Page 26 of Who's Your Daddy?

“So, your friends are not coming with us?” she asks as we step outside.

I only realize how stuffy it was in there when I inhale the crisp night air. I send a message to the limo driver to tell him to meet us out front, then turn my attention back to her. “No, they’re gonna stay. Part of me wants to force Scott to leave with us, but...”

Leaving the sentence hanging intrigues her to know more. “Why?”

“The woman you saw him dancing with...Well, that’s his ex-fiancé, Cat. They dated for, like, four years or something, and even though he says he’s over her...I don’t think anyone can truly get over a long-term relationship like that. Being around her is just going to fuck with his head.” I shrug. “And that’s why I avoid relationships. Women are like leeches. They’ll suck the life out of you, use you, bleed you dry, and then just leave.”

She seems taken aback by that statement and stares at me for a long while. “Hey, Peter.” She wrings her hands, looking nervous. “You know I’m not in a good space right now...but I want you to know that I’m not using you as a rebound. And...I’m not going home with you because I’m...lonely or whatever...or because I don’t have anyone else to turn to.”

I’m speechless for a second because admitting that definitely did some internal damage. “I...I know that, Lia. Everything that happened tonight was purely coincidental, so I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything aboutyou.” It’s the sadness in her eyes that makes the most asinine shit fly out of my mouth. “You know...I’m not using you either. We don’t have to do anything tonight.” For some reason, it’s suddenly imperative that I mention this because she told me that her ex used her for sex, and I don’t want her to have the same association with me. “If you want to go back to my place and just chill, that would be cool, too. We could watch a movie, talk, you can even introduce me to this riveting personality I’ve heard so much about.”

I want to donkey-kick myself the second that suggestion leaves my mouth because whatIwant to do is have sex with her. But the look on her face tells me she is tapering right near the edge, and I just can’t work up my libido looking at a face like that.

A small smile tugs at her lips, and I gotta admit, this particular smile does something to me. The top corner of her mouth twitches because she actively tries to fight it at first, and when she can’t hold it off any longer, she presses her lips into a tight line to kill it once and for all. Yet even then, it lives on in that tiny dimple on her cheek. It’s fucking adorable.

“I’d like that,” she says. “Can we watchYou Got Served?”

The question insults me on such a personal level. “There are a million epic movies that are deep and impactful with great actors and a solid storyline, and you choose that trash?”

“What can I say? I’m a sucker for dance battle movies.”

I cave with a dramatic sigh. “Fine. I’ll let you have that one.”

I grit my teeth and force a smile because I deserve to get punched in the dick right now. I had the most amazing opportunity, and I just pissed it away. I’m going to have the hottest woman I’ve ever seen at my house for thewholenight, and we’re gonna watchYou Got Served.

The limo stops in front of us, and I open the door for her to climb in. The gravity of my stupidity only hits me when I tell him our destination. I’ve never taken a girl back to my place before because if she’s psycho and shit goes south, she at least won’t know where I live. And yet not only have I taken Lia to my beach house, I’m about to take her to myhome. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me. I’ll have to figure this out tomorrow.

It takes about fifteen minutes before the driver stops in front of my condo. Lia already has her shoes off when she gets out of the limo. Somehow, between my blurred vision and her unsteady steps, we manage to get inside without injury. We stumble up to my bedroom, and she stops dead in the doorway, taking in her surroundings for the first time.

“This is not the same house you took me to the last time.”

“It’s not.”

“So, your parents bought this for you as a...what? Graduation gift? Birthday present?”

I’m sure her assumption stems from the fact that the penthouse she lost was probably an extravagant gift from her parents. And if it was a gift, it was pretty shitty of her dad to kick her out. A gift, by its nature, should be irrevocable.

“Nah, I actually bought this one myself,” I reply.

“Impressive.”

We don’t linger on the conversation. Instead, I step into my walk-in closet, grab a T-shirt, and toss it to her as I walk back out. “Here. I’m sure you want something more comfortable.”

She reaches out to catch it, but her coordination is off, and it lands at her feet. “God, I’m so drunk,” she says with a giggle.

She pulls the T-shirt on over her dress, then sneaks her hand underneath to undo the zipper before pulling it down. Next, she takes off her earrings and leaves them on my nightstand. She removes the pins from her hair and allows it to tumble over her shoulders. After a quick stretch of her arms, she climbs under the covers and sighs as her body sinks into the softness of my mattress.

For a moment or two, I simply stare at her. I just watched her make my space hers like it was the most natural thing in the world, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.

“Are you gonna stand there all night, or are we gonna watch this movie?”

That spurs me into motion, and I kick off my shoes, strip down to my boxers, and climb in beside her. I switch on the TV, searching through the various streaming services. I don’t findYou Got Served,so we settle onStep Up.

She nestles up against me, pulling her leg up over my thigh and resting her head on my chest. It startles me because this isn’t how I expected things to go. I thought she’d lie on her side, I’d lie on mine, and we’d just sort of watch it together...but apart. I don’t...cuddle, but after a few minutes, I get over the initial discomfort and curl my arm around her.

After hearing another sigh, an unfamiliar warmth spreads through my chest. I’m just going to blame it on the alcohol. I also blame the alcohol for being hornier than a dog in heat. It’s taking every morsel of self-control to restrain myself and knowing that she’s lying so close to me with nothing on underneath my T-shirt...

I keep thinking about shifting ever so slightly, spreading her legs and slowly running my fingers up her silky thigh. She would be soaked, just waiting for my cock to slide into her. I remember what she tastes like, and my tongue is craving that sweetness again. My head could be buried between her legs right now, but instead, I’m just wasting away watching this bullshit because I decided to be Noble Nick tonight.

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