Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
I stepped off the bed and turned on the light inside the closet to grab a new top sheet. Rolling the dirty sheet into a ball, I tossed it in the corner of the room before tucking myself back into my pants and slipping my shirt over my head.
Carly continued to lie there, limp and sated, waiting for my next move.
I sat at the edge of the bed and leaned over to kiss the top of her head softly. “Get some sleep.”
CHAPTER 20
* * *
CARLY
WHAT THE HELL was that last night?
That was all I could think as I lay in bed the next morning. What would I even say to him? “Thank you for NOT fucking me in the best way?”
When I could hear that Josh had gotten Scottie up, I took that as my ticket to sleep in. Although I wasn’t really sleeping. I was obsessing. I had no idea how last night would change our dynamic moving forward.
I finally garnered the courage to get dressed and make an appearance in the kitchen.
“Morning...” I said as I grabbed a mug from the cabinet. Josh was in the living room, watching TV next to Scottie. I wasn’t even sure he’d heard me, since he didn’t respond.
But as I waited for the coffee to brew, I suddenly felt the heat of his body behind me. A chill ran down my spine, a combination of nerves and arousal. I was clearly still sensitized from what we’d done together last night—and the idea of what we didn’t do.
“Did you have coffee yet?” I asked.
“No.”
“You want one?”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” he said in a gravelly voice.
I reached for another mug, but it slipped from my hands, shattering on the ground.
“Shit!” I bent to clean up the pieces.
“It’s okay. I got it, Carly.”
“No, let me,” I cried. “It’s my fault.” I ran in search of a broom and dustpan, and I wouldn’t look at him as I cleaned the pieces of ceramic off the ground.
Josh knelt and grabbed my wrist. “Stop.”
“What?”
“You’re acting like you’re in a race against time.”
“I don’t want Scottie to step on it.”
“That’s why you’re acting like this?”
“Maybe not,” I admitted, slowly standing up.
He stood and placed his hand on my chin. “We don’t have to talk about it, Carly.”
“We don’t?”
“No, we don’t. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
That was probably the right attitude to take, but it didn’t sit well with me. No matter what I told myself, it had meant something to me. It meant a lot. I wished it didn’t.
Still, I played along. “You know what? You’re right. It doesn’t have to mean anything. I guess I’ve just been nervous about what you might say to me this morning. Or what I should say to you.”
“How about we don’t say anything? It happened. We were both horny. We experimented, but we didn’t cross the line. There doesn’t have to be a narrative around it. It was an experience we shared. And it’s over.”
Wow. While there was something very mature about that attitude, it still felt cold. Then I remembered this was Josh Mathers I was dealing with. This kind of thing wasn’t a big deal to him. Sex—or whatever the hell we did or didn’t do—wasn’t a big deal to him. He’d had many partners and many sexual experiences. And we hadn’t actually touched each other, so it was even less significant.
Before we had a chance to discuss it any further, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” he said, seeming eager for the reprieve.
When Josh opened the door, Lauren was standing there, and I had to say, the exchange between them was even more awkward than the one I’d had with Josh this morning. I’d nearly forgotten that she would be coming to work this week after he apparently blew her off after their date. It was the first time they’d scheduled her here since then. Maybe she’d taken time off intentionally. I supposed that made two of us in the house now who’d been blown off by Josh. Or at least that’s how it had felt when he suggested we forget about last night.
Lauren greeted Scottie and took him into his room. Josh and I were once again left alone. It didn’t help that he looked so damn good this morning. His hair was a sexy, tousled mess. And every time I looked at his mouth, I saw the image of him licking the arousal off my fingers after I orgasmed. I had to clench the muscles between my legs to stop myself from getting turned on again. My biggest problem was perhaps that last night hadn’t been enough for me; I needed more, and I doubted it would happen. Not only had Josh been meticulous about not touching me, but his declaration this morning pretty much sealed the deal.