Page 25 of Off Limits

I shrugged again. “I can clutch my pearls about other stuff if that will make you feel better.”

He snort-laughed. “Thanks, but I think I’m good.”

“I really didn’t mean to barge in on you like that,” I repeated. I hated the little part of me that needed him to know the truth, that needed to make sure he wasn’t mad at me.

“And I didn’t mean to flail like that.” He cracked a small smile. “Live and learn, right?”

“Right.”

“How long have you been doing it?” I asked, needing to break the silence that stretched between us.

“About three months.”

“Do you do it often? Like, do you have a schedule or something so I know when to not be around?”

“I try to get online on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Sometimes I’ll do a Monday show, but Wednesday and Saturday are my regular nights.”

“What time do you go online?”

It was ten, and he’d obviously still been in the middle of things. I could find places to hide out on Saturday nights with no problem, but keeping myself occupied on Wednesdays could be tricky if he was on late.

“I start at nine and usually log off around eleven. Sometimes I finish early, but I try not to go later if I can help it.”

My mind whirred with a crush of thoughts. What the hell was I supposed to do until eleven on Wednesday nights?

“You really don’t care?” he asked, his expression scrutinizing.

“Nope.” I glanced at the door to his room. “Do you need to…finish?”

He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “I doubt I could after that excitement.”

I rocked on my feet and tried to push the mental image of Dex jerking off at his desk out of my head.

“I need to take a shower,” I said, more to break the silence and distract myself than because I actually needed a shower. I’d already taken one before I’d gone out, but he didn’t know that because he hadn’t been home at the time. “Do you need to go first, or…”

“You go ahead,” he said quickly. “I have to clean up the mess I made.” His eyes widened comically. “Water! I knocked a glass of water over. That’s why I flailed like that. Because I spilled water…and made a mess.”

I smirked.

He shot me a flat look. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.” He pointed to his own face. “This was saying plenty.”

“If you say so.”

He glared at me, but there was no real heat behind it. “You’re annoying.”

“I am?”

Dex rolled his eyes, but his posture was relaxed, and he was acting like his usual self again. At least that awkwardness was over.

“I’m going to…” I pointed at the bathroom door.

“Right!” He stuck his hands in his sweatpants pockets but pulled them out a second later and crossed them over his chest. “Enjoy.”

I couldn’t stop my grin. “I’ll try.”

---