Page 150 of Fall Into Me

“You think you’re smart, don’t you?”

“I do,” he replied, nodding with a little smile. “I’m also a generous lover.” He shrugged, “Or so I’ve been told.”

I lunged for him, aiming to get him into a headlock, but there was no fucking chance. He screamed like a baby, clutching his hair and whining about me ruining it.

The car started to move and the silence around us wasn’t stifling, only knowing.

“So,” he started again, breaking it, “What’s the verdict?”

“It’s done.” I nodded, keeping my eyes out the window, feeling…nothing, at that sentiment.

Nothing but relief, for the second time in my life.

“And?” he pressed.

I kept my gaze out the window when I relented with a sigh, reaching into my pocket and pulling out twenty bucks and handing it to him without another word.

“I fuckingknewit!” Ash yelled, riding the high of winning our bet, all the way to Delilah’s art showing in the middle of the city.

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Epilogue 2

Fane

Four Months After That

“Is this a sex thing?” Cali asked when I helped her out of the car, a scarf tied around her eyes.

“This isn’t a sex thing.” I smiled against her temple, leaving a kiss there before taking her hand.

“Because if this is a sex thing, I am totally on board.” The hand that wasn’t clutched in mine was flopping all over the place, the only real sign that she was nervous.

“Don’t be nervous, baby,” I whispered against the shell of her ear. Her body shivered from head to toe, and that peachy hue I constantly craved the sight of spread across her cheeks.

Our boots crunched on the freshly fallen snow as I led her forward. She mumbled the whole way about how nerves were for toddlers and free climbers.

When we reached the perfect spot, I stopped. She stood there, oblivious and rambling, and I took a moment just to look at her. God, I was so in love with her.

The last four months had both flown by and also traveled at a snail’s pace.

In that time, Cali had made the executive decision to expand the café to offer actual breakfast until ten a.m.

“I want you to be my chef,” she’d announced, storming out of the bedroom and straight into the living room. A furrow of determination on her brow that was always in place whenever she had her mind set on something. When she spoke, she was also miming flipping something in a frying pan.

“Your chef?” I’d asked, amused.

“You are, by far, the most talented cook I’ve ever met, though if you tell my mom, I will deny it. I have essentially turned into a pancake since you came home, and now…well, I think we should work together.”

Came home. It ricocheted off the walls of my mind, true and clear.

“I’ll pay you, obviously.” She threw her hands up, punctuating her words. “I’m not expecting free labor just because you’re my boyfriend, and we’re sleeping together.” Her eyes widened. “I’m not saying that us having sex equates to you providing me with free labor…”

I grinned at her rambling. Whenever she got like this, it was entertaining as hell.

“I’d both pay you and have sex with you if you worked at Sunshine,” she stammered. Her hand flew to her throat, flustered. “I mean, they’re separate things! I’d pay you as an employer and sleep with you as…a person.”

“What if I wanted to fuck you on our lunch break?”

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