Adam is traveling, right? Couldn’t you have just said you needed to get home to video chat with him?”
I glared at Jacoby and blinked slowly, letting my expression speak for me. “You know…it’s not nice to offer such excellent ideas after the fact. If it’s too late to do anything about it, it’s best to keep your suggestions to yourself, no matter how good they are.”
“You’re absolutely right. My bad.” He struggled to bite back the grin that tugged at the corners of his lips. “Now that I think about it, using IBS was a genius move. No one would be crazy enough to make something like that up, which means no one would question it. Nice work, Tasha. Way to think on your feet.”
Jacoby could read me like a book. He knew when I was teasing and when I was serious. Without me having to say anything, he could tell if I needed his silent support or gentle prodding to open up about whatever might have plagued me. And aside from the massive misunderstanding when I’d kissed him for the very first time, he’d never shown any judgment toward me. Not only did he treat me with such immense respect, but he made it look easy.
Aside from Dave, he was the only person who’d ever treated me that way.
“I’m glad you’re finally seeing things my way.” I made a big show of winking at him, really owning the role of comedic relief. One of the things I loved about being around Jacoby was how easy it was to be myself. I didn’t have to pretend with him.
He really was a lot like Dave—except straight.
And very sexually appealing to me.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, are you ready to get schooled on this game?”
For the first time since knocking on his door, I was aware of my attire. “I’d love to, but this dress isn’t the most comfortable. Not to mention, I still need to wash off all this makeup and take my hair down.”
“That’s fine…let me get you a T-shirt.” He stood and pointed to the bathroom, adding, “There are clean washcloths beneath the sink and a bar of facial soap in the holder. Help yourself.”
“Oh, that’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I can just run home and change really fast.”
He stopped mid-step and studied my face for a moment, as if searching my eyes for something. Either that, or maybe he was pleading with them. “Do you need to go home, or do you just want to?”
I opened and closed my mouth several times, unsure of how to answer before settling with, “Well, I mean, that’s where my clothes are. I don’t want to give you more to wash by using one of your shirts and a clean face cloth.”
“If you’d be more comfortable doing all that at your house, I’m completely fine with it. I just didn’t want you going all the way over there and back in the dark if you don’t need to. With the amount of dirty laundry I have after a week of working in yards, an extra T-shirt and washcloth are seriously nothing.”
I thought about it for a moment, really weighing my options. He had a point about it being dark, and I was already here. Everything I would do there could be done here without all the time wasted coming and going. Finally, I conceded with a sigh. “Yeah, okay…fine. Go get me that shirt. Preferably the biggest one you have.” That was all I could get out before he disappeared into his room, his laughter leaving a trail behind him.
Even though I had requested the biggest shirt he owned, I doubted that was what he gave me. And I had a feeling that he’d done that on purpose. It barely covered my backside, and thanks to the thong I had to wear with that form-fitting dress tonight, Jacoby would get a full moon every time I got up or sat down.
I had hesitated after slipping it over my head, unsure if I was prepared to expose that much of myself to him so soon. Sure, two weeks ago, I was straddling his lap and grinding myself against his impressive erection. And a few days after that, he’d crawled between my legs while I was on the phone with Ty. Granted, clothes were never removed, and neither occurrence had ended with the deed being done. Since then, though, the furthest we’d gone was a bit of intense kissing