“Oh.” She left the room, feeling like an utter fool. Why the hell would she mention marriage or kids at all? She might be thinking about how much she liked and lusted and yes, loved the man. But she had so much baggage in her own life, and Smith clearly had a truckload in his. The poor guy constantly helped her out of messes, yet no one ever helped him, and look at how remarkable he’d turned out to be?
Erin paused in his bedroom. It had just turned six, and his alarm went off. She searched for his phone, found it, and hit a button to silence the racket.
“You want to shower here or at your place?” he asked, standing naked in the doorway.
She couldn’t help staring at him. “You’re not embarrassed about being nude at all are you?”
“Nope. And I pee in front of other people all the time.”
“All the time, really?” She quirked a brow.
“In the men’s bathroom, Cupcake. And when I was in the Corps, if we were out in the field or on patrol, we took care of business. No big deal.”
She felt embarrassed but figured they might as well talk about it. “Okay, here’s the deal. I like you. A lot. A lot-lot.” The wide smile he wore looked good on him. “But I have my own quirks.”
“Right. No peeing in front of you.”
“Right. And that includes all things that involve the toilet.”
“What about puking?” His eyes gleamed.
“Well, Mr. Pain-in-the-Butt, how about this? If it comes out of you below the waist, I don’t want to see it. Same goes for me. I willnotdo my business in front of you.”
“Okay.”
“And no farting either.” She wished she hadn’t started all this. “It’s gross. Guys think it’s funny. I do not.”
“Gotcha.”
She had to give it to him. He was working hard to choke back laughter. “And another thing. I expect honesty between us. I liked sleeping with you. And I loved what we just did. Maybe we could keep doing this.”
“This?”
“Us.”
He watched her in silence, enough to make her uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry. Did I push for too much?” she asked.
“Just making sure you’re saying that because you like me. Not because you pity me or anything,” he muttered.
“You are as thick as a brick.”
He glanced down at himself and shrugged. “I know. Thanks for noticing.”
“No, you idiot. Not your penis. Your head.”
“Huh?”
“I like you because you’re sexy and sweet, but you can be kind of an asshole.” Only Smith could make her cuss.
“Oh, you said a bad word.”
“Shut up. I like being with you. You make me laugh. I feel good around you. And I know you’d never treat me the way Cody did.”
He stepped toward her, stopping so close she had to look up to read his expression. “Never. I like you too.” He sighed. “A lot. You’re sexy and funny, and let’s be honest, you make me hard. But you never leave me hungry.” He grinned. “We should date. For real.”
“For real?” She tensed. Had they been fake dating?
