Page 145 of The Moment You Know

He stopped tickling her and let go of her foot. “Apology accepted.”

She lay there, limp and flat on her back, hardly able to move after that brutal assault. Her heart was still pounding from the rush of adrenaline and she felt like a hot, sweaty mess; strands of hair were actually sticking to her face.

It was a miracle she hadn’t pissed herself.

“Someone still plays dirty,” she muttered with a sour look, struggling to maneuver herself into an upright position.

His amusement fell away, turning into something else as he took in her disheveled appearance, from her totally fucked-up hair and flushed face, to her slightly askew sweater. She looked like she’d been engaging in some seriously energetic dry humping with someone—possibly with an orgasm involved—and he had the stunning thought that this might be what she’d look like after getting off. From there, it wasn’t much of a leap to think that was what she’d look like after getting off with him.

And … thinking about that was giving him a semi.

It took him almost ten seconds to realize that was wrong.

Slightly panicked, David searched for something else—anything else—to distract himself with, before his dick reached critical mass. His eyes darted around the room, skipping off of various objects before landing on the antique clock that he and Paige had found on one of their trips to a thrift store.

“Jesus,” he said. “Is that really the time?”

He sounded so shocked, that it caused Paige to momentarily forget the tickle assault he’d just waged on her and she glanced over her shoulder to see that it was almost 9 p.m. She found herself feeling a little shocked herself, that three hours had passed so quickly, but maybe that’s how time passed when you talked about really inappropriate things with your ex.

She could see that it was something of an issue for him, unlike the other night, so when she turned back to him, it wasn’t surprising when he told her he needed to leave. What was surprising, though was the layer of disappointment in his voice. “I’m sorry. I had to get a babysitter for tonight and I told her I’d only be gone a few hours, since it’s a school night for her.”

“I understand,” she said, even though she sort of didn’t, since she wasn’t a single parent. The only thing she was responsible for was her cat and his dependency on her was sort of flexible. “Are you okay to drive?”

David nodded and got to his feet. Paige did as well, taking a few seconds to straighten her sweater before leading him down the hall to her door, where they both stopped and looked at one another.

“Thank you for having me over,” he told her. “It was very … enlightening. Not to mention, really entertaining.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome. Thank you for listening and for wanting to listen. That means everything to me.”

The words were heartfelt, but she kept her tone light, not wanting to weigh down the moment. To her surprise, not only did he not return her smile, but his expression turned distraught just before he enveloped her in a hug—an all-encompassing, full-body impact that almost stole the air from her lungs. Surprised at his intensity, she returned the hug, holding on tight enough to feel the strong muscles of his back under her hands.

“I’m so proud of you,” he said, his voice low and rough in her ear. “And at the same time, I’m not so proud of myself.”

She pulled back enough to be able to see his face. “What do you mean?”

“I’m remembering what went through my mind when I saw you that night at Bender’s.” He swallowed hard. “I was so angry at how good you looked. You were wearing make-up and lipstick and you were dressed in a way I’d never seen before. You were so confident, standing straight and tall, like a completely different person and it pissed me off. I actually thought that divorce had agreed with you and now I’m so ashamed of what I was thinking, knowing how much hell you went through and how hard you worked to be that different person. I literally hate myself for all that right now. I’m so sorry.”

Silence settled between them and he braced himself, waiting for her to tell him what an asshole he was for thinking all those terrible things about her.

“You know,” Paige began slowly, her eyes a little misty following his impassioned speech. “As far as complete honesty goes, that was pretty good.”

He blinked at her. That’s what she was focusing on?

“And apology accepted,” she added with a quick sniff. “But it wasn’t really necessary, because I understand. I was a little pissed at how good you looked, too. So, we’re even.”

Chapter 55

DICK: Well?

David frowned at the random text from Evan, then quickly responded.

DAVID: Well, what?

DICK: Did you sleep on the couch?

DAVID: You’re really fucking nosy, you know that?

DICK: That’s because Evelyn, Everett, and I have a bet on whether or not you slept on the couch.

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