Page 48 of False Play
He tilted his head in mock contemplation, pushing his tongue against his cheek. “Not exactly.” He let out an exaggerated sigh. “What I do, however, is stand in front of a mirror butt-ass naked and write down all the things I love about my body.”
I snorted a dry laugh. “Obsessed much?”
“Can you blame me? I do have a fine-looking ass.” He turned around and gave me a perfect view of his backside then looked over his shoulder with a knowing grin.
My eyes flicked to his ass, andyup. He wasn’t wrong. Damn the world for giving Henry Anderson a fine body. The universe had created a menace to society because of it.
“You’re salivating a little, Jonesy. Need a napkin?”
I met his stare with a squint, trying to mask my embarrassment. “Your delusion holds no bounds.” I took a seat, and when I tried to reach for one of the pizza boxes, he stopped me.
“I got it.” He swatted my hands away gently.
“You do know I can get my own food, right?” I wiggled my arms. “I have these, and they work perfectly fine.”
“Not while you’re dating me.” He opened the pizza box, grabbed two slices, and dropped them on my plate.
“Fakedating,” I corrected him in a weak attempt to calm down the unexpected excitement that surged through me. “And I only want one slice.” I took one of them and dropped it back on the box.
“Nonsense.” He picked up the same slice and dropped it on my plate again. “Knowing you, you probably didn’t eat lunch today.” He sat next to me, grabbed a pizza slice, and took more than half of it in a single bite. He quickly swallowed and nodded at my plate. “Eat.”
It annoyed me how well he knew me, because hewasright. Putting all my energy and focus on work was the only thing helping me ignore the mess that was my life. Was it the healthiest way of coping? Probably not. But it beat crying, that’s for sure.
I focused my eyes on my plate as I tried my best not to read too much into the small acts of service Henry did. Like knowing my coffee order, and ordering me a plate of nachos because he justhappenedto remember I liked them. They were simple actions that made my heart twist painfully in my chest. I never had anyone do little things like these for me. Someone making sure I was taken care of before focusing on themselves was a strange thought. Not even when I was with Joe did he do anything like this. I’d always prided myself on being self-sufficient and independent. Taking care of myself had always come easily for me, because depending on people was scary.
Henry was strange and not at all what I expected him to belike. I couldn’t deny I was utterly confused. My mind and heart were at a crossroads. Because…whowasHenry Anderson? The two versions I now knew were complete opposites. It made no sense.
I shoved away my reeling thoughts and hit him in the arm. “Stop eating so fast! Your food isn’t going anywhere.”
He huffed a laugh. “Jonesy?—”
I interrupted him with another hit on his arm. “Andstopcalling me that. Why do you keep doing it?”
He grabbed another slice and chewed thoroughly while he stared at me with a twinkle in his eyes. “You sure you want to know?”
“Yes.” The gleefulness dancing between his eyes made me unsure if I really wanted to know.
He grabbed a napkin and cleaned his hands as he contemplated for a moment. “Honestly? Because I know you hate it, but it gets your attention, and that’s ultimately what I most want.”
I stared at him as my heart somersaulted in my chest at the sincerity of the moment. The timbre in his voice was low and gruff, making my thighs instinctively clench as a flicker of need rippled through me at his confession.
For once in my life…I was left utterly and completely stunned.
TWELVE
HENRY
CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE?
Kennedy looked so fucking prettywhen she was flustered.
The way she unthinkingly gnawed her bottom lip, her heaving chest betraying the cool demeanor she was trying so hard to maintain. She’d always been quick with her witty comebacks, which made needling her all the more fun, but the satisfaction that flowed through me at the stunned look on her face was pretty fucking epic, too.
“Cat got your tongue?” I tsked. “Interesting.Veryinteresting.”
Did I lie? No. It was the honest-to-God truth. But did I have to go and say it out loud?Jeez. My filter around this woman was seriously lacking.
She snapped out of her hazy gaze and blurted, “We need some ground rules.”
