Page 273 of Rock Me All Night
"I don't want you to back off. You're the only person I can be myself around."
"What about Meg?"
"It's not the same. Not as easy." I bite my lip. "I'm not good at relationships either. Jake loved me but it wasn't really me. It was the nice, normal girl I convinced him I was."
Smoke drifts from the pan on the stove. It's burning.
"Fuck." Drew moves to the kitchen and tends to the food.
"I won't be okay without you. Even if we don't work as a couple. I need you to be my friend."
He's quiet for a minute. When he speaks, his voice is low. "I always want to be your friend."
My stomach growls. I remind myself to be patient. "I was thinking... what if we slept together?"
"Pretty sure we crossed the bridge, Kendrick."
"Not sex. Sleeping in the same bed. I know a lot of guys don't like it—"
"How many guys you try this with?"
"Shut up."
"You can do better than 'shut up.'"
"I'm too hungry to think up good comebacks."
He laughs as he fiddles with the pot. He's cooking something and it smells good. Like garlic and parsley.
I settle into my seat, all my attention on the scent of the food. Eggs. Red peppers. Some green vegetable. Spinach or maybe kale. If it's kale I'm teasing him mercilessly for being so LA.
Drew turns off the stove, scoops the food onto plates, and joins me at the table.
Damn. Spinach. So much for proving my comeback prowess. "Thanks."
He makes eye contact. "I'd love to sleep with you."
"You sure?"
"But I usually practice for a while before bed."
"I like hearing you play."
"You won't like hearing 'No Way in Hell' for the three hundredth time. How about I join you in your room when I'm done?"
A warmth spreads through my belly. "Okay."
He smiles. "You sleep naked, right?"
"No."
"Fuck. Thought that was part of the deal."
I pluck a pepper from my eggs and throw it at him. Victory! It smacks his cheek.
He peels it off and pops it in his mouth. "I will if you will."
"We'll never actually sleep."
"So?"
"I can sleep commando."
His teeth sink into his lip. "Go on..."
"You have to wait for that."
