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I flip it, catching it and slapping it lightly on her thigh. “Heads.”
A little smile appears on her lips. “Lexington, here we come.”
An incredible lightness sweeps through me, centering beneath my sternum. Damn all the texts and emails. I get a few more days of not suffering, a few days where we pretend we’re something instead of a big, tangled-up mess. I lean in and kiss her deeply, hands wrapped around her waist. She tastes like coffee, like Serena. Like the lightness in my chest.
The conversation is over, and we’re both feeling better. Our kiss turns into making out with her in my lap. Then, with her beneath me in bed. Her legs fall open, and somehow I end up inside her, fucking her with my hands tangled in her hair.
We’re not even together, but I know what this is—the honeymoon phase. My head is empty, and my heart overflows with warmth. Everything flows like I’m in a movie montage. All my problems seem so small—what was I even worried about? Everything is fine when she’s around.
True to what I’ve heard, I never want it to end.
We shower again, eat some of the cold breakfast from earlier. I can’t keep my eyes off her as she gets dressed. She has a way of moving through the world that’s magical, like nothing else exists when she’s in the room, even in her eyes. It’s confidence she’s not aware of; it’s a fantastic asset for a performer. I pull on my button-up, rolling the sleeves. She slips into a pair of sweats and snaps a bra over her breasts, adjusting them and waking my dick up. Over it, she pulls a hoodie, letting it fall off her shoulder.
“Looking good,” I say, threading my belt.
“I could say the same thing.”
“You’re welcome to.”
“Nah,” she says, gathering her hair into a ponytail. “Your ego’s in danger of being as big as your dick.”
“If you keep talking to me like that, it will be.”
She sashays past me, ponytail flicking. I lean in and smack her round ass, watching it jiggle.
“You want to fly down?” I ask.
She gives me a look before taking a little black bag of makeup from her luggage. “Sure, but I want first class.”
“I can arrange that.”
She disappears into the bathroom, humming. When she’s not stressed or angry, she’s actually pretty damn sweet and upbeat. It makes me wonder why she was so sad when we first met. I don’t think she stopped frowning for my entire visit, except for when she was naked in bed with me. And even then, she gave me a few snarky looks.
“Alright,” she says, reappearing. “If you get me a coffee once we’re through security, I’m ready.”
“Another thing I can arrange.”
She gives me a look, but it’s not disapproval this time; it’s soft, like she’s trying to hide a smile. It makes me want to follow her around forever and take care of everything just so I can see her like that again. Smiling to myself, I call a car and gather our rolling bags, holding the door with my foot.
“Autumn in New York is really beautiful,” she says, as we move down the hall.
“Yeah, when I have to be at the apartment for work, I time it so I get the best of the season.”
“The apartment?”
I didn’t realize that sounded…out of touch. “I have an apartment. For when I’m here on business.”
“Where?”
“East side.”
“Oh, so ritzy.”
I shrug, stepping into the elevator. The polished wood doors slide shut. “It’s not the most expensive, but yeah, it’s nice. I end up subleasing it a lot, though, so it doesn’t sit empty.”
“I’d love to see it someday,” she says, then seems to choke on the last word.
Someday…
