Page 56 of The Fake Out

She lifted her head, and she had a sleepy look on her face, but in the quiet early morning, she had never looked more beautiful. I couldn’t think stuff like that about her. She didn’t do relationships, and whatever we had was pure lust. Besides, I wasn’t sure I was ready to open my heart to someone else again. Not after Astrid broke it into a million pieces.

“Please, Blaise?” she asked again, her voice cutting through my broody thoughts.

I kissed the top of her head. “Okay, sweets.”

“Really?” she asked, a smile spreading across her face. When she smiled at me like that, my heart screamed at me to let her in.

I tipped her chin up and kissed her.

I stroked her cheek when I pulled away, brushing her hair out of her face, but before she could respond, my bedroom door slammed open, hitting the wall with a loud bang. My little brother Michael stood in the doorway, startling both of us. I pulled the comforter over Veronica and held her against my chest so he didn’t see her naked body.

“Yo, dude…” Michael began, but then he trailed off, and his eyes got wide when he saw I wasn’t alone.

“Dude, learn to knock!” I yelled.

“I’m sorry!” he yelled back and then slammed the door shut behind him.

Veronica shook against my chest, and when I looked down at her, I realized she was laughing her ass off. “There’s really no privacy in your family, is there?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I don’t know why he’s not at school.”

She slid out of bed, and my cock stood at attention almost immediately. Well, not that it had far to go. I was getting hard as soon as I woke up to her naked form pressed up against mine.

“Hey, you left your underwear here last time,” I blurted out.

She smirked at me. “Sorry, they were too cum-stained to wear. You ruin me, Blaise Holmstrom.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Damn, woman. I’m already so hard it hurts.”

She laughed. “Too bad your brother walked in, otherwise…”

“C’mere!”

“No. I have to get dressed.”

She got dressed but folded up the jersey and didn’t put it on over her black t-shirt. “Why did it matter so much that I was wearing your jersey?”

“It was a nice gesture. You’re not actually my girlfriend, but you’ve supported me more than my ex ever did.”

She got quiet then, and I figured I’d said the wrong thing.

“I know we’re not—”

“We’re just having fun, Blaise. It’s fine.” She sat on the bed and tugged on her Docs. “When can you come in so I can start on that piece for you?”

“How many sessions do you think we need?”

“Two, maybe three. I want to go lighter on the first session and see how it heals.”

“It’s so sexy when you talk about your work.”

She shook her head at me. “I want it to look good for you. Your tattoo isn’t that big, but I’ll make the flowers a bigger piece and do some shading so you won’t be able to see her name anymore.”

I checked my phone. “I have practice today, but what about later this afternoon?”

“I have an opening at four.”

“Does that give you time to do the stencil?”