She raised her hands in defense, smirking as she did. Simultaneously waving a piece of paper in her hand. “Relax. I’m just giving Lily her last paycheck from The Den since she’s working down here now.”
Paychecks were always sent out electronically. She was down here for a different reason.
Her eyes narrowed on me, full of venom as she stopped in front of us and smiled. “Let me know when you’re done fucking him so I can remind him how real women do it.”
I felt myself internally withdraw while Dean snatched the paper from her hand.
“You done?” he said sharply.
Roxy dragged her eyes over him as she slid her tongue slowly across her bottom teeth. Calculating.
“Not yet,” she said lightly, backing away with a smug look on her face before she turned on her heels and headed back through the basement.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Dean said after a long pause of silence. His thumb tapped on the steering wheel and when I didn’t respond right away, he looked over.
I smiled quickly, albeit forced. “I know.”
But Roxy was right. She could remind him how it’s done because I had never done it before in the first place. I wouldn’t know where to begin or how to initiate that kind of intimacy. I wasn’t even sure I was ready. Dreaming of it, imagining it was something entirely different. He hadn’t been real in those moments.
My eyes slid to him.
The passing streetlights illuminated his face; the hardened look in his eyes as he focused on the road. A muscle feathered lightly in his jaw.
With the way things were going, he would want it to get physical — far more physical than what we were doing so far. It was expected. And I don’t know why I failed to realize this earlier. It’s not like we could kiss on rooftops and in closets forever.
His love language is touch.
I tensed at the thought of him seeing my body, or having his body against mine. A fully grown man, our clothes discarded. It caused my face to heat, and I quickly looked away from him again as self-doubt took over.
Chapter 49
Lily
Xavier’s new apartment was on the fifth floor of a very dated, brick building with two very old industrial-style elevators. It took Aiden a couple of tries to manually pull the metal door shut before I pressed one of the dimly lit elevator buttons. All the numbers were faded so I had to squint and hope I pressed the number five. The elevator made a deep grinding sound before lurching slowly upwards.
Kira squeezed her eyes shut as she held my arm. “I really hate elevators,” she muttered.
“I did say we could take the stairs,” I offered softly, patting my hand on hers. My other arm had Xavier’s housewarming gift tucked beneath it.
Aiden scoffed. “And miss traveling in such a beautiful piece of history?”
My eyes narrowed at him but he didn’t notice. He was too busy admiring the old frame of the tiny space, swaying slightly on his feet.
Aiden had invited himself along at the last minute as we were leaving to wait for our Uber. He narrowly missed clipping a black car that was driving by in the other direction, before he pulled up to the curb. Smelling faintly of beer when he climbed out of the car, he told us he wanted to come along to the party as Kira’s plus-one. Then added he didn’t feel comfortable letting Kira go to a party without him when she was dressed in a loosely fitted crop top and high-waist shorts.
I knew Xavier said to invite as many people as I liked, but Aiden didn't exactly come to mind when he said it.
The elevator came to an abrupt stop at the fifth floor and Aiden struggled with the door once again, eventually heaving it open only to lose his balance and slump into the wall, chuckling to himself as he straightened out again.
Kira looped her arm through his and smiled warily at him. “Are you sure you don’t want to just head home? Lily and I will be okay—”
“I said I’m coming to the party,” he said pointedly.
“Okay.” Her smile faltered as we stepped out of the elevator. “I was just making sure...”
I pushed aside the invasive thought telling me to kick him in the shin as I led the way to Xavier’s apartment. Following the sound of muffled music, I brushed out the knee-length pleats in my turquoise blue dress. This one also had an exposed back, though not nearly as low as the cocktail dress, with a sweetheart neckline and off-the-shoulder sleeves.
Xavier greeted us at the door, motioning happily for us to come inside.
