Page 36 of The Lies We Told Ourselves

“That’s it.”

Dex nodded, looking far too proud of himself than he should be.

“Wait! Bearing in mind your earlier fuck up, I’m giving you some follow-up steps because we know you can’t be trusted on your own. First, I’m sorry.” He held up one finger, and despite the urge to snap it off, I listened. “Second, do something fun with her. Third, have a conversation. Fourth, set a date to, well, you know, have an actual date.”

And that was how I found myself standing on the wooden deck outside the cottage, holding both boxes and listening to the soft sound of Reece singing inside.

This was a bad idea.

Dex had riled me up, shoved me out the door with the promise that I could do this, and then left in his truck. And now I was standing here, frozen to the spot, because I realized I didn’t actually have a plan for steps two through four, and wondering if I could sneak away before she found me.

Of course, that was the exact moment Reece opened the door and then stumbled to a stop because she hadn’t expected there to be someone creeping outside the door.

“Oh crap, you scared me,” she said, clutching her chest and giving me flashes of her playing with her nipples as I fucked her as hard as I could.

Okay, standing here with a rock-hard erection wouldn’t win me any points.

“Booker?” Reece asked, sounding concerned as I continued to stand there and not say anything.

“Right. Yes. I’m sorry.” I thrust the boxes into her hands and took a step back.

Reece peered at the boxes and then leaned forward slightly, whispering, “I don’t know what’s happening right now.”

“I didn’t…but I did…and then… These are for you. AndI’m sorry,” I stressed.

This couldn’t possibly be going any worse than it was right now. Dex should have given me a better plan.

“Are you having a stroke right now?” Reece asked, actually looking worried. “Does your face feel okay? Isn’t there a rhyme about what you’re supposed to check? Something about arms, I think. Flap them about a bit, see how they feel.”

For a second, I actually lifted my arms to do as she said before I remembered I wasn’t, in fact, having a stroke. I was just breaking down in the face of a beautiful woman I’d done wrong.

I cleared my throat, looking down at my boots, and shuffled awkwardly on the spot. This wasn’t a good look for a man my size. I needed to pull it together.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up yesterday,” I said, mainly looking at my boots because I didn’t want to see the look on her face when she told me it was a mistake.

“That’s okay. I figured you had to go out to do something. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep, but I think you put me into a sex coma.”

I was so surprised by what she said that my head snapped up to see if she was actually being serious.

“I should have come to find you.”

“Booker, seriously, it’s okay. I’m a big girl. And I think we both needed to clear our heads for a bit. It was pretty intense.”

“Yeah.”

She took a step to the side. “Do you want to come in?”

“No.”

“Right. I guess I’ll see you around then.” Her face furrowed in confusion, and I nearly kicked myself.

“I mean, no, I don’t want to come inside because I want to do something with you,” I clarified.

“Ah, see? Words can help.”

She went to put the boxes back into the house when I stopped her and added, “You’re going to need them.”

Reece grinned and closed the door, moving to the small table on the porch to put the boxes down and look inside. Then she squealed, spinning to look at me. “Are these for me?” she asked, already putting the hat on her head and then striking a pose. “How do I look?”

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