Page 85 of Without You

Though, years ago Johnny, Chad, and I have long forgotten our manners with each other so I might give him shit about helping himself, but it’s all an act and he knows that. We all have keys to each other’s houses and don’t ask before getting food or drink.

“I’m going to walk Katie home,” I tell him and he waves us away.

“Yeah, yeah. See ya later, Katie.”

“Bye, Chad.”

She finds her coat and shoes scattered on the floor, making Chad snicker.

I usher her outside, reaching behind me to flip him off.

His answering laugh tells me he saw it.

Leading Katie up the stairs, she tucks her finger into one of my back pockets and follows step by step. I look back at her and grin. There’s something about the finger tucked into my back jeans pocket that seems even more intimate than what we were doing last night and this morning. It’s possessive, even though we’re alone and there’s no one for her to claim me in front of.

When we reach her door, I turn to her.

“This is the part where I say I had a lot of fun last night.”

“And I agree and ask you to call me.”

“And I promise I will.”

She smiles and kisses me, unlocks and opens the door.

“I have a really full day of appointments since I took yesterday off so if you do call, like you say you’re going to,” she adds cheekily, “I might not be able to pick up.”

“So don’t take offense if you ghost me all day, right?”

“Exactly.”

“All jokes aside, I did have fun last night and I’m glad we finally had the chance to have that date.”

“Me, too.” She leans into me, and I wrap my arms around her lower back. “We should probably plan on making that a regular thing.”

“Which part? The dinner or the part after?”

She pretends to think for a moment. “Both. For sure.”

“Good we’re on the same page.” I kiss her hard, making sure she feels it the rest of the day.

“Whew!” She fans herself.

“Have a nice day, Katie.”

“You, too, B.”

I trot down the steps, and leave her to get ready.

“That was quick,” Chad says, not looking back at me from his work on the new cupboards. “Need some help on building up your stamina?”

“Jackass,” I mutter, laughing.

He looks over his shoulder. “Meant it. It’s about time.”

“Thanks, man. I like her. A lot.”

“Got that,” he confirms with a nod and turns back to the cupboard he’s prepping to hang. He already installed the lower cupboards.

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