Page 63 of Something Cheeky

“Dating. I guess?” she finally said when they pulled away.

“So we’re officially dating now?” Excitement coursed through his body. He couldn’t wait to tell Th?o the good news.

“But we haven’t gone on a date yet.” She traced zigzags across his chest.

“That’s a technicality we can fix. Dinner on Saturday? No shop talk.”

“I’d like that. Our first date.” She rubbed a thumb over his nipple until it hardened. His body tingled as he recalled how she’d kissed his chest last night.

“Does this mean I can’t tell people we’re dating until Saturday?” He was ready for an encore but first he needed to make sure she was truly certain about their new relationship status.

Zoe bit her lip and she looked away from him. Derek held his breath, waiting for her to panic or run out of the room. He knew this was too good to be true. Or he’d waited so long for the two of them to happen that he’d given himself unrealistic expectations. Oh God, he was spiraling while lying naked next to the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Can we keep this between us for now?” she asked tentatively. Worry shadowed her face.

“Z, I’ve wished for this—for us—since freshman year. Now that we’ve finally opened up about our feelings for each other, I want to shout it out to the world.”

I love you, Zoe,he wanted to add, but he knew that she’d bolt as soon as he said it. Even if he meant it as best friends and now as lovers. Of course they were lovers. What else could they be after last night?

“I’m excited to explore this new part of our relationship, too, but—”

Derek turned onto his back, putting distance between them without completely pulling away. Everything had been too perfect last night. He shouldn’t have expected this morning to be all rainbows. That wasn’t fair to Zoe. He’d had plenty of time to consider her as more than a friend. She’d had, what, a few days?

He rolled back onto his side to face her and mustered a big grin to hide his disappointment.

“You’re embarrassed to tell people that you had the best sex of your life with your best friend?” he half-joked.

“Thank God that chair held up to our rigorous activity.” She laughed. “But does that mean sex goes downhill from here?”

He gasped in mock hurt before adding, “Let’s find out.”

He gave a deep kiss that promised more of what they experienced the previous night. She moaned into his mouth and pressed her bare breasts against his chest. His morning half-erection had become rock hard.

Zoe pulled away, panting.

“As much as I enjoyed that, I want to finish this conversation first,” she said.

He tamped down his desire and nodded.

“You and I are working on a really important show. I don’t want people to think that I got this job because we’re sleeping together.”

“But we weren’t when I hired—”

“I know that. You know that. But who’s going to believe us?” She shook her head. “Can you imagine the tea when people hear I’m sleeping with the director?”

“I don’t care what everyone thinks.” His words didn’t ring true to his ears. He did care a tiny bit. Sometimes.

“I wouldn’t either except there are people waiting for me to make a mistake because I’m the least experienced person on your creative team.” She pressed her lips together.

“You mean Greg.” He frowned. “I have him under control.”

“For now. But what happens after the production closes here and goes to New York?”

“You’re coming with us,” he replied without hesitation. There was no way she’d pass up an opportunity to take the show to Broadway.

“Derek.” She sighed. “Even if we do take this musical to the city, the DMV is still my home. I have to come back here to run my shop.”

“Your staff can handle things for a while.”

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