Page 39 of Next to You

She burst out laughing. “What are the other two?”

“My chocolate chip cookies and—” I shook my head. “Never mind. This isn’t the time.”

“It’s naughty, isn’t it? Tell me. Wait, no, don’t tell me. I want to guess.”

I added the noodles to the pan before turning back around to send her a smirk because I knew it would rile her up. “You’ll never guess.”

“Wanna bet?” She held up a hand. “I forgot something too. I mean from the bathroom chat about our flaws. I’m—” She used her fingers to air quote. “Too competitive. Whatever.”

“Sweetheart,” I drawled. “Come on now, I already knew that. The Monopoly game yesterday made it crystal clear, and it’s not a deal breaker for me. It’s the opposite, if I’m being honest. No worries.”

“Opposite?”

“It was sexy as hell. You beat the shit out of me, and I loved it. I don’t care what it says about my manhood.”

“Oh, well, that’s good to know.” She bit her lip, and I chuckled as she grew lost in thought. “Okay, I’ll put a pin in that to contemplate later.”

“Whatever you say.” I placed a plate of pasta in front of her and sprinkled parmesan cheese over the top. “Say when.”

After a few beats, she tapped a cute little pink-painted fingertip on the counter. “When, thank you. Come around here and sit by me.” I scooped my serving and joined her on the other side of the island. “Let’s talk about Spencer Cassidy’s hierarchy of needs.” She nudged my shoulder with hers. “Number one: Sex. Two: Chocolate chip cookies. Number four is pasta. What could number three be?” She tilted her head to the side, making a show of thinking it over. “I got it: Blow jobs.”

I couldn’t control my burst of laughter. “Ah, you’re so close, but not quite there.” It's a good thing I hadn’t yet taken a bite, or I would have choked on it.

“Close? Food and sex, food and sex,” she murmured. “Ohhh!” She grabbed my arm, shaking it excitedly. “I got it. I bet you’re a giver. Everything about you says you’d be generous in bed. Isn’t that right, Spencer? You said you were, “Good at orgasms butbad at the romance.”That’s it. Wow. Okay then.” She let go, slugging my shoulder lightly. “You’re a downtown man, aren’t you?” She didn’t wait for an answer before holding her palm up for a high five. “I approve.”

I smacked her hand lightly, wondering what it said about me that I was now hard from this ridiculous conversation. No, it wasn’t the conversation. It was simplyher. It was the leggings like a second skin, the fact that she was wearing my hoodie and looking far too sexy in it to be real. She made me laugh. She touched my heart. It was everything about her. All of it.

“Should we really be talking about this right now?” My grin slid sideways as I watched her face flush. “If I recall correctly, we’re supposed to stick to non-sexy topics. And yeah, I know I’m equally guilty of breaking the rules.”

Her need to win, to guess my number three, outweighed her need to be discreet, and it was hilarious. I almost told her it was actually number two, but I didn’t want her to think I was a horndog pervert.

“We’re mature adults, right, Spencer?” She sipped her water, the picture of innocence. “What’s a little sex talk going to hurt?”

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. Looking directly at her would only serve to make my dick get harder, like staring straight into an eclipse and going blind.

“We’re two mature adults who can’t do anything about the raging attraction between them, you mean?”

“Yeah, that,” she squeaked out. “We got this, Spencer. We’ll be fine.”

Fuck it.

I faced her fully. “So if I told you I wanted to wear you like a necklace, it wouldn’t affect you at all, Miss Mature Adult?”

“Uhhh.” Her eyes were as big as saucers. She blinked, then blinked again.

“You’re driving me fucking crazy, Lucy.”

“Oh yeah? Well, I’m not fine anymore.” She squirmed in her seat, and I yanked my napkin into my lap to hide my erection. “I mean, seriously, I’m not going to lie to you. I haven’t been fine since I got here. You’re driving me equally crazy, all right?”

“Let’s eat,” I suggested, raising my fork like a glass for a toast. “You’re right. We’re adults, and we want what’s best for each other. We got this.”

“Oh, right? Cheers to the fourth best thing we could be doing right now.” She grinned, rolling her eyes as she stuffed a huge bite into her mouth.

I followed suit, twirling noodles around on my fork.

Then, side by side at the kitchen island, we shoveled pasta into our faces, and I tried not to think about the top two things we would not be doing later tonight.

Shit.

---