“Well, can’t a guy discuss what he wants to do? We have the night off.”
“Do you want a party?” Blakely asks.
He shakes his head. “No, I want Penny’s parents to take Holden and Penny to take me in—”
Penny clamps her hand over Eli’s mouth and says, “Say that out loud and I won’t be taking you anywhere.”
He smiles against her hand and in a muffled voice, he says, “Good to know.”
Penny then turns to us and folds her hands together as she asks, “Are you two going to be each other’s valentines?”
“Yes,” I answer as Blakely says, “We haven’t discussed it.”
Question in my brow, I look at her and ask, “Planning on being someone else’s valentine?”
“No,” she answers. “Just didn’t want to put any pressure on you. Perry often worked on Valentine’s Day. He’d always escape early so we did something, but I never pressured him to do anything.”
“Pressure me all you want,” I say. “I want to know what you want, how you want it, and when you want it. If you desire a valentine’s celebration, it’s yours, baby.”
“Oh my God.” Penny clutches her chest. “He calls you baby.” She swats at Eli. “Did you hear that? He calls her baby.”
“Ouch,” Eli says, rubbing his arm. “I have ears, Penny.”
Ignoring them, I say, “Then let’s celebrate. I’d love to be your valentine.”
I lift her chin and press a delicate kiss to her lips. “Good.”
“How’s the ankle?”Posey asks as he comes into the ice room where I’m nursing my ankle in an ice bath.
“Good,” I say, studying the heavy set in his shoulders and the irritated pull in his expression. “How’s everything with you?”
“Great,” he says, offering me a fake smile.
“You sure? Because it seems like—”
“I said everything is great,” he grunts before taking his shirt off as well as his shorts, leaving him in nothing but his boxer briefs. He submerges himself up to the neck into one of the ice baths and breathes heavily as he lets his body adjust to the cold.
“Sore?” I ask him.
“Something like that.”
I think back to the text conversation we had and I wonder if the girl OC was talking about has anything to do with his mood. Because he’s been so invasive with my personal life, I decide to insert myself into his.
“Want to tell me about the girl?”
“There is no girl,” he says.
“Says the guy icing his dick.”
He glances over at me. “I’m not icing my dick.”
“Then what are you icing?”
“My ego,” he mutters.
“Care to share?”
“No,” he says as he blows out a heavy breath. “I’m assuming everything’s great with you and Blakely? You’re welcome by the way.”
