“What do you want to do today?”he asks.
“Do you know if they have board games?”I ask.“I haven’t checked.”
He nods as he chews his last bite of waffle.“They do.I know they have Aggravation.That’s the King-family-favorite board game.”Rising, he gathers his plates and takes them to the sink before coming back for mine.
“Aggravation?I’ve never heard of it.What is it?”
“It’s a marble board game.You move marbles around and send your opponent back to the start.It’s fun.You’ll like it.I need to take a shower first, but after that, we can play games, watch movies.Maybe they have a puzzle we can put together?”
Ollie is too pure for this world.Bless his wholesome heart.We’re alone and snowed in.We could spend the day fucking if we weren’t “just friends.”What a wasted opportunity.
“I should shower too,” I say.“Will you help me rewrap my wrist?”
He nods.“Of course, record me as I unwrap it so we can redo it in reverse.I’ve done stuff like this before.It’ll be fine.Do you need help washing your hair?”
Wha…?“Like shower together?”
He blushes deep red.“Uh…um…I figured in the kitchen sink?”
I giggle.“Oh, yeah, that makes sense.I should be okay to do it myself.Only has to be clean.I’m not worrying about styling or anything.”
“Do you want to go first?”
“You don’t mind?”
He shakes his head.“Ladies first.”
I record the unwrapping of my wrist on my phone.It twinges a little to wiggle my fingers or flex my wrist, but it’s not bad.
I grab a T-shirt and boy shorts and go into the bathroom.No way am I coordinated enough to put on a bra yet, so I’ll layer a sweatshirt again.Not that Ollie cares.
I strip down as the shower heats up, but I realize at the last minute I didn’t bring in any of my own toiletries.Shit.Shelby’s stuff is in here, so I’ll use that.I grab a washcloth and towels from the closet, then step into the shower and close the door.
A quarter hour later, I’m squeaky clean and stepping out of the shower.I dry off as much as I can before pulling on my boy short panties and another one of Ollie’s T-shirts from his college hockey days.I hope he doesn’t mind me stealing his clothes—they’re easier to manage right now, and they’re so soft.
Walking into the bedroom, I go to the rocker where my yoga pants are and bend forward to towel dry my hair.The door opens behind me, and I hear Ollie’s gasp.I straighten and spin around so fast I feel dizzy.I’m lightheaded.It could be caused by the blood draining from my head.But it’s not.It’s from Ollie’s expression, which is hot with desire.
11
OLLIE
Fuck me.Literally.Like that’s what I want Phoebe to do to me when I walk into the bedroom to see her bent at the waist.Those panties over her plump ass cheeks can’t quite hold in all her lusciousness.When she straightened up, startled, all I saw was my last name and my college number on her back.
She’s wearingmy name, and that’s how it should be.
The primal urge to claim her is overwhelming.Bigfoot don’t bite our mate to claim them—we carry them off deep into the forest and make them want to be ours.We have tens of thousands of acres of the Pine Barrens right down the street.It’s the perfect opportunity to get away.But I won’t do that.Phoebe is going to be mine because she wants to be, and she’s going to declare that in front of our friends and family.No hiding away.The whole world is going to know that Phoebe Albright is choosing to be Phoebe King.Now to figure out how to do it.
I hate it, but I turn around so I’m not staring at her and making this awkward.
“Sorry,” I say over my shoulder.“I didn’t realize you weren’t finished dressing.”
She’s moving around, and I’m picturing her pulling on pants.
“No worries,” she says.“I didn’t think to close the door all the way.I’m sorry.”
She has nothing in the world to apologize for.
“You can turn around, Ollie,” she says after a moment.
