you’re the only thing I can think about. Do you know how fucked up that is for a guy like me?”
Even with only half of her mouth visible, I can see the small smile. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “Feel better now?”
“No,” I snap. “We have to talk about us before we dig this ditch so deep, the depth becomes too high for us to crawl out.”
She sweeps her gaze across my face. “What?”
“You’re pissed at me for leaving last night.”
“You mean this morning.”
“Same thing, but you’re pissed, right?”
She shrugs.
“You are, and I’m not leaving until we talk about why you’re pissed and why I left.”
“Carmello, it’s been a long day, and I….”
“It’s going to be a longer night if you make me keep standing out here.”
She sighs before opening the door wide enough for me to come in.
“Thank you,” I tell her, walking inside and immediately kicking off my boots.
When I turn around, she’s standing with her head cocked, dark hair up in a messy bun, arms folded, and clearly still not happy with me.
“Stop being mad at me.”
She purses her lips because my words don’t resonate, and she isn’t about to listen without explanation.
“Can I sit?”
“Yep. Sure. You’re inside now. Might as well.”
Her attitude level is maximum. I can’t say I blame her with the way I ditched out, but that has always been my MO.
As soon as my ass touches the couch, I pat the cushion next to me. “Come closer.”
She stares at me without so much as blinking.
“Please,” I ask again.
She moves, and I can’t keep my eyes off her legs in her tight yoga pants, revealing every inch of her body, along with a T-shirt cut just below her breasts, revealing her fresh ink.
“My eyes are up here near my ears,” she says before collapsing onto the cushion next to me, quickly tucking one leg underneath, using it to keep a space between us. “You’re here. Now, talk.”
I mimic her position, turning to face her, leg tucked beneath me, but I sling my arm over the back of her couch. “You have my head twisted.”
She cocks her head and furrows her brow. “How’d I do that?”
“I don’t know.” I shake my head slowly. “But you did. In the last twenty-four hours, I’ve done things I never thought I’d do.”
“Like…” She dips her chin and waves her hand in between us.
“I’ve never slept at a woman’s house.”
Her shoulders drop, and I get the feeling she already thinks I’m lying. “Never?” she asks.
I shake my head. “I always left, or they did.”
She makes a face. “How is that possible?”
“Baby, I wasn’t there for a relationship. When we were done, it was over and time to go.” I lift my hand from my leg. “I take that back. There was one girl I slept with, but that was over a decade ago. No one since.”
Her mouth opens as she blinks at me, confused. “For real?”
“No lie.”
“But we cuddled last night.”
“Another thing you have me doing that I’ve never done before. I had never cuddled with anyone, especially someone I haven’t fu…slept with.”
“That’s crazy. Cuddling is fantastic.”
“Well, so are orgasms.” I smile.
She doesn’t return my smile. “There’s more to life than sex.”
I touch my chest, pretending to be shocked. “Obviously, you haven’t had one that rocks you to your core.”
“Well…” She clears her throat, shifting her body weight. “Obviously, you haven’t had the right cuddle partner.”
“I did last night,” I tell her.
Her cheeks instantly turn pink, and she glances down. “But then you ran out of here like your ass was on fire and didn’t bother to contact me all day. I figured I did something wrong.”
I brush my fingers over her shoulder, and she doesn’t move away from my touch. “That was about me, not you, Arlo. I was so comfortable with you, I fell asleep, and when I woke up…I freaked out and ran.”
“Like a pussy,” she mutters.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She smiles, but it’s a devilish look.
“It’s like if you woke up naked after sleeping with a man you didn’t know. You’d run, wouldn’t you?”
Her brows furrow again. “You are not comparing sex to snuggling, are you?”
“To you, sex is…”
“It’s emotional and opens me to a vulnerability I’m not ready to show.”
“That’s how I feel about cuddling and sleeping. I did it once eleven years ago, and it ended in tragedy. After that day, I told myself I’d never do it again, along with never getting involved in a relationship. I wouldn’t allow myself to be left open like that.”