Page 43 of A Better Place

I lay my head back down on the pillow and watch as his face transforms from lust-filled to incredulous.

“Did you just… lick me?”

“I did.”

“I don’t know what to do with that,” he admits.

He pushes himself into sitting position, and I shimmy up the couch, crossing my legs and tucking my hair behind my ears. He’s facing forward. Slowly he turns his face toward me. “You licked me,” he says like he still can’t believe it.

“Yup,” I say. I have no clue why I did it, other than I just wanted to, so giving an explanation isn’t even an option at this point.

“First time your tongue was on me…” He trails off, looking away again.

A giggle bursts out of me, and I quickly put my hand up to my mouth to hold it in.

James shakes his head at me, stands up, and places his hands on his hips. He narrows his eyes and points at me. “Now you have to go to the wedding with me.”

“For the lick?”

“Wedding for the lick.” My eyes widen, and he continues. “That’s right. I said it. You licked me. Therefore, we wedding.”

“That’s not even grammatically correct!” Stupid argument? Probably.

“That’s your defense against going?”

“Hey! It’s true!”

“Be that as it may, doesn’t change the fact that you licked me. And we’re now going to a wedding. Together. Hi, Plus-One.”

I hear a deep snort from the other side of the room and gasp when I see Jack standing in the doorway to the living room, his broad shoulder leaning against the opening, an amused expression on his face.

“You guys are so weird,” he says, pointing to the two of us.

“You say weird. I say awesome,” James says. “Just wait and see who the best Cole man is when you both join me for Emily’s wedding.”

“Why am I being sucked in to this thing?” he asks. “I hate weddings. I don’t wedding.”

“Maggie will be there. In a dress. She’s a bridesmaid.”

“I’ll be there.”

James snorts and looks my way, winks, and my entire body goes up in flames. Bye-bye wall I built so strongly.

James huffed and puffed, and it blew right down.

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