Page 27 of Doughn't Let Me Go

“Dory?”

Slice Four

Doris

When I first pulled into the Slice parking lot and saw Porter’s car here, I thought maybe in my haze of lust last night I just dreamed he drove a fancy SUV, or maybe someone else had struck gold and splurged on one too.

The moment I stepped inside the pizzeria, I knew it was all just wishful thinking.

Those broad shoulders my hands know are sitting hunched at the counter in the same spot where we sat last night with our legs brushing against one another every chance we got.

Porter is here.

My first instinct is to run away, to hide.

I don’t want to face him again after the embarrassment that was this morning when I turned away from his kisses not once, but twice.

I wanted him to kiss me.Badly.Wanted to feel his lips locked with mine.

But kisses are important to me. They mean something.

Last night was a one-time thing. I couldn’t risk any feelings getting involved.

So, I changed our rules. He went with it, and I thought we were good.

Until this morning when things got awkward. At first, I felt so awful for turning away from him, but my feelings quickly faded to nothing as I thought about my meeting this afternoon.

I don’t have time for feelings or a relationship. I have school, and if things go well today, I’ll soon have a very full-time job where I won’t have a spare moment for anything.

I can’t let a distraction like Porter get in my way.

“Dory?”

He says my name like he’s not sure if I’m real or not.

I’m real.

Very real if the throb I immediately feel between my legs when he looks at me is any indication.

Collecting himself, he clears his throat, coming to his feet like the gentleman he is.

He stands tall above me, so tall I have to tip my head back to really get a good look at him. God, he’s incredible looking.

His jaw is strong and defined. It’s obvious even under the layer of scruff he’s sporting, the one surrounding lips that are just full enough. He took no time to shave this morning, and I think I like this look more than what he was sporting last night.

His nose is straight and just a little too big, but it fits his face.

There’s a tiny scar above his left eyebrow, one I missed last night, and I wonder what happened.

It took everything in me to not let my gaze roam over his incredible body in the daylight this morning. I wanted to, so intensely, but I didn’t.

I didn’t want to get attached.

Now I wish I’d paid more attention.

I thought the shadows made him look beautiful, but the light shows me everything I missed.

He’s perfection in that imperfect kind of way.

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