She laughed and shook her head.“Yes, honey.”She stepped closer and patted my arm.“I’ll spare you.”
I exhaled.“Thank you.”
“I’ll go order the pizza, okay?”she said, already grabbing her purse.
I nodded, trying not to melt into a puddle of embarrassment as she headed for the front porch.
The door closed behind her.
Cole burst out laughing.
“This is not funny,” I snapped, pointing at him.“My mom knows we were having sex.”
He wiped at his face, still grinning.“Pretty sure she knew already.”
“In the shower,” I added weakly.“In her house.”
He stepped closer, and his hands came to my waist, his expression softening immediately.“Hey.”
I looked up at him, still flustered.
“It’s fine,” he said quietly.“You’re fine.We’re fine.We’re both consenting adults.”
Then he kissed me, hot, confident, familiar, and the kind of kiss that reminded me exactly why none of this actually mattered.
When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine.“I promise.You don’t need to be embarrassed.Nobody’s judging.And I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” I grumbled.“That wasn’t your mom.”
He brushed my hair from my face.“I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty, my mother also knows that we are having sex.”
My eyes bugged out.“The whole club knows,” I whispered.
He chuckled.“Yeah, and we know the whole club is having sex, too, Star.Just take a deep breath, babe.”
I let out a breath and leaned into him, my hands curling into his shirt.
“Okay,” I said softly.“Everyone is having sex,” I whispered.
His body rumbled under me as he laughed.“Yeah, they are.They definitely are.”He leaned back and looked down at me.“I’m just glad to join the ranks with you.”
My cheeks heated all over again.“I think we should just stop talking about it.”
He nodded.“As long as we don’t stop doing it.”
I closed my eyes and sighed.This man was impossible, but at least he was my man.
Chapter Twenty
Cole
Thursday.
Star moved around the kitchen barefoot, soft steps on tile, pulling a mug down from the cabinet and setting it on the counter with a gentle clink.The sound shouldn’t have mattered.None of it should have mattered.But I tracked everything anyway.The way she tucked her hair behind her ear.The way she leaned her hip against the counter while the kettle heated.
Normal things.
Things that didn’t deserve to be interrupted by the kind of thoughts chewing through my head.
