“Better,” he said, hands on hips, erection still full mast.
After that, he pulled on a t-shirt, followed by boxers, tucked himself in, and put on thick joggers. Grabbing my hand, he led me into his bathroom.
Positioning me in front of the mirror, he rummaged through a couple of drawers until he found a hairbrush. Flipping the hood off my head, he took on the impossible task of brushingout the tangles in my hair. He was gentle as he went.
“You’re good at this,” I commented, watching him work at a stubborn tangle with practiced hands.
He glanced at me in the mirror and winked. “Having a little sister will do that to you.”
“Did you help her a lot with her hair when she was little?”
He chuffed. “I help her with her hair now, too. Lazy brat. She thinks it should still be my job.”
I laughed, my cheeks hurting with how much I’d smiled this evening. I felt unencumbered, especially in the face of an otherwise terrifying future event. It was a foreign feeling.
“Does she not have boyfriends?” I ventured.
His head bobbed. “She has too many. But they’re not the type she brings home. She’s not a serious-relationship woman.”
“And you?” I ventured.
He eyed me again. “I haven’t come across any memorable women in my life—until you, of course. You are the only woman who’s ever seen this room, let alone my bed.”
That surprised me. “Really? Aren’t you like… thirty-five?”
He nodded and shrugged. “This is my safe space. I want it to stay that way, you know?”
I scoffed. Of course, I knew what that felt like. “But you’ll let me be in it?” I pushed.
He set the brush down, caging me against the counter and placing his chin on the top of my head, both of us looking in the mirror. “Yep.”
And that was all he said on the matter. No explanation, no further open-ended quips. He gaveme a playful tap on the butt, leaning back and taking my hand again. We walked from the bathroom to the stairs.
“You can sneak into your room to get some underwear.” We stopped at the top of the stairs. “But, I kinda like the idea of you staying like this all evening, too.” He brushed his hands up my thighs, facing me. They slid under the giant t-shirt and hoodie until he found my bare center.
I blushed at that. “Didn’t she say she brought home clothes?” I asked.
He nodded.
“What if she makes me try them on, then what? I’ll be naked.”
He tilted his head from side to side. “Then I’ll help you put them on.”
I laughed hard; the sound echoing down the long spiral stairwell. Nash removed his hands from me as I heard Bill bark from below. I glanced down over the railing, the black and white blur circling at the bottom with his tail wagging.
When we reached the landing, he hopped up onto me. I grabbed his paws, letting him lick my face like he loved to do.
“Well, well,well.”Bee sauntered from around the corner, white wine in hand, glass fogged with frost.
My mouth watered at the sight. “Where’s mine?” I joked in response.
She eyed me up and down with squinted eyes. Her black winged liner made her look fierce. With dark hair twisted into a tight bun on her head, and long layered bangs framing her face, she could have been a villain. She wore a dark pencil skirt and matching—I think—dark turtleneck.Her feet were bare and comfortable.
Her eyes landed on Nash’s hand lacing with mine as he came up behind me, wrapping his other arm around my shoulders and placing his chin again on my head. I got the sense that this was now his go-to resting place.
A devious smile snaked across her lips. “Come this way,my dear, and I will hook you u-p,” she stressed the ‘p’ with a pop of her glossy lips, turning from the room.
We followed her as one, arriving at the kitchen island where a bottle rested in a bucket of ice with two more glasses. She poured two more, handing them across to us before popping open the top on a few pizza boxes.
