“We’re just taking it slow. Seeing how it works out. If you could keep this to yourself for now, that would be great. I gotta go,” I snap before pulling my headset off, throwing it across the couch, and letting myself fall back into the cushions.
My chest heaves as I try to come to terms with the fact that all of this is very real. I do have a woman in my life, a woman I arguably can’t stop thinking about who is now right here in my?—
“Are you okay?”
I startle and jump to my feet, my heart racing even faster than it was a few minutes ago. But the second I find her standing there in an oversized T-shirt, her face clear of makeup and her hair all twisted up on the top of her head, everything seems to stop.
There’s a woman in my apartment.
“Y-yeah,” I stutter, barely able to believe what I’m seeing, even though I was the one who brought her here. It was the right thing to do, but still…this is fucking weird. “I was just playing Xbox with the guys and?—”
“Really? From what I could see, you were hiding behind a crate,” she says, a teasing lilt to her voice.
I narrow my eyes, my heart rate picking up again. “How long have you been standing there?” I ask, my mind racing as I try to remember what I just said about her.
“Oh, not long,” she says before walking closer. “I was wondering, though, since you think I’m awesome and like hanging out with me so much, did you want to order some food in and we could eat together?”
My face burns. I swear to God, even my ears get hot as I hear my previous words repeated back to me.
Folding my arms over my chest, I narrow my eyes and glare at her.
“Wasn’t standing there long, huh?”
She shrugs, clearly not giving a single fuck about eavesdropping on my conversation with Linc and Killer.
“Just long enough, I’d say. Now, wipe that frown off your face, Everett. I thought you smiled when I was around.”
My chin drops, my eyes locked on her as she moves around my home.
As she closes the space between us, the floral scent clinging to her gets stronger, making my mouth water. My fists clench with the need to reach out and feel how soft her skin is. I honestly don’t know how I stop myself, especially as she slips between me and the couch, before she drops onto it and curls her bare legs beneath her.
My eyes lock on inches upon inches of bare, tanned skin until they hit the fabric that sits high on her thighs, stopping me from discovering any more.
While we might have been as intimate as two people can get the first night we met, there’s so much of her I didn’t get to discover.
Usually, I don’t care. I let women walk away, and I don’t think of them again. But that night was different.
She became a constant thought in my head. Even if I tried to force myself to forget it, to forget her, I couldn’t. It was like I knew subconsciously that she was more than any of those who came before. That it was only the beginning of something, and that she was about to become one of the most important people in my life.
“Everett?”
At hearing my name, my eyes jump back up to her amused ones.
“You know, for a fuckboy, you’re sure acting like you’ve never seen a pair of legs before.”
My chin drops, but yet again, no words appear.
What is it about this woman stealing all my thoughts?
“I-I…um…I’ve never had a woman on my couch before,” I blurt before stalking toward my kitchen, hoping that a little space will enable my brain to start functioning properly.
I swear, I hear her chuckle behind me, but I don’t turn around to confirm it.
“Did you want a drink?” I ask once the air around me smells familiar again.
“Yes, please. I’d love a coff—” She cuts herself off. “Water will be fine, thank you.”
“I can make you a coffee,” I offer, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge for her and carrying it over.
