Hardwood - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,55
to the digital clock on my nightstand. “It’s late, I should let you go.”
“Okay,” he agrees with yet another yawn. “Sweet dreams.”
“You too.”
I hang up and set my phone aside before getting up to put on some clean pajama pants and then climbing back into bed, the emptiness of it even more striking now than it was before. But there’s also an unfamiliar hope blooming in my chest. After all the years I’ve spent denying myself, I have a chance for something real now. I just have to work up the courage to tell Val before I let it slip away.
Watson
I put my phone down and slip out of bed so I can clean myself up. My body is still tingling from the insane orgasm, and my heart won’t stop singing the words he’s falling for me, even while my rational brain reminds me over and over that I’m headed for heartbreak.
Of course, he thinks he’s falling for me. He’s never felt anything like this before; he’s never given into his sexuality and allowed himself to experience it. I can’t imagine how intense this must be for him. Which is why I can’t take it to heart. I’m sure he thinks he means it, but eventually the shiny newness will wear off, and he’ll realize that he doesn’t want to go to a buffet and only have the chicken. Even if the chicken is a total catch.
In the bathroom, I wet a washcloth and use it to wipe the cum off my stomach before tossing it into the hamper and then face myself in the mirror.
“This is only for fun,” I say sternly. “He’s an amazing man, and it would be easy to fall in love with him, but you can’t do that.” The me in the mirror doesn’t seem all the convinced, so I throw in a firm glare for good measure. Sex, yes. Fun, yes. Falling in love? Absolutely not.
My heart finally deflates enough that I’m sure I’ve gotten my message across. I shuffle back to my bedroom and climb into bed.
It’s difficult to be a realist when my normal tendency is toward the optimistic, but that’s the road to heartbreak. I owe it to myself and to Everett to keep my feet on the ground.
In spite of how tired I was mere minutes ago, as soon as I lay my head on my pillow, all I can do is toss and turn. After an hour, I give up, throwing my blankets back and getting out of bed. I grab the top comforter and wrap it around my shoulders to keep me warm as I shuffle into the living room and make myself comfortable on the couch. I pull up Mama Mia! on my Amazon Prime and hit the play button.
I let the familiar songs and storyline drown out everything else, eventually falling asleep on the couch with the movie playing and having a very bizarre dream where Ev and I are in a musical.
My alarm wakes me the next morning. I grumble and rub my heavy eyes, yawning widely as I force myself to sit up. There’s a crick in my neck from sleeping on the couch and no doubt bags under my eyes from lack of sleep.
I’m moving exceptionally slowly as I get dressed and eventually manage to get my ass out the door before I’m late for work.
“Someone looks tired,” Mia says as I pour myself a cup of practically undrinkable coffee in the teacher’s lounge.
“Someone’s nosy,” I counter, tossing her a pointed look that she meets with a grin.
“Nosy? I’m simply a concerned friend, wondering what might’ve kept you up so late.”
“You’re the worst,” I complain, hiding my grin behind a sip of coffee. “If you must know, I had a late-night phone call with a certain someone.”
“Look at that smile,” she teases, poking at my cheek. I bat her hand away. “Things going well, I take it?”
“Things are going,” I answer vaguely, refusing to get any more excited about this than necessary. “It’s not going to last, but I’m enjoying it for what it is.”
“And what is it?” she asks.
“Hot,” I answer, Ev’s words and desperate sounds from last night echoing in my mind. “Like, insanely hot.”
“Good, you deserve a bit of heat.”
“Tell me about it,” I mutter.
The bell rings, and we both head off in our own directions. I can totally keep this fling with Ev in perspective.
Chapter 16
Everett
“Remind me again what this is exactly,” I say as I reach Val, waiting