Page 138 of Alive At Night

Back and forth.

Julian cleared his voice. “We almost always have cookie dough ice cream in the freezer, you know. It’s usually behind the frozen fruit if you ever need to come over and…eat ice cream again.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO

juniper

“ARE YOU SURE ABOUT this?”

Julian stood at the end of his bed, looking down at me like he thought this was too good to be true. His room basked in the soft glow of the singular lamp on his bedside table. I’d made fun of his apartment the first time I saw it, but the more time I spent here, the more I loved it.

My apartment maintained a bright and chaotic vibe, slightly cluttered with my collection of books, clothes, and plants. Julian’s place featured clean lines and a minimalist approach. Modern furniture filled the spaces, but little touches like soft lighting, comfy linens, and framed family pictures kept it from feeling cold.

And Julian, too. Warmth blossomed beneath my skin as he studied me. But while I could appreciate how he admired me, I was so over dragging this out. For fuck’s sake, I’d been waiting forso long.

“I’m sure, Julian,” I groaned. “Look, I know that it’s my first time, and it probably won’t be good—”

“Wait.” Julian held out a hand. “Stop right there.”

I struggled to withhold a smirk. I should have expected that response. Julian took a dramatically long moment to squeeze his eyes shut before piercing me with a glare of annoyance. “Why don’t you think it’s going to be good?”

I leveled him with a look. “I read books, Julian.”

“So?”

“So…my expectations are unrealistic. And I’m aware of that.”

Shouldn’t this be self-explanatory? I wasn’t expecting the fireworks that people write about in books, especially not for my first time. I wasn’t naive, and I thought he’d be relieved to hear that, but that clearly wasn’t the case.

Julian’s lips twitched. His stare narrowed. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, I mean you’re…” I waved a hand in his direction, trying to point out the obvious.

“I’m what?”

“You know…” I cleared my voice. “Not fictional.”

Julian went from acting hurt and irritated to flashing me one of his brilliantly cocky smiles. “You need to be careful there, Juni, insulting me like this.”

“It isn’t insulting,” I argued. “It’s simply a fact. Youarereal, aren’t you?”

Julian reached behind him, pulling his shirt over his head in a theatrical but incredibly attractive way. He shook out his hair before facing me again, now half-naked. His toned chest rippled as he moved, and the golden hue from the bedside lamp reflected off his broad shoulders as he leaned on the end of the bed.

“I’m more than real, Daisy.” Mischief flashed across his features as he lowered his gaze over me in a way that chased away all my nerves. When he spoke, the husk in his voice was ironically unreal. “Tell me how a fictional man would fuck you, then.”

“I—” My words got stuck on the tip of my tongue. That had been the last thing I’d expected him to say.

He crossed his arms over his chest, raising a brow. When I was too shocked to speak, he began offering suggestions. “Do you want me to make sure that you come first?”

“Yes.” I pushed myself up onto my elbows to better meet his stare. “I mean, I guess you already did that.”

Julian’s grin turned crooked. “So I did.”

“But that wasn’t during sex,” I pointed out—just in case he thought he might get away with not eventryingto give me another one.

“I’ll do it again, then.” The offhanded comment wasn’t boastful. He said it as an easy truth, and my breath hitched before he continued. “What else? Do you want me to talk dirty about what I plan to do to you?”

“Yes,” I breathed. Because I did; I really did want to hear that.

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