“Could you imagine, Miller? You and me?” she scoffed, shaking her head and wiggling her toes. I switched feet, taking her left one in hand and running my fingers over the soft skin of her ankles.
More and more every day, babe.
“Bev must be all kinds of desperate to think we’d go together any better than Crisco and water.”
“Well, they say opposites attract, babe.”
I tried to make light of the nonchalant tone she took, speaking about the two of us like it was some sort of joke, but my words fell flat—like a lead weight had been dropped in my stomach. It was bad enough that my feelings for her were more jumbled than a Rubik’s Cube.
“Cut it out. We are not opposites. Far from it, Miller. But seriously? How long would we last with my hours? Being at someone else’s beck and call while dragging you out to cocktail parties and dinners. Expecting you to wear a tuxedo and discuss the weather with people who think their sole purpose in life is to belittle and degrade. Your temper would get the best of you, and you’d start resenting me. Why destroy what we have because other people think it’s a good idea?”
She propped herself on her elbows and rolled her eyes, poking me in the stomach with her big toe.
“So, let me get this straight—”
“Ugh, oh. I know that tone. That’s thelet me throw down some mansplaining at Emma and hope she doesn’t kick me in the nutstone.”
“I do not use that tone, and the last time I checked, you like my nuts.” I pushed her feet off me and crossed my arms. She sat up, then turned and laid her head in my lap. Thank goodness my dick deflated with her last comment—she didn’t need a face full of cock.
“Oh, you totally do,” she said, giggling and patting my cheek. “The easiest thing to do is just admit I’m right.”
“I’ll always defer to the infinite knowledge that is Emma James.”
“Sarcasm is not needed.”
“I am not being sarcastic. Quit being so defensive.” I brushed a curl off her forehead and brought my fingers to her temples, rubbing slow circles.
“Hell, yes. I love you so, so much. Please don’t stop.”
I chuckled, watching as she stretched her arms above her head and dragged them through my hair.
“You got it. So, you don’t think we should go out? I could wine and dine you better than all the jokers on those apps,” I said as casually as I could, posing the words as a statement and not a question. She hummed, tilting her head as I continued the massage. Her tension headaches always radiated from the left side of her head, and painkillers did little to dull the ache once they hit her full force. There were no outward signs that her head was bothering her, but I’d use any excuse to keep my hands against her skin.
Her silence filled the space, and I glanced at Minnie perched on her cat tree, looking way more interested in the conversation than a lowly cat should be. She lost our staring contest after a minute and focused on bathing her front paws instead.
Sore loser.
Still, Emma kept her eyes closed and her bottom lip between her teeth, letting the silence drag. She couldn’t turn me down if I didn’t ask her out—something I hoped she was astute enough to figure out. The prospect of asking her out sounded more appealing the longer I thought about it—and the more she met my statement with silence.
She’d been under me, pinned against the wall, draped over a table, and even on her knees in the shower, but she’dneverbeen on my arm. She’d never threaded her fingers with mine and leaned close, brushing her lips against my cheek before excusing herself to the ladies’ room.
I’d fucked her in a deserted hallway while some grunge band warmed up at a dive bar downtown but never held the dooropen for her while we walked into a restaurant before me, slowly slipping her jacket from her bare shoulders, revealing a dress she’d bought especially for our date.
Shit.
Those thoughts were more than a crush, but the only way to see if things could—or should—be escalated into something else was if she said yes.
Not that I asked her a question.Merely suggested we follow the natural progression of our relationship.
“Like to dinner and a movie?” She paused, cracking an eye open when my ministrations stopped.
“Sure. We could see a movie or go to that new Indian restaurant off Rüten Boulevard.”
Yes. Yes. My vague and cowardice knows no bounds.
Her silence unnerved me, and I paused, massaging her temple, willing my pulse to calm the fuck down. Her silence was all the answer I needed—we needed to move back to safer territory.
“You mentioned a jog earlier. Still think that’s the best way to spend the evening? If you want to work up a sweat, you need only ask, baby.”
