Page 84 of Tempt

I toss it to her and she catches it.

“Thanks, I was wondering where this went.” She tucks the tube in her purse. “What did you say?”

“I said I’d think about it. And only because I was afraid I’d lose him if I said no.”

“You want to sleep with him again.”

“I want to lock the door and order enough takeout to sustain us until finals or Armageddon, whatever comes first.”

She laughs. “So, what’re you afraid of?”

I stare at my reflection in the mirror. The same woman from a few months ago stares back at me.

But I don’t feel the same.

“What if I go out with him and I like him. Really like him, I mean?”

“I promise that’s not the worst thing.” Liv wraps both arms around me. “You’re living in his house, taking care of his son. There’s no way that’s not complicated. But if you guys are honest and communicate, it could be the start of something amazing.”

Could I see a world in which Daniel and I could have more than a few moments of stolen pleasure?

Yes.

It’s not hard at all.

I can see pancake breakfasts and lazy mornings.

Warm, loaded looks across the room when we’re around other people.

Inside jokes and smiles we save for one another.

Midnight confessions about the things we’ll never have, and the ones we never dared to hope for.

I like to think I’m brave. I make the first move, handcraft my own sex toys and prefer my lipsticks have names like Evil Persimmon.

This is a different kind of courage. It feels as if I’m diving into a lake with pockets full of stones, unsure how deep I’ll go or whether I’ll find my way back to the surface at all.

“When did you become such a romantic?” I mutter.

She pulls back. “Were you not here when I fucked my professor? It was the biggest scandal Russell U engineering has ever seen.”

I press a hand to my mouth in mock horror, and we both laugh.

“There’s one thing I know for sure,” Liv says, grabbing another ceramic cock from a box. “If you are going on a date, you guys need a babysitter.”

25

KAT

“You look incredible,” Daniel murmurs for the fifth time as he rounds the truck to help me out of the passenger side.

“Thanks.”

The cab is high enough that in four-inch heels, it’s not that hard a task.

The dress is another matter.

It’s short and red and since the moment he saw me in it, he hasn’t been able to take his eyes off me. I had to remind him twice to watch the road on our drive to the next town over.

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