because that was one of the reasons Nick and I had decided to keep our dating life a secret.

“Dad, you and Marge deserve to be happy. I’d have nothing against you two being together.”

“Do you think Nick would mind?”

“I don’t know. You’d have to ask him, but Nick’s cool. I think he’d want his mom happy as well.”

He looked at me adoringly. “You remind me of your mother so much, Joelle. She would have been proud of the young woman you grew up to be.”

“Thanks, Dad. It’s because of you. You did a good job raising me.”

“No, honey. Sometimes I feel like you grew up all on your own. Sometimes I don’t know what I’ve done in life to deserve you.”

I felt my eyes well up, and I threw my arms around him, “I love you too, Dad.”

My father had raised a daughter from the first day I was born. He’d changed diapers on his own, got up in the middle of the night when I had nightmares, and learned how to braid my hair. My father had given up his life for me, and there was never enough love I could give him back.

For the first time since I’d started dating Nick in secret, I felt guilty, wondering whether we were doing the right thing by hiding.

As soon as my father left for his room, I turned off the light and hurried to my window. Nick was already waiting for me on the other side.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, but that was close. I can’t believe you jumped the roofs.”

“They’re not that far apart.”

“Far enough. Sometimes I think you like playing with danger.”

“You getting undressed like that is playing with danger.”

My whole body heated just thinking about the lack of clothing underneath my robe and the fact that Nick had not only seen it all but also touched a good portion of it. What scared me even more was that I wanted him to touch me that way again.

“So… did you like the lace?”

“What lace?” he winked, making me heat again. “You keep that up, Jo, and I’m going to do something illegal.”

“What if I want you to do something illegal?”

“Joelle, you better close your window right now.” His voice was stern, and I knew that his warning was serious – which made me want to crawl over to his room that much more.

I saw his hand lower beneath the window ledge and I wondered whether he was feeling himself. The thought made me want to check the status of my sheer panties to determine if I’d need to change them before bed time. Actually, I was pretty sure that they were laundry ready.

He proceeded to close his window when I stopped him. “Wait. I think my dad and your mom still have something for each other. He said they never dated because they didn’t want us to be uncomfortable.”

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