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Maybe he was overthinking it. She wasn’t pulling away; she was urging him closer, rubbing against him and making it impossible to not want to take it to the next level.
He needed a breather—a moment away to clear his mind and think rationally before they made a mistake neither could take back. Regretfully he drew away, wishing he could get out of his head and just go with the flow, but he couldn’t do that. Especially not when Cami was involved.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her lips swollen from his kiss.
“I forgot… I need to do something at the restaurant.” It wasn’t a complete lie. He did need to check on Grandpa and make sure he wasn’t really building a trap to catch Diavolo.
“Right now?” Cami asked, her brown eyes glossed over with lust.
“It can’t wait.” He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “But I’ll come back.” He just needed a moment to regroup. He’d take a drive down to the boardwalk, check on Paulie and Ella and the Local Bean, pick up something to eat, and come back with a much clearer head.
Her eyes casted down. “You don’t have to.”
He cupped her cheek, running his thumb across the curve of her jaw. “I want to.”
He stood up, lifting her with him and turned, placing her on the couch. The ice pack had fallen on the floor, and he scooped it up, resting it on her ankle. “Keep the ice on it.”
“If you’re not here, how will you know that I listened?”
“I won’t, and I’m not stupid enough to think you’ll actually do as I ask, but I’m going to hope for your own safety that you do.”
“My own safety? I’m in my house. What can possibly happen?”
“With you? God only knows.” He kissed her forehead; though it seemed insanely intimate for the moment, it also felt right. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“Nope.”
“Call me if you do.” She laughed, and his brow furrowed. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. Just that I’m not surprised you’re a phone call over text kind of guy.”
“Texts are impersonal, and by the time I write out whatever I have to say, I could’ve just picked up the phone.”
“You would say that, but don’t worry, I’ll teach you a few things and before you know it, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t switched over to texting sooner.”
“Doubtful.” He headed to the staircase. “Callme if you need me.”
Her laughter followed him down the stairs.
***
Cami’s lips still tingled from Enzo’s kiss. She could still feel the press of his mouth on hers and the way his tongue sought hers out. Ever since Enzo had almost kissed her, she’d imagined what it would be like to actually kiss him, and it was a thousand times better than anything she ever dreamed of.
The only disappointment was that he ended the kiss when all she wanted to do was keep it going for as long as possible. She had felt his desire growing hard beneath her, yet for whatever reason, it was that moment he realized he needed to do something at the restaurant.
Whatever it was, it better be damn important. Or maybe he suddenly realized how big of a mistake it was to kiss her, or maybe it wasn’t everything he’d imagined and so he bailed.
No. She felt his erection pressing against her ass; he definitely enjoyed it.
What if it had nothing to do with the kiss and everything to do with her? Maybe he didn’t see her in a romantic light because of their history. Maybe he couldn’t get past the fact that she used to be the annoying girl who was too loud at sleepovers and called him Old Man Buzzkill.
It didn’t matter. She took a deep breath and removed the ice pack from her ankle. It had been a long time since she’d been home during the day, and there was no way she was going to sit on her butt. She could finally fold the laundry that had been sitting on the edge of the sectional since last week.
She stood on her good leg and went to walk, but as soon as she put pressure, the pain reminded her that her ankle hadn’t magically fixed itself. Unable to handle the sharp stab, she fell headfirst into the sectional. Grateful Enzo wasn’t there to witness that little maneuver, she flopped around and with her good foot scooted across the sectional to the pile of laundry.
She folded a towel, her mind drifting to the coffee shop. What if something went wrong? Paulie nor Ella would know what to do, though she hoped Ella would be smart enough to call her and not try to figure it out. No… Ella was one of the smartest people Cami knew, especially when it came to common sense, she would be fine. She’d also refuse to call Cami afraid Cami would risk her ankle to come back to the store.
The longer she thought about it, the harder it was to ignore. She put the towel down she was about to fold and scooted back to the other side of the sectional. She retrieved her phone and called the coffee shop.
