Page 40 of Grin and Bear It

Why was she so surprised by my offer? Nash had filled me in on some of the details of her conversation with him, but not enough, it appeared. Maybe I’d be able to tease some of them out of her. I squeezed her hand and held it for a little longer that I should have, just to feel how small it was inside mine before forcing myself to pull away. When I picked up my phone I saw I had a notification for a message from Nash, Cole and Ty in our group chat. Instead of reading what those knuckleheads had sent me, I opened the food delivery app and looked down at Ellie.

“How do you feel about pizza? There’s an amazing place a couple of suburbs away. And they deliver.”

She smiled then and nodded her head.

“Pizza sounds incredible.”

Chapter21

This was weird.

Watching Lin busy himself in my lounge room, seeing him picking up every single one of my throw pillows and arrange them into some kind of structure on the couch was weird. The fact he looked like some kind of Nordic love god doing it? Even fucking weirder. I blinked, wondering if I was having a psychotic break. This had to be some lust induced-delusion, didn’t it?

“Do you have any other pillows?” he asked me, surveying his handiwork with a slight frown.

“Ah… in my bedroom,” I said. “But these—”

“Which room is yours?” He looked down the hall and then he drew in a deep breath, nostrils flaring. “Don’t worry, I’ll find it.”

Weird.

“Ah, no, I’ll grab them,” I told him hurriedly, walking away to do just that.

I couldn’t remember what state my room was in. Did I have dirty washing strewn across the floor? A pair of knickers hanging from the bed frame maybe? Fuck, were my vibrators put away in a drawer? At that thought, I moved faster, just in case Lin tried to follow me to grab them. When I got into my room I paused, despite my sense of urgency. I looked over my shoulder and then took a deep breath.

Had he really said… dating?

It was as if I was experiencing some sort of delayed reaction: what Lin had said was only just filtering through. My heart was pounding in my chest and my eyes darted around the room, looking for camera people who would leap out with a smirk, recording me as they revealed this was all just an elaborate prank. But as I picked up my pillows, I hugged them to my chest and considered the more likely scenario.

That he was serious.

He wanted to take me out. He said he’d take me to a movie of my choice or dinner or a walk on the beach… A real fucking date. So how did I feel about that? My focus turned inwards, tapping into my emotions. And what came up?

Happiness.

It might not go anywhere. We might not have chemistry. He might be a fuckboy, just like Derek. But, on the other hand, he also might not be. This was always the best point of dating, when things were still new and the possibilities were endless. Right now he could be almost anything.

And part of me wanted to find out if he was as nice as he was hot. I squeezed my pillows tight and then walked down the hallway.

“Pizza’s arrived,” Lin said, closing the front door behind him and walking over, those fucking massive biceps popping as he carried the boxes over to the coffee table. “Now, are you a plate kinda girl or do we eat from the boxes like savages?”

“By savages, you mean people who have to do less washing up?” I said with a snort. “Then savages all the way.”

“A girl after my own heart,” he said, putting a hand on his chest. But then he flipped the boxes open and that’s when the scent hit me.

“Oh my god…” I trailed closer, lured closer by the smell of fucking delicious pizza.

“Good, huh?” Lin sat down on my couch and then grabbed a slice and I resisted the urge to hiss at him and snatch it away. Cheese and salami and olives and capsicum… Waves of it hit me but when I sat down he earned himself serious brownie points by offering the slice to me. “Have a taste. It’s as good as it smells.”

My hands went up on automatic, only just resisting making gimme, gimme motions, but he jerked that slice back slightly. He saw my look of outrage and then smiled slowly.

“Teasing a woman with pizza?” I said. “If this is your idea of foreplay, lemme just say, it sucks.”

His grin grew wider.

“No, this is my idea of foreplay.”

He offered it to me again, nodding for me to get closer and that’s when I realised what he wanted. He wanted to feed me from his own hand. I blinked, darting closer when my instincts had control, but then pausing to stare at him and make sure this is what he wanted. He nodded again, the smile faltering as those golden brown eyes stared into mine.

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