Page 13 of The Neighbor's Son

Our forks clink against our plates as we eat, the only sound in the silent home.

“Did I ruin this?” I finally ask, meeting her stare. “Please tell me I didn’t.”

Her eyebrows pinch together. “What isthis? We’re just friends, right?”

Just friends?

How can anyone bejust friendswith Casey?

I want to be everything with her.

But that answer is a little too strong. If I scared her off with “babe,” I think I’d really send her running if I admit I thought about fathering her babies too.

“Friends,” I repeat, not loving the word. “How do you like the food?”

I purposefully don’t commit to that word. I’m not a liar and it feels like the biggest lie known to man.

“Oh, it’s great. I’m impressed you whipped that out so quickly. Me and Derek used to…” She trails off, face paling. “Sorry. Gah. I’m so sorry. I know you don’t want to keep hearing about him.”

I cock my head to the side. “You putting words in my mouth? I never said that. He was a big part of your life. It hurts now that he’s gone. Why would you want to hide those parts that make youyou?”

She blinks at me, stunned to silence for a moment. “You’re a lot more mature than I originally gave you credit for.”

“I get that a lot.” I shovel in a mouthful of food, taking the moment to just stare at her.

Why does she have to be so damn pretty?

It’s like staring at the sun. I should look away, but I’d rather go blind.

“You’re a very intense young man, aren’t you?” She sips her water and smiles behind the bottle. “Every expression you have is so…”

“Intense?”

We both chuckle.

“Yes. It makes me, uh, nervous,” she says, cheeks turning pink.

I frown at her words. “You’re scared of me?”

“No,” she rushes out. “Not like that. Just…” She closes her eyes for a moment, her long, mascara-painted lashes resting on her apple cheeks. “I have this visceral pull to you. After having gotten out of a long relationship that ended badly, this feels dangerous to me.”

She has a pull to me?

“Dangerous can be good when it’s safe.” I stretch my leg out, foot gently touching hers. “I’m safe, babe.”

This time, I say the endearment on purpose. It feels right. And I think she needs to hear it. Like I said, Casey likes to be taken care of, and I can already tell, taking care of her is my new favorite hobby.

“Babe makes me sound hot.” She giggles.

I arch an eyebrow up. “Youarehot,babe.”

Mo rudely interrupts our flirting by jumping up onto the table and meowing loudly.

“Way to make an entrance,” I grumble to him as I pull him into my lap. “I was actually flirting without making a total idiot of myself. Now the moment is ruined.” I feed him a piece of sausage. “Thanks a lot Mo.”

Casey’s foot touches mine, making me jerk my head up to look at her.

“The moment isn’t ruined,” she tells me, flashing me a sexy grin. “And your flirting skills are far from idiotic.”

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