Page 16 of Doughn't Let Me Go

It’s just a one-night stand.Just a one-time thing. Who cares if you’re not even legal to drink for another three weeks and he’s pushing thirty? You bang one out and never see him again.

It’s fine. This is fine.

I lean toward him. “Ah, I see them now.”

“Them?”

“Your wrinkles,” I tease. “They’re a dead giveaway, old man.”

“And how old are you?” he asks, and I know it’s his way of asking if I’m legal or not.

“You’re safe from the big house. I wouldn’t have allowed this to go so far if that weren’t the case.”

There’s relief in his eyes. “I figured, but you can’t be too trusting these days.” He leans into me again, and I match his movements. His gray eyes search mine, and I almost wonder if he’s looking to see if he can find the edges of the lenses I’m wearing. “Something you should have remembered before you told me no one was sitting next to you, revealing that you’re all alone.”

“I wasn’t afraid of you,” I admit to him.

“Good.” His tongue darts out to wet his lips and he inches in even more. If I moved my head just the slightest, I could capture his lips with mine. “Because the only thing I’m going to do is make you feel good.”

Fucking hell.

I nearly fall off my stool.

Where did this guy even come from?

“Porter?”

His eyes fall to my lips, like he’s watching his name fall from them. “Yeah?”

“I don’t think I want pizza anymore.”

He swallows thickly, then stands abruptly.

I stumble backward, watching as he reaches into his wallet, pulls a handful of bills from inside, and tosses them down on the counter.

I glance at our makeshift scoreboard. “I believe you’ve earned a few kisses.”

He smirks. “A full-blown make-out session at this point.”

“Our lips are going to go numb.”

He holds his hand out for me.

I look at it, then at him.

If I put my hand in his, I’ll officially be going home with Porter. And if I go home with Porter, we’re not going to sit around playing Scrabble all night long.

I don’t think.

I react.

And I clasp his hand in mine.

Slice Three

Porter

Aray of bright light sneaks its way between the blinds of my bedroom. I’m not the type of guy to hang curtains, never have been.

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