if you were awake. But you asked me to stay, so I did.”
The smile he gave me was different than his usual dimpled grin. It was smaller, more subtle, but also somehow more meaningful.
“Thanks.”
This is where typical Skylar would have said something awkward and left. Darted away like a scared little mouse.
But I didn’t want to run this time. So despite the way my heart started to pound and butterflies fluttered in my stomach, I took a deep breath and drew on what little bravery I could find.
“Can we talk about yesterday? Not the drunk thing, I don’t care about that. I mean what you said before. I don’t agree.”
“You don’t agree with what?”
“With going back to being just friends without… you know, without the other stuff.”
His brow furrowed.
I kept talking fast, hoping I could get through everything I wanted to say before my courage ran out. “I know you’re not interested in a serious relationship, but I’m not either. I’m not asking you to date me or be my boyfriend. But I can’t rewind and pretend nothing happened, either. More importantly, I don’t want to.”
“Then… what do you want?”
“Well…” I nervously twisted a strand of hair. “Why can’t we be friends who also sleep together sometimes? Because we’re good as friends, aren’t we? And let’s be honest, the sex was good too.”
“It was really good,” he said, the timbre of his voice dipping low.
“With where I am in my life right now, I could use a friend and I could use some really good sex.”
He rubbed his face and blew out a breath. “The problem is, this is more complicated than that. Because you’re you, and I work for your dad. He’s not going to want me messing around with his daughter.”
“It’s none of his business. Even though I’m living with him right now, he doesn’t have a say in who I spend time with or what I do behind closed doors. Besides, my dad likes you.”
He grunted. “For now.”
I laughed and shifted so I was facing him. “We’re both adults. We can be friends and have a little fun together. What’s so bad about that?”
His lips twitched in a grin. “So your mom was right and you do want to use me to get over your ex.”
I playfully pushed his arm. “No, I want to use you for friendship and sex.”
Groaning, he leaned his head back. “Friendship and sex are my favorite.”
“See? This works for both of us.”
“So basically you’re telling me you want joint custody of my dick.”
I laughed. “That’s one way to put it.” I took a deep breath. “The truth is, my life kind of sucks right now. I don’t know how I’m going to salvage my career, or how long I’m going to stay here, or where I’ll go next. But hanging out with you is fun and it makes everything feel a little less awful.”
“And orgasms are great.”
“Yes, orgasms are… very great. Is that bad?”
“No, it’s not bad. It’s kind of a dream scenario.”
“See? A little fling with the boss’s daughter never hurt anyone.”
“I don’t know, Sky. I could be getting myself into a lot of trouble with you.”
“I thought you liked danger.”
“I do. I fucking love it.” His eyes widened with excitement and he tucked my hair behind my ear. “I feel like I should be resisting harder, but you make a very compelling argument.”
“Thank you.”
“So, friends with orgasms?” he asked.
“Yes. Friends with orgasms.”
The way he smiled and knuckled my chin sent a little tingle through me. But more than that, I felt proud. Maybe this wasn’t a new agent or publishing deal, but I’d gone after what I wanted. I’d taken a risk, told him how I felt, and it had paid off.
I hadn’t felt this good about myself in a long time.
26
Gavin
Even though I was stuck on the sidelines of the football field for today’s game, I was in an awesome mood. My boot was coming off for good soon, which meant I could go back to full duty at work. And the Baileys were playing the Pines, which meant I wasn’t missing the big Bailey-Haven game.
Plus, Skylar had been at my place last night. That probably had a lot to do with the smile on my face.
I totally had a handle on the whole friends with benefits thing with Sky. It kind of felt like we were dating, only we weren’t really. I was back on light duty at work—none of the fun stuff, but it was something—so when