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“Says the man eating a chocolate chip muffin.” I quirked a brow and dared him to say something to the contrary.
“Touché,” was all he gave back.
* * *
Lance got off work two hours ago and he’d already dropped off his five-year-old son, Mason, at another playdate, so we had all night to be together. We ate dinner, took a stroll on the beach, and were now drinking at the bar. All in all I’d say it was a good night. Lance lifted my hand to his mouth and my eyes widened as his tongue darted out and he licked the part on my hand between my wrist and thumb. “In case it got dry with all that salt,” he explained and winked at me.
I felt my cheeks heat and rolled my eyes. “Smooth, Lance. Real smooth.”
His voice was gruff when he asked, “How about we play a little game?”
“What game are you thinking?” I held my bottom lip between my teeth and anticipated his answer.
“Never have I ever.”
I admonished, “That’s not fair. I’m sure you’ve done plenty more than I have.”
“Just because you don’t surf doesn’t mean that’s true, beautiful.”
I laughed remembering when I told him I’d never even tried. “Fine. You go first.”
“Never have I ever kissed you at a bar,” he announced and leaned in, pressing his lips against mine. I fought the urge to deepen the kiss, deciding to instead just savor the taste of him, the feel of him so close to my body.
When we parted, I smiled and wished he’d kiss me again, but instead confessed, “I like this game.”
* * *
“Lance, you’re missing the best part!” I shouted loud enough for him to hear me in the bathroom over the running water from the shower.
He yelled back, “Take notes.”
I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. Before I could respond, though, I heard the bathroom door open and Lance walk out wearing nothing more than a towel around his waist, beads of water trailing down his stomach, falling straight to the deep V that became hidden beneath the towel. His dirty blond hair was wet, too. It was all I could do not to go over there, undo his towel so it fell in a heap on the floor, and make him dirty again so we could shower together. I licked my lips and brought my eyes to his where his brown ones were staring at me, amusement in them. “See something you like?” he jested.
I brushed off his comment and pointed to the television, trying to focus on something else now. “Letty’s memories returned,” I explained what he’d missed.
He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, clearly not caring enough to put on clothes.
Didn’t he know there was almost no way I could sit through the rest of the movie like this?
“I still can’t believe I’ve never seen these movies and that we’ve managed to actually finish most of the series. Fast & Furious,” he paused before going on, “who would have thought they were this good?”
And yet he still walked away in the middle to shower. Sometimes I felt like Lance was more of a grownup than I was.
I kissed his bare shoulder, hoping that would be enough and then looked away. “Stick with me. I know all the best movies and shows. I watched this when it came out in theaters.”
“Really?” He looked over at me, but by the way he was looking at me, finishing this movie was the last thing on his mind.
I nodded and observed as he neared and his mouth dropped down to the swell of my breasts that were peeking out from the top of my shirt. “I take it we’ll finish the movie another time.”
He sucked at my skin before lifting his lips and nodding. “Later, beautiful. Later.”
* * *
Perhaps this was going to seem melodramatic, but it felt like I was having an out of body experience as I stood in front of the door to my hotel room next to my suitcase. I was all packed and ready to go, and yet my heart had no intention of coming with me. I had my fair share of casual hookups and I was always good with them. I really was getting used to being robotic about it, and not letting my emotions get in the way of having a good time. But this time was different. Maybe it was because it lasted too long. Perhaps it was because Lance was really a great guy, quite possibly one of the best guys I’d been with.
He was considerate. Kind. Caring. Demanding when he wanted to be. And a great dad. He always put his son first. Which was why he didn’t introduce me to Mason and, according to him, hadn’t ever looked for anything more than a casual hookup here and there, either. He needed to keep things clean for Mason’s sake. And bringing a woman around to meet him was anything but clean. It was messy and something Lance didn’t want to do. That was why he drew clear lines between his affairs and his son.
At first, I loved that about him. Loved that he, too, didn’t want to get serious or make this into something more than what it was.
