Page 72 of Unromance

Sawyer picked up her dress as they walked so it wouldn’t dragthrough whatever miscellaneous liquids were making the sidewalks wet today. They made it one block before Mason paused.

“Climb on,” he said, jerking his head behind him.

She looked at him like he was ridiculous before grinning giddily. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hopped up. He hooked his arms under her legs—with difficulty, there was a lot of dress to finagle—and hoisted her higher, which made her cry out in alarm.

“I got you,” he said softly.

She kissed the side of his head before nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. “I know.”

If Luther, the building’s doorman, thought they were a weird sight—Mason in his suit with a sparkly Sawyer on his back, rolling in at one in the morning—he didn’t show it. He simply nodded in greeting, opening the door for them before calling the elevator.

Once inside, Sawyer made to hop down, but he leaned back, pressing her against the back wall, letting it hold her weight while they ascended. She squealed, swatting at his shoulders, her laughter devolving into snorts as they reached his floor.

“My keys are inside my coat pocket,” he told her as he carried her down the hall.

“Okay,” she said around a hiccuping laugh. “Which pocket?” she asked, shoving her hands inside his coat. Her palms brushed across his chest, roaming down, her nails scraping across his abs.

“Not a pocket,” he groaned as her hand brushed along his waistband.

She giggled, pinching his nipples instead.

He couldn’t help but laugh. She was simultaneously the most filthy and silly person he’d ever met. She took his earlobe between her teeth and tugged as her hand slid inside his coat pocket, tickling his ribs through the silk lining.

When they reached his door, he still didn’t let her down, bending at the waist so she could unlock the door. They were both laughing so hard, it was a feat he managed not to topple over. He wasn’t sure what was so funny, except now that he’d started, he couldn’t stop, all the happiness from the past few hours pouring out of him in a rumble of laughter.

After much fumbling of his keys, they finally made it inside. Mason let go of her legs, and she slid from his back in a hiss of fabric. Gently, she spun him around, pulling him up against her. He pressed a kiss to her still-laughing mouth, walking her backward so he could press her up against the wall. She sighed against his lips, sagging against him.

“Mason,” she breathed.

He hummed against her neck, leaving a trail of kisses along the column of her throat.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t think I can have sex.”

He leaned back slightly. “I’m so full,” he admitted.

“Me, too,” she laughed.

He kissed her forehead, letting his hand drop from her hair to tangle his fingers with hers, pulling her behind him to his bedroom. He took his time helping her out of her dress, placing kisses everywhere, so in love with the way she watched him, the emotions she couldn’t say aloud so clear in her eyes. He eased nearly a hundred bobby pins from her hair, gently untangling the gold chains Celia had gifted her, before he massaged her scalp. Sawyer went completely limp against him.

“Okay,” she breathed. “I’m gonna fall asleep if you keep doing that.”

“Bed’s right there,” he said with a nod toward it.

Sawyer straightened. “Not yet, I gotta—” She gestured to her face full of makeup.

While she showered, he grabbed water and aspirin for them both, knowing the champagne that had made them feel so light was going to bring them right back down tomorrow. He grabbed a shirt for her, placing it next to the water and aspirin on the bathroom counter for her. He was fairly certain she didn’t like to sleep naked. That, and he selfishly wanted to see her in one of his shirts.

She did not disappoint. Coming around to his side of the bed, wearing only his shirt, she straddled his lap, taking a long sip of water.

“Should’ve talked you into that second nightstand,” she said with a smirk. Leaning forward, she placed her glass on his nightstand, smothering his face with her chest.

“I see no flaws with this system,” he said, his voice muffled as he nuzzled his face deeper.

She laughed, threading her fingers through his hair and tilting his face back so she could plant a kiss on his smiling mouth. “But fuck IKEA. We’re ordering one online,” she promised with a quick kiss before crawling off him and sliding under the covers. He sidled up behind her, burying his face in her neck, relishing the way his shampoo and body wash smelled on her, the way “we” sounded coming from her lips.

“Good night, Sawyer Jo,” he murmured into her neck before settling onto the pillow behind her.

She pulled his arm tighter around her waist. “Goodnight, Álvarez.”

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