Page 112 of I Blame the Rival

Nico pulls a face at his retreating back, “He’s in denial. He loves being my body pillow. That man is a fucking teddy bear come sunrise.”

“I can still hear you.”

Mo’s voice echoes down the hall and I laugh.

Grabbing my hands, Nico pulls me to my feet and leads me down the dark hallway until we reach the guest bedroom. It’s just as nicely furnished as the rest of the apartment, the dark blue drapes matching an equally tasteful bedspread.

“Now we won’t have to squish on those sad rectangles our university calls a mattress.” Nico grins, pointing to the king size mattress, “It gives you a new appreciation for comfort.”

“I bet.” Scoping out the rest of the room, my eyes catch the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand, “Why don’t you use the bathroom first? I’ve got something I’d like to do.”

“Sounds good to me.” Nico grabs the fresh briefs lying on the bed, “Keep in mind the sacrifice I’m making for you tonight.”

“Not sleeping beside Mo?”

“Hell, no. I’m talking about the fact I’m putting a layer of material between my body and these silk sheets.”

I pull a face, “You normally sleep naked?”

“Have you seen the man I sleep next to? That would be an even bigger waste than these sheets.”

He throws me a wink and saunters out the door. Shaking my head with a smile, I take another glance at the time blinking back at me.

I pull out my phone and press the call button.

Skylar

My phone rings at the same time it does every night.

After the events of today, I honestly didn’t think she would call.

Pressing accept, I’m about to speak when Lacey’s voice echoes down the line.

“I was being selfish. Earlier today when we were in the car together. I was being selfish and I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

“No, I do. You were right, Skylar. I wasn’t thinking about you. I was thinking about myself when I asked you to have sex with me and that’s not fair.”

There’s a shuffle of movement on the other end of the line and I can’t help but picture Lacey lying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling like I’m doing now.

“It’s okay, Flower.”

“Stop being so nice. I’m trying to apologize.”

The frustration in her tone has my lips pulling into a smile.

“In that case, I accept your apology.”

“Good.” She blows out a breath, “Just so you know, I do want to have sex with you. I want to know what it feels like when you’re inside me. I want to experiment and try weird positions so we can figure out what works and what doesn’t. I want to do all of those things with you and only you.”

Each word has me clutching my phone tighter, the ache in my chest growing until it encompasses every fibre of my being.

I’ve waited my entire life for someone to see past the broken exterior and still want the messy parts inside.

I’ve waited my entire life to meet someone I was convinced didn’t exist.

And then my flower came along and proved me wrong.

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