Page 90 of Show Me How
“That was you discovering something else about yourself, Millie.”
“It was intense,” I blurt.
There’s almost awe in his voice when he says, “I know.”
Neither of us talks for a moment. Shade continues rubbing my stomach, and then my thighs and arms, until I’m no longer unsure if I’d be able to walk if I stood up. He makes no move to leave the booth, though.
“Are you ready to go?” I ask quietly.
“Just waiting on you, Millie.”
I nod. “I’m ready.”
He hesitates for half a breath before bringing his lips to my jaw and kissing me softly there. I don’t have a chance to react before he’s guiding me off him and pulling open the curtain. The sun streaks into my eyes, another reminder of where we are.
I quickly adjust my skirt and pull my hair over my shoulders while Shade drops to a crouch in front of the booth and reaches inside a small cut-out. When he pulls his hand back, I spin away, running hot from head to toe.
His laugh is so blunt and honest I can’t decide whether I should join him or cry.
“Look at you, Millie,” he says.
“Not a chance.”
“Do it for me.”
Letting go of a heavy exhale, I turn just enough to snag the strip of photos from him. The woman in them doesn’t even look like me. The camera caught everything, from the pink on my cheeks to the sag of my head as I got lost in the throes of pleasure. Every muscle in my face is relaxed, and my eyes—it feels dirty to be looking at them. Like I’m witnessing an intimate moment I shouldn’t be.
“Take them,” Shade urges, staring down at the strip.
I shake my head and hand it back. Reluctantly, he slips the strip into his pocket. He doesn’t have to ask why I won’t take them. I answer his silent question regardless.
“I’m not ready to see myself like that.”
“Alright. I’ll hold on to this until you are.”
“Thank you.”
Shade winks, breaking the tension. “Come on, princess. We still have to choose pumpkins.”
“We’re actually doing this?”
“Does Bryce seem like the type of woman to let us skip on something her woman wants us to do?”
“This sounds like something that should be a you problem,” I poke.
His hand comes up to squeeze the back of my neck, staying there for a beat. “Don’t you know? One roommate’s problem is the other one’s too.”
“Maybe I’ll just go back home instead . . .” I start, a high-pitched laugh following when he lowers his hand and swats at my backside. Spinning around, I push his hand away. “Okay! You win. We’ll pick pumpkins.”
And when we finally call it a day, I have a misshapen, flat-bottomed one in my passenger seat, its stem fat and curled. Its twin is on Shade’s lap in the back seat of Bryce’s car.
A perfect pair.
26
SHADE
There’sa low ache in my neck as I heave the second garbage bag of clothes into my arms and haul it out of the cabin. Lacey’s van is parked in front of the stairs, the sliding door open for us to continue filling it with all of Millie’s things.
