Tyler wouldn’t come near me with a ten-foot pole if I was bleeding. I’d had to be pretty creative to keep our sex life satisfying when his leaves fell within my three-week-period window.
His eyebrows shot up. “Spotting only?”
“Yeah.”
He crashed into me, arms around my waist, lips right into my neck. “I don’t care about spotting,” he whispered, kissing under my ear.
His sudden proximity knocked the emotional wind out of me. “I care,” I breathed, hands on his chest.
Do I? I do, right?
“Well, stop,” he said huskily, smiling into my neck.
He backed me into the bed, his strong arm guiding me down. When he slid over me, I was hypnotized. Rendered completely helpless.
And he wasn’t lying about the spotting.
He really didn’t care.
* * *
I woke up the next morning naked with my cheek stuck to Josh’s bare chest. I lay there for a moment, the light cracking through my blinds, listening to the sound of his steady heart beating.
I wanted to give myself another few moments of happiness before I had to kick him out of my bed and pretend I didn’t care whether he was there or not.
He stirred and I closed my eyes and pretended I was still asleep. His body shifted like he was looking down on me, and I heard his heart pick up a little. I knew if I looked up, he would smile and I could kiss him good morning.
But I wouldn’t. Because that’s not what fuck buddies do.
Lips gently touched the top of my head, and his arms tightened around me. It was sweet and tender.
And a bad sign.
He said he could handle this, that the sex-only thing was okay for him. But I’d have to keep an eye on him, end it if I thought he was getting too attached.
My stomach growled. I wondered what time it was. There was a cafe that—
I bolted upright. “What day is it?” I looked desperately for my phone.
Josh propped himself up on his elbows and looked at me, his hair messy. “March eighth. Tuesday. Why?”
I found my phone on the charger: 10:13 a.m. “Shit!”
I swung my legs out of the bed and crashed painfully into the nightstand with my hip, stilling the wobble with my hands. I scooped up Stuntman from the end of the bed and pushed him out the sliding glass door before running to the bathroom.
Oh my God, how could I forget?
I had no Tyler, just-fucked hair and my naked carpenter in my bedroom with less than twenty minutes to get my shit together. One hand jammed my toothbrush in my mouth while the other one turned on the shower. I got in before the water had a chance to warm up and brushed my teeth while I wet my hair in the frigid stream.
The shower door slid open and Josh got in next to me. “Whoa, this is freezing.”
I spit into the drain. “This is not your shower. Get out.”
He laughed, grabbing the soap. “I have to use a separate shower now? You don’t even let your poor exhausted fuck buddy clean up after he spends the night servicing you?” He lathered his chest, grinning at me.
Normally, Josh naked in my shower would be the realization of a long-running fantasy, but this morning he was just taking up room where I could be hurriedly shaving my legs.
“What’s the rush, anyway?” he asked.
I bent down to grab my shampoo and bumped his thigh with my forehead. When I came back up, he was smirking at me.
“My mom. I have brunch with my mom,” I said, scrubbing my hair frantically. “I forgot. She’ll be here in fifteen minutes. She thinks Tyler is coming with me. She doesn’t know we broke up.”
I snatched the soap from him, rinsing my hair while I washed my body. This was a nightmare. A fucking nightmare. “Josh, you need to be in the garage when she gets here.”
“I can’t meet your mom?”
“No.” Dear God, no. Hi, Mom, Tyler and I broke up, but here’s my fuck buddy, Josh. Isn’t he cute? Lord help me.
My hands were actually shaking from the adrenaline.
“I’m getting pretty cold over here,” he said, slipping his hands around my waist from behind and kissing the side of my neck.
I wiggled. “Josh, I don’t have time for this. I told you this wasn’t your shower.”
“Okay, okay.” He let go of me with a laugh.
He wouldn’t be laughing if he knew Evelyn.
“You sure I can’t meet her? I’m good with moms,” he said,