Coddiwomple - S.E. Harmon Page 0,57

say it. I sighed. “Fun like sex,” I said loudly, and someone gasped nearby.

I glanced over to see Mrs. Wallace clutching her purse as she hustled past. I cast my eyes heavenward. I wanted the last five seconds of my life back—immediately.

“She’s in my stepmother’s gardening club,” I said conversationally. “That’s not going to bite me in the ass at all.”

He bit his lip, clearly trying to keep from laughing. “I want to hear more about this fun sex. Do you have any candidates in mind?”

“I did. But he’s kind of a dick.” I released his arm reluctantly. “So. How do we do this?”

He smiled, tilting his head, those golden eyes lit by the sun. They looked like warm honey. I’d always loved those damn eyes. A man could get lost in those eyes and never find himself again.

“Well, I was hoping to have you in the parking lot,” he said.

I huffed. Too bad those eyes came with that smart mouth.

“Are you busy tonight?” he asked.

“Yeah. Unfortunately. I have to go check on a dog I operated on, and then I have to get home to check on Kona.”

“Tomorrow, then,” he said easily. “I’ll be over around eight o’clock.”

I was transfixed by his mouth. It had been a long time since I’d had those lips under mine, and I wanted to rectify that desperately. So, I hit the pause button on overthinking and did what I’d been wanting to do since he got in my Jeep at the airport.

I crushed my mouth to his with zero finesse. He made a startled little noise, his hands flying up to my arms, but he didn’t push me away. Instead, we used grizzly bear rules: when someone mauls you, you maul ’em back. He gripped the back of my neck with both hands, his mouth slanting over mine impatiently. I nipped at his bottom lip and that grip tightened painfully.

He slowed things down and softened the kiss. I followed his lead without even thinking as his mouth explored mine, tasting me. Teasing me. Reminding me of what he liked and how fucking good we were together. I felt like I couldn’t quite catch my breath, but it wasn’t enough to make me stop or pull away.

Fuck breathing. Breathing is for losers.

The sound of a nearby car horn startled us apart. I almost stepped toward him again before I remembered we were in public. “I want you,” I said, just in case I hadn’t made that perfectly fucking clear.

His eyes sparkled warmly. “Yeah, I think everyone in the Pick-n-Save pretty much got the memo.”

I glanced around to find that yeah, we had attracted a bit of notice. Pamela, who ran a yoga studio in the plaza, nearly pushed her grocery cart into a garbage can. I had no idea who was manning the register since Molly was peeking out of the automatic doors.

“Sorry,” I said. I wasn’t sorry in the least.

“I want to get fucked,” Journey murmured, “but maybe not on the hood of my father’s car.” And now it was an uncomfortable situation in my pants again. I barely held in a whimper. He titled his head to the side, considering me for a moment. “You’re picturing it, aren’t you?”

“You made me,” I said defensively, trying to get my dick under control.

He chuckled before getting in the car. “See you at eight, Foster. That’s if you don’t change your mind.”

As if there was a chance of that.

Chapter 16

Cameron

I woke up the next morning with a stomach full of nerves.

When I checked the forecast, the weatherman predicted a ninety percent chance of me backing out. I spent much of the day in that strange place between anxiety and anticipation. I thought about canceling no less than five times, but my dick kept hanging up the phone. My nervousness bled over into my job, distracting me and making me an absolute butterfingers for most of the day. Around four in the afternoon, Bailey got sick of me and shooed me out the door.

No matter. I had plenty to do before eight o’clock. Logically, I knew there were only a few things I needed to do—shower and make sure I changed the bedsheets—but in Cameron-world, that list got a little bit longer.

I started with feeding Kona and Becca and the chinchillas. Then I let Kona out in the backyard to run while I buzzed around in the kitchen and threw together a quick sheet-pan dinner. The pork chops and root veggies could do their things while