by Toni Aleo
“Okay, the talking to yourself thing is getting weird.”
Peeking through my fingers, I saw Lizzy standing at my bedroom door. She was holding her shoes in her hands, and she looked like she had been ridden hard and put away wet. “Girl,” I said. “You look rough.”
She nodded. “Lots of tequila and sex will do that.”
I giggled loudly as I shook my head. “Did you at least have fun?”
“I did,” she said softly, toeing the carpet. “It was a great time.”
“Good.”
“How about you? You have fun with Mr. Persson?”
My grin must have given it away.
“I knew it.”
I rolled my eyes, looking away, trying to play as if I wasn’t still pulsating from the night before. “Whatever.”
“I hope you didn’t get attached since you won’t be seeing him around anymore.”
My heart sank at her words. I knew the truth, I did, but before I could tell her that he was actually coming back to get his phone, there was a knock at the door. She looked toward the sound and then back at me. “You expecting someone?”
I was, but not this early.
I got out of bed and hobbled past her. When I opened the door, I was greeted with a happy bark from the sweetest little beagle mix. And Gus. Grinning at me.
“Oh my goodness! Look at her,” I said, falling to my knees to pet the pooch as she licked me happily.
“Told you, she’s gorgeous.”
“She is!” I grinned, and he smiled back down at me. When he bent down, he brushed my chin with his bad hand.
“I’m here early.”
“You are.” I stood and pulled my focus away from Sweetie to the real reason he was here. I tried not to feel my heart sink. “I’ll go get your phone.”
He stopped the word by pressing his lips to mine, taking away every single breath and obliterating every fear that threatened my composure. He pulled from our kiss slowly, pressing his nose against mine. “I’ve had the taste of you on my lips all night and day. I’ve been dying for more.”
I inhaled hard. “Your mom called.”
He shook his head. “I’ll call her later. Get your shoes on. Let’s go.”
“Go?”
“Yeah, breakfast, since I couldn’t wait for lunch.”
“You couldn’t?”
“I couldn’t,” he agreed. “So come on. I got us some really unhealthy breakfast sandwiches and some ice cold OJ. I got Sweetie some bacon.”
I just looked at him. “You’re serious?”
“Duh.” He laughed. “Come on.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just said, “Okay.”
When I turned, Lizzy was watching us, her eyes wide. I went back to my room and calmly slid my good foot into a flip-flop. I grabbed both our phones and my purse and then headed back to the living room, where Lizzy was still staring at Gus with her mouth hanging open. He pointed at her.
“Is your roommate broken?”
I shrugged. “She’s probably freaking out that you came back. Everyone knows about Gus Persson. One and done.”
He waved me off, laughing. “That’s for everyone else but you. Come on.”
He reached for my hand, pulling me with him, but I didn’t miss the way Lizzy was still gawking at us.
I was pretty sure my expression mirrored hers.
Because I sure as hell didn’t believe this was happening.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gus
I could tell Bo didn’t think I’d come back. I wasn’t sure why she would think that, though, especially after last night, but I could see the shock in her eyes when she opened the door. I thought the night had gone great. I thought we vibed just as well in bed as we did out of it. We were good, real damn good, so her fears of me not keeping my word were pointless. I kept my word. I wanted to see her. I needed to see her. I wasn’t even thinking of my phone last night. All I thought about was her and the noises she made when I was deep inside her. Not just that, but the way she made me laugh.
I didn’t expect her roommate to look at me the way she did, but then, I guess I had earned that shitty reputation around the Suns’ compound.
Oh well. Things change. People change. And Bo was definitely a woman worth changing for.
Sitting across from her on the blanket, I dug my feet in the sand as Sweetie ran through the shallow ocean waves, jumping and having a blast. Bo looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. Her hair was up in a wild bun, and she wore thick black sunglasses over her eyes. She was wearing a pair of short shorts and a big Suns Ice Girl sweatshirt. It gobbled her up, and I was jealous of it.
I wanted to gobble her up.
Glancing over at me, she smiled. “Aren’t you worried she’ll take off?”
I shook my head. “No. She’s stuck like glue to Max and me. He tried to say he’s keeping her. I’m not playing with him… I saved her. She’s mine.”
“Exactly,” she agreed, pointing a slice of bacon at me. “I’ll fight him on that.”
I smiled. “You’d fight someone for me?”
She rolled her eyes and leaned back on an elbow as she ate. And, of course, changed the subject. “Miss your phone last night?”
I shook my head as I looked out at Sweetie. The water was freezing, and hardly anyone was out. It was early and sort of chilly for a November day. Taking a bite of my eggs, I said, “Nah, I was busy playing with my Sweetie.”
She smiled. “I looked through it.”
“Of course you did.” I laughed. “I expected you to.”
“So you cleared it first?”
I scoffed. “No, everything on there is always on there. When did I have time to clear it? I legit pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to you.”
She gave me a sideways glance, a little smile pulling at her lips. “I still can’t believe you did that.”
“I really wanted you.”
Her smile fell off a bit as she looked down at her plate. “And now?”
I chuckled. “Oh, Bocephus, if only there was no one here and my dog didn’t need my attention…”
A gorgeous flush came over her face as she grinned. “So, this isn’t over?”
“What is this?” I asked, because I honestly didn’t know. “You keep saying this, but I have no clue what that means. Like Max fucked with me last night, saying we’re dating. Are we dating?”
She looked really uncomfortable. “Do you wanna date?”
I gave her a dry look. “I asked you first.”
“And I asked you second, so you gotta answer!”
I shook my head. “You’re annoying, but dating, um…that’s basically where I don’t date anyone but you, and you do the same but with me, right?”
She slowly nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then yeah, I want to do that.”
She seemed shocked, her brows pulling together, and that little twitch at the side of her mouth went nuts. “You do?”
“What the hell? I said it, didn’t I?”
She made a face and pressed her hand to her chest. “Excuse me, I was just verifying.”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean, I can promise you that.”
Her eyes met mine, dark and unsure. “Hey, do me a favor.”
I shrugged. “Kiss you, done,” I said, leaning toward her, but her hand stopped me. “That wasn’t it, was it?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Promise me you’ll make no promises.”
I frowned, unsure what she meant. Didn’t girls want the promise of forever and all that shit?
“I don’t want to get all into this when you’re going off this way and I’m going the other. I’m all for having fun and being together. That’s great, but I don’t want to promise anything.” I couldn’t see her eyes through the sunglasses, but her voice sounded guarded.
Still, I couldn’t deny what she said struck me. Why did this hurt? Not really a pain, but a sting. Her words stung. Like that sucked
. I wasn’t saying I wanted forever and all that shit, but man, maybe I wanted some of it? Shit, what did I want? What the hell was I doing? This shit wasn’t even on my radar a few weeks ago, and now, I was on a blanket with a girl of, fuck, my dreams, and I was confused.
Shit. I guess this really was dating, wasn’t it?
“Okay, I’m not sure what I’m agreeing to here, but cool, no promises.”
“Cool,” she said softly, seeming pleased by my answer.
“But what if I want to promise something?”
“Don’t.”
“What if it’s endless amounts of my face between your legs?”
She thought that over. “Okay, that is promise-able.”
“Okay, and if I want to promise endless orgasms?”
She smiled. “That’s fine.”
“What about lots of sex, especially from behind?”
Her face broke into a grin. “I mean, I won’t complain.”
“So sexual favors are a go, but promises about futures and shit like that are a no-go.”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
“Because you’re relationship-phobic?”
She glared. “I am not, and don’t act like you know what you’re talking about. You just decided to date after years of rocking that solo life.”
“Hey, that was by choice. No one was ever worth it.”
She gave me a dry look. “How many women have you slept with? A hundred? And not one was worth it?”
“Nope,” I said with a shrug. “I am very particular.”
“Whatever.”
“No, it’s not whatever, and I’m gonna show you. It’s okay to trust someone who will promise you something.”
“Oh, please… Until you’ve been left, heartbroken, don’t talk to me about trusting anyone.”
Reaching out, I cupped her by the back of her neck and brought her to me. Looking deep into her eyes, I smiled before pressing our lips together, the taste of her driving me wild. She placed her hand on mine as we kissed. Pulling back, only a breath away, I whispered, “I won’t do that to you.”
Her eyes were sad as she whispered back, “I’ve been told that before.”
I really did hate this dude. “I’m not him.”
“I know.”
“Good, so don’t punish me for his shit,” I reminded her.
“You’re right.” She nodded.
Capturing her bottom lip with my teeth, I whispered, “I want that story.”
She shook her head, releasing her lip from my hold. “And I’m nowhere near ready to rehash that shit show with you.”
I pressed my nose into hers. “Still, I want to know.”
She kissed the side of my lips and sat back up, reaching for her orange juice. “Believe me, you don’t. It’s the same old sob story. Girl falls for guy, gives him every single piece of her, shit goes down, he promises her the world and then some. Next day, he’s gone.”
I could see the pain in her eyes, the way each word was like pulling a knife out of her back. And chest.
She looked up at me and shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve heard that one before.”
“He sounds like a douche.”
She scoffed. “I thought he was my forever.” She laughed. “I was a stupid, naïve girl.”
“Give me his name. I’ll rip off his limbs and present them to you.”
She giggled. “How romantic.”
“Right?” I asked, and then I put my food down. I reached for her, pulling her by her arm. She laid her food down before scooting into my arms and leaning her head against mine. She smelled clean, like deodorant. Nothing fancy, but still, I liked it.
I liked her.
A lot.
Kissing her temple, I looked at Sweetie, jumping in the waves like a crazy dog, and exhaled hard. “I request your permission to allow me to promise you something.”
She groaned beside me. “No promises, Gus.”
“I’m doing it anyway,” I demanded, even with her resistance. “Because I’m not going to fuck you over, Bo. If I start feeling like this isn’t good, then I’ll tell you.”
She looked up at me, and I could see how much that meant to her. “Thank you.”
“I would never intentionally hurt you. And besides, my mom would kill me if I did.”
She giggled as she leaned back into me, her head on my shoulder. “I mean, let’s be honest, this isn’t serious or anything.”
Oh. I thought it could be. “Yeah,” I agreed. “Just two crazy kids having fun.”
She kissed my jaw. “Exactly.”
“Cool.”
With a giggle, she asked, “What will all your little fans say?”
I shrugged, my face scrunching up. “Who the fuck cares?”
Her eyes widened a bit, and I realized that might have sounded a little as if this was serious, so I covered it by laughing. But then, out of nowhere, Sweetie was crashing into us, shaking water everywhere and barking happily.
But all I heard was Bo’s laughter as she kissed Sweetie on the head. This woman was not the least bit worried about the water or even the sand.
And at that moment, I knew this could be serious.
I just needed Bo to realize that.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gus
“Oh, I need a shower. I smell like dog and ocean.” Bo laughed over Sweetie’s barking.
I put my truck in park in front of my place. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m gonna take her in, and then we’ll go back to your place.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s fine, but what about you?” she asked as I got out of the truck’s cab. “Don’t you need to shower? Want me to Uber home?”
“No way,” I said, shutting the door, but she got out too, which confused me. “You can stay here. I’m gonna go get her upstairs. I’ll be right out.”
She pointed to my pitiful dog, still wet and full of sand. “Doesn’t she need a bath? You can’t leave her in your apartment like that.”
“Crap, yeah,” I said, and I felt frantic. I knew she had her internship tonight and then the game. We’d spent too much time at the beach, but then, I wouldn’t trade that for the world.
“How are you going to wash her? Is Max home?”
Fuck. “No. Crap.”
I really didn’t want her to Uber home. I didn’t want to waste that time. I wanted to spend it with her since we would be leaving on a road trip in a few days, and apparently, she had a lot of schoolwork to do the next couple days.
“I’ll help you shower her, and then I’ll shower here, put on some old clothes of yours, and get dressed at home, if that’s okay,” she decided and then smacked her hands together. “Cool, let’s go.”
Before I could agree or disagree, she took the leash and started toward my condo. I rushed to catch up with her, and once we were inside, we got Sweetie in the bath. Thankfully, Max had gone shopping for Sweetie, and there was dog shampoo, because I wasn’t sure how I felt about my baby girl smelling like Max’s nasty body spray. I sure as hell wasn’t using mine on her. Wasn’t sure that was even safe.
Rubbing soap into her ears, Bo kissed her nose. “Aren’t you a spoiled girl? Yes, you are,” she cooed, kissing her again.
“Can I say I find it hot that you love dogs?”
She looked over at me and threw a handful of suds at me, hitting me right between my brows. “Stop, horndog. We don’t have time for your shenanigans,” she teased.
Wiping my face, I stuck my hand in the bath and glared. “Rude.”
“Not rude!” she teased as she went back to washing Sweetie, but just as she went from her back, I gathered a whole fist of suds and threw them in her hair.
“Gus!”
“What?” I asked innocently. When she went to throw more at me, I held up my hand. “Bad hand! Truce!”
She paused, rolling her eyes. “Fine, truce.”
Bo went back to washing, and I grinned at her as I leaned back on my haunches as she washed my dog. “You’re lucky I have a bad hand.”
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She smiled over at me. “Oh really?”
“Oh yeah,” I said, moving closer to her and nibbling on her neck. “I would throw you in this bath, get you all wet, and then fuck you against the tile.”
She gasped, but I could see the grin on her face as she lifted her shoulder to push me away. “I am washing your dog. Please. You’re so distracting.”
I fought back my laughter as she rinsed Sweetie down. She looked like a damn hot mess, hair everywhere, her shirt and shorts soaked. Sand was scattered through her hair and had dried against her neck. Still, she was beautiful, so fucking beautiful. I wanted her.
Bad.
“Think we have time for a quickie?”
She looked over her shoulder at me. “Gus!”
“What? I’m fucking burning hot here, baby.”
She sucked in a deep breath, shaking her head as she reached for the towel she had out. Without answering me, she carefully lifted Sweetie out of the bathtub and dried her. Sweetie took off like a bat out of hell, and I laughed.
“Bet you anything she’s on the couch, rubbing herself all over it. She did that to Max yesterday.”
When I glanced back at her, she was lifting her shirt. My mouth dropped when I realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. Again. “Do you have something against bras, Ms. St. James?”
She gave me a kitten smile. “Is that a problem?”
Taking her in my arms, I held her tight so her breasts pressed against my chest. “Not even close to a problem.”
As her mouth met mine, I carefully lifted her with one arm. She wrapped her good leg around my waist and kind of awkwardly held up the boot. It reminded me of the first time we got hot and heavy, which did nothing but make me harder. Her mouth was torturing me. She rubbed her tongue along my lips and swept my tongue in the most erotic way. I wasn’t sure when Max would be home, so I used her ass to guide my bedroom door closed. She helped me yank off my shirt, kissing down my chest as she went. She pecked at my nipple, sending chills down my back, before she slid down my body, pulling my shorts down and taking my engorged flesh in her hand. She moved her hands up and down me and followed with her mouth. I couldn’t stand how fucking great every kiss, every touch felt. This could never be just one and done. Not her.
