Page 36 of Touch Me

“Hey.”

I jump, dropping the mug of coffee and spilling it all over the kitchen island. Jace grabs a towel to stop the racing river of coffee making its way across the granite.

“Oh, hey.” I paint an easy smile on my face as he mops up the rest of the counter.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just thinking about work.” I spin away and pour another cup of coffee—I need a minute with my back turned to cool my face and school my features. “I start Monday. I’m a little nervous. I have no idea what to wear, so Jess is coming over to help. I guess I’m just nervous. I don’t know anyone, and I’m not exactly sure where the building is. I don’t know if they’ll like me or my work. I think I’m nervous.”

Stupid bullshit rambling.

I hope it’s enough to convince him that I wasn’t thinking about his naked, writhing body sweating all over mine.

“Do you like doggie style?”

A full spray of coffee spews out of my mouth and leaves me gasping and coughing. Jace comes closer, hand raised like he wants to pound me on the back. I’m sure he would if he could. But I wave him off, grateful for the concern but not wanting him to do anything he isn’t comfortable with.

“I'm good, I'm good. Thanks,” I croak, blotting my face with a napkin, and now I’m cleaning more coffee off the counter.

Holy crap, can he read my mind?

“Sorry, I guess I should’ve explained first. It’s a hot dog food truck. It’s over by the Marshall Building. Isn’t that where you said you’ll be working?”

His face flushes as he fidgets with a kitchen towel hanging from the oven handle. I think it dawned on him how that sounded, and his face is redder than my sunburn from a few days ago.

“Oh yes, the Marshall Building. You know where it is?”

“Yeah. We can go there for dinner if you want. After Jess leaves. It’s the weekend, and that was the deal. We eat out on weekends. At least then you’ll have an idea of where it is.”

Doggie Style... eat out.

My Sunday brunch fantasy is getting really raunchy.

I clear my throat and thank the heavens I’m wearing a loose Bon Jovi t-shirt so he doesn’t see my nipples at full attention. “Oh, Jace, that would be perfect. I’ve never had Doggie Style. I mean the hot dog place. Not that I’ve, you know, done that, or whatever. You know what I mean.” I gulp, gesturing wildly in front of me. “Hot dogs. We’ll go for hot dogs,” I stammer over my shoulder as I head out of the kitchen. “Later, after Jess leaves. Hot dogs. Okay, gotta go. See you later.”

Holy fucking shit. For a minute there, I thought he could read my mind. Obviously, he meant hot dogs. He didn’t actually mean doggie style. Why would he think that? I mean, he’s a virgin. Seriously,last time.But does that mean he doesn’t even think about sex? No way. That can’t be possible. They say guys think about sex, like, every seven seconds, or something. He has to think about it. God knows I’ve been thinking about it. Too much. And with Jace. I think I need another Shaky shower.

* * *

Jess floatsinto the room with garment bags dangling over her shoulder. Thank God she has a keycard, so I didn’t have to risk embarrassing myself any further going out to let her in. “I’ve brought options.”

“Oh, thank you. You’re a lifesaver. I’ve never had to wear business casual more than two days in a row, other than for interviews. Pickings are slim in my closet.” I shake off the nervous energy and smile, thankful for the distraction.

She lays the bags across the bed and points between herself and me. “We need to shop. But until then, you can borrow anything you need.”

“You’re literally the best. You’re not doing this out of guilt, are you? For, you know, dumping me off to spy on your reclusive brother,” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

I know she didn’t intentionally hurt my feelings, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. I forgave her already, but I’m hoping to induce a little guilt, so maybe in the future, she’ll be straightforward with me. I can’t handle being blind-sided again. The feelings it evoked are not something I want to reacquaint myself with.

She scrunches up her face and holds her fingers up an inch apart. “Maybe a little. But I would’ve let you borrow anything you wanted. You know that, right?” She looks so sincere, I have to put her out of her misery.

“Yes, of course, I know that. Thank you so much.” I walk over and pull her into a hug. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt my feelings. We’re all good.”

Jace walks in and stops dead in his tracks when he sees us hugging. “Is everything okay in here?”

Jess looks from Jace to my wide eyes and back to Jace again. “Yep, all good. How are ya, big brother?”

She’s looking at him like he sprouted a second head. I guess the shock of him initiating conversation isn’t lost on her either. It’s been less than a week since she dropped me off, and her face looks like she just got last minute tickets to a Def Leppard concert, or whatever her equivalent to that is. We’ve both been pretty reserved over the last few days, so I give him my warmest smile so he doesn’t feel like a circus act that warrants applause whenever he speaks.

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