“Mhm. I bet you are. My god. I want him to be my brother-in-law. I love Audrey, I do. But Noah Abbott? The one who holds the offensive line records at Central State?”
“Doyouwant to tell him you have a crush on him?” I fired back.
“Oh my god, would you?” His grin doubled in size. “He could be my sugar daddy.”
“I’m hanging up.” I snorted, my brother somehow appeasing my nerves. “Love you, Daniel.”
“Have funnn and make me an uncle!”
“Bye!” I hung up the phone, blushing head to toe from his comment. It was silly. I wasn’t a virgin, but I hadn’t had sex in a long time. And god, the thought of sleeping with Noah had me in a full-body sweat. What if… I wasn’t like all the women he’d been with the last few years? Like every single other time I thought about sleeping with someone, I remembered my ex. The one who cheated on me with my dormmate and friend. The one who saidI sucked in bed and wasn’t adventurous or sexy.
Those wounds were still deep. They were raw. And they made me question everything.
Thirty minutes later, I found myself walking into a small, quiet spa three blocks away, my shoulders already unclenching despite my nerves. Noah wanted me torelaxand unwind from crouching over and staring at designs all day, so he’d booked me a facial.
No one in my life had ever done that. Ever. I’d never had one, and a flutter of excitement and nerves weaved its way down my spine.
The room smelled like eucalyptus and clean towels right as I walked in. Soft music hummed through the walls, and for the first time all day, my thoughts slowed enough to breathe. As I lay there with my eyes closed, warm hands working tension out of my face and neck, my brain did the absolute worst thing possible.
It replaced them with Noah’s.
His hands were bigger. Warmer. Familiar in a way that felt dangerous. I hated how easy it was to imagine him taking care of me like this, hated how safe he made me feel without even trying. I wasn’t used to men who noticed when I was tired instead of asking what was wrong with me.
Which was the problem. Noah wasn’t like everyone else.
My chest tightened in a way that wasn’t panic this time. It was something softer. Something terrifying.
By the time I walked back to the condo, my skin warm and relaxed and my mind dangerously open, it was barely seven-thirty. The lights were dim inside, the place quiet in that way that meant bedtime had already happened. Sassy trotted overimmediately, tail wagging, and pressed her head into my leg like I’d been gone all day instead of two hours.
“Hey, girl,” I whispered, crouching to scratch behind her ears. “Were you good?”
Her tail thumped harder, and for a moment I stayed there on the floor, breathing her in and bracing myself. I wore a simple cutoff crew neck and baggy jeans that went high on my waist, but suddenly I felt underdressed. Should I have put on a dress? Something nicer?
“Hi,” Noah said, appearing near the kitchen and leaning against the doorframe. That man knew how to lean: arms crossed, slight smirk, intense eyes that trailed from my face all the way down to my feet and back.
That attention made my skin tingle.
“How was the facial?”
“Amazing.” I swallowed, suddenly so fucking nervous I couldn’t move my feet. “I’ve never had one before. Always wanted one. Thought about them, but they are expensive, and I can’t really afford anything extra, you know? Thank you. OH! You included the tip too, which, thank you. It was weird at first but so good,” I blabbered on, unable to close my mouth. My mind tried shutting me up. It really did, but I couldn’t. “They put this mint thing on your face and cover your eyes, and it was almost orgasmic. Like I had to force myself to not moan because it’d be weird. Or was I supposed to moan?”
“Hey, Em?” Noah pushed off the doorframe, nearing me with his lips curving up. “Take a breath.”
“Yeah, that sounds great. I’d love to do that, but my mouth won’t stop talking,” I admitted, my voice on the edge of hysteria.
Noah chuckled, a deep, low sound as he brought his fingers to my mouth and closed it. He ran his fingers over my jaw, my earlobe, then down my neck as his nostrils flared. “Your skin is so smooth. Good.” He towered over me, his height and weightalways a comfort instead of a fear. “You smell…so good.” He bent down and ran his nose over my jaw, inhaling as he placed a gentle kiss on the spot near my ear and jaw.
It felt so damn good. I hadn’t been kissed that gently, with that much care,ever.“Mm, you’re like a little eucalyptus plant.”
“I-is is that good?”
“I think so.” He moved his hand to cup the back of my head, his jaw flexing as he stared down at me. “I wanted to treat you. I wanted you to feel good and taken care of. And Em, I might not show it the same way you do, but I’m nervous too.”
“Oh, who said I was n-nervous? What gave me away? Couldn’t be my endless rambling, could it?”
He laughed and stared at me with the same gaze and wonder he always had, like he thought I was the funniest thing in the world. No one looked at me that way, and I wanted more of it. He looked at me like I was a relief, not a complication, and that alone made my throat tighten.
“Come on,” he said, gently now, dropping his hand from my neck. “Dinner’s ready. Or… as ready as I get.”
