Page 114 of Off Limits

I turn to Lochlyn and nod.

“Yeah?” he asks, pleased that he chose right.

“Oh, yeah.” I put my hand over my mouth as I answer him, working a bite. His smile makes me warm from the inside out.

Slipping his arm behind my neck, he pulls me against him, kissing my head. “Glad I could make you happy.”

I tilt my head to look up at him. “You always do.” He leans down and gives me a tiny peck.

Grabbing the remote, he turns on the TV flipping through and findingThe Officeagain.

After we eat and finish our coffee, I pack a bag. “Chelsea, we’re going to spend the night at Lochlyn’s.”

“Yeah, sure, that makes sense. Um, sorry, Shay, I know this is your room, but could I talk to Loch alone for a minute?”

I look up at him to gauge his reaction, but can’t tell what he’s thinking. “Sure. Babe, I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

A few minutes later, Lochlyn walks out of the building, hands in his pockets, looking for me.

“Hey, what’d she—" He cuts me off, pulling me against him and closing his mouth over mine.

As he straightens, he wraps his arm around my waist and starts walking toward the parking lot, not saying a word.

“Okay, what happened up there?”

“She said thank you. And I know it’s because you said something to her while I was out.”

“She said thank you?” Shock doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling. To get Chelsea to see the error of her ways and get her to feel something about that feels like the biggest victory I could ever have.

“Yup. She gave me a hug and apologized for being a pain in the ass and again for splitting us up and thanked me for everything I did for her in high school, especially making sure she had real food to eat. That’s always your sticking point. That I fed her lazy ass.”

“It was way overdue. I knew you were upset when you left.”

“I’m just happy you’re finally calling her out on her bullshit.”

“Also long overdue.”

When we get back to his apartment, Weston is yelling into a headset at the TV. He quickly throws it off and jumps to his feet when we walk in.

“Oh, sorry guys, didn’t know you were coming over.”

“You’re good, man. Hey, thanks for saving the day with the coffee this morning.”

“Anytime. Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I think so.” Lochlyn looks down at me.

"Yeah, everything’s fine.”

We hear yelling through the headset, and I can’t help but laugh. “Go back to your game, Wes. Sorry if you weren’t expecting me tonight.”

“No, it’s fine. You’re always welcome, Shay.” Before either of us can respond to him, he’s back in video game world.

Lochlyn laughs, shaking his head and pulling me into his room. “So what do you want to do? Go to bed?”

“Not really. We’ve spent the better part of the day in bed.”

“So, shower?” He quirks up an eyebrow. “Wes plays that game pretty loudly.” He sidles over to me and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me against him.

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