I grip the steering wheel tighter. “Right.”
“So, let’s not overthink it,” she murmurs. “Let’s go eat some ice cream in my kitchen and see where things go.”
See where things go…
Currently, they’re going straight into a wintery mess. The wipers thump across the glass, smearing wet snow, and the trees lining the street as I pull into her Mid-City neighborhood are already white along the tops of their branches.
I could easily use the snow as my excuse. Tell her I have to drop her and run before the roads get too bad.
But I have four-wheel drive, and I don’t like to lie.
Especially not to people I like as much as I like Clover.
So, I force myself to say, “I love ice cream, and I would love to go home with you, but…” I pull in a breath, keeping my gaze on the road as I add, “But making you come was the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”
“Me, too,” she says carefully. “Why is that a problem?”
“I already want more than a night,” I say. “And I haven’t been inside you yet. Once I have been…” I trail off, not knowing what else to say except, “I’m sorry, kid.”
“I’m not a kid,” she says, softly.
“Yes, you are. And I’m an old man who has to get home in case the power goes out, my mom can’t find the flashlights, and my babies get scared.”
She sighs.
I glance over, expecting to see her frustrated, maybe even angry, but she just looks…sad.
“I’m sorry,” I repeat.
She shakes her head, her gaze fixed on the road now, too. “Don’t be. I understand. And you’re probably right. I hate that you’re right, because I want you so much it hurts, but…”
I want her so much it hurts, too. My chest—and my balls—ache like someone’s punched me, all the way to her sleek high-rise.
I pull up to the curb, grateful to see the doorman behind the lobby desk.
She’s safe. Home. Soon, I will be too.
“Well, I’ll see you around, I guess,” she says, reaching for the door. She pauses before she opens it, catching my gaze. “I’m glad we had tonight, though, Dean. I really am. It was…good.”
“Yeah.” My voice is rough. “It was. Take care, beautiful.”
“You, too.” Her eyes hold mine for another beat. “Drive safe.” Then, she slips out, grips her cane, and circles around the front of the truck, hustling up the walkway without a backward glance.
I wait until she’s through the lobby, until the doorman lifts his head with a smile as she passes his desk, then pull back out onto the road.
I drive home with the smell of her still on my fingers, my clothes, lingering in a way that makes it impossible to keep from thinking of her as I close my hand around my cock in the shower. I jerk off fast and quiet, eyes closed and visions of Clover under me flashing behind my eyes.
I come with her name on my lips, wheezing it out beneath the sting of the shower spray, then promise myself that’s it.
This…whatever it is, is over.
No more jerking off to thoughts of Clover.
No more thoughts about her. Period.
It’s a promise I intend to keep. I really do.
But turns out Fate has other fucking plans…
