I let out a crackly laugh. “Yeah. Guess you are too.”
“Was I snoring or something?” she asks, and it’s like she has no clue what a wollerpuss?*she’s being in this bed.
I prop my head up on my elbow and turn toward her. “No, you’re just a little oven and flopping around like a fish.”
“Sorry for being so hot,” she giggles. “I’m actually . . . starving.”
“Is that a metaphor for gobbling dick?” I ask, and she cackles. Making her laugh is the best. Usually she suppresses it because she’s trying to come up with some witty comeback—which, yeah, I like those too.
“No, I’m hungry. For food. Maggie brought me Taco Bell, but I didn’t eat enough all day. And then, you know, sex.”
A deep laugh comes from my chest. I dig my fingers into Darcy’s side and she squeals. “You weren’t the one fighting for your life on top, boss. ‘Faster, Jake,’ while I was already pounding the hell out of you.”
She gasps and slaps my pec. “Are you critiquing my sex performance? You didn’t seem to be complaining at the time.”
“Absolutely not. You’re an angel.”
She flicks my bedside lamp on. “I can’t tell if you’re fucking with me. Guess I’ll have to steal a shirt and eat everything out of your pantry.”
A very much naked Darcy tiptoes to my dresser like she’s a cartoon burglar, glancing over her shoulder to bait me.
“What’s mine is yours, boss. If you think that’s going to be revenge, you are wrong.”
She pulls a plain white t-shirt over her head, and, with one last mischievous look, grabs one of my cowboy hats and runs for the kitchen.
I tuck a condom and her bullet vibrator in the side of my boxer briefs and take off after her, catching her around the waist in the hallway and kissing her neck. “If you want me to chase you, I’ll run till my legs give out.”
Darcy swoons. “God, quit being so cute. How am I supposed to survive this? How will I move on after this summer?”
She freezes in my arms. It’s the thing that hangs in the air: something this remarkable just being a summer fling. I think it could end up being more than that, but we can’t agonize over it.
I turn her, putting my hands on her shoulders. She has to cock her head back extra to look at me since she’s wearing my Stetson. “We either put down roots or we float away on the breeze.”
Her gaze is fixed on the tattoo over my heart. “So much for running till your legs give out.”
I run my hands down her arms. “Only if you want to be chased.”
She nods, sucking a breath through her nose. “Do you have graham crackers?”
We break into our pantry, and I make note of what she takes of Caleb’s so I can replace it. We sit on the kitchen floor, passing bags of candy, chips, and crackers between us.
Darcy breaks our silence. “Hell of a day.”
I look her over, trying to figure her out. “You alright after all that?”
She twists her lips, inspecting the chip she’s about to put in her mouth. “As alright as you can be, I guess. Good closure. I know I deserve more than what he’s offering.”
I pop a Nerds gummy in my mouth. “What do you want?”
Her eyes pass over the bags and packages surrounding us, at my nearly-naked form, and her gaze softens. I hope that look means she wants me.
She sucks her teeth like she’s got a gummy candy stuck in them. She changes the subject.
“I started writing again today. Before all that.”
“Fanfic?” I ask, and she shoots me a look I’ve seen many times on her before: theare you fucking with melook.
“Not this time,” she says. “More serious. A story that just came to me.”
