Page 122 of Riding the Pine

Another shrug. “It’s not about whether or not I like her, it’s about whetheryoulike her, and I think you will, yes. That’s why I came right home and told you about it right away. I felt guilty doing it behind your back and decided on the way home that I’d put my idea on the table. If it’s something you’re interested in looking more into, then we’ll do it together. But no more without you knowing. Even though I did nothing wrong, I still feel… Icky.”

She waves her fork at me. “Especially since you’re the one who said you’re fine with me fucking women as long as you know about it.” She pops another heap of chicken and rice into her mouth.

“Do you have a picture of her?”

I shake my head. “She’s curvy.”

Athena’s brows peak. “How curvy?”

“Curvy enough that you’ll be able to grab more than a handful of her ass, and probably the same for her…” I reach toward my chest and squeeze a few times. “Cleavage.”

Athena laughs.

“She’s got green eyes, a lopsided smile, and long, purple hair. And her name means ‘aid.’”

She purses her lips. “Ironic, since you’re asking her to help me.”

“That thought wasn’t lost on me.”

She stares at me for a long, charged moment. “You want to bring another woman into our bedroom for me?”

I nod. Is it suddenly warm in here? Resisting the urge to tug at my collar, I refill my fork with food.

“Just for me?”

I swallow the food, but it goes down the wrong pipe, making me cough and inhale grains of rice into my trachea. Shit.

Eyes burning, I blink through the pain and thump my chest. “Y-yes. Just for you. She’s not hard on the eyes, so I’d be happy to watch if you wanted me to.”

The image of Ophelia and Athena invades my brain once again, making my pants tight. Shit. Shit.

“And if I don’t want you to watch?”

I tap my temple. “I can make an imaginary approximation of what that might look like.”

She laughs again. “I bet you could.”

After lunch, I pick up the plates, moving them to the dishwasher. When I turn around, she’s sipping on her water, eyes fixed somewhere into the distance. “It’s pretty sweet, you know.”

“Mm?”

“I don’t think I’ve known anyone so selfless, Scottie. I can’t believe you found someone to talk to about coming to bed with me.” She shakes her head. “Why?”

“I told you, Bright Eyes. I want you happy. If after what you’ve been through, you don’t ever want to so much as look at another dick again, then we’ll find a way around it.”

I take her empty glass and add it to the rack in the dishwasher.

“I’m not ready yet.”

I nod. “I know. And I have no intention of rushing you. I just wanted to make it as easy as I could for you.”

She slides to the edge of her seat. “But if I was ready?” Her lips curl into a smirk. “You’d be so fucking naked right now.”

CHAPTER 52

Athena

JUNE 2ND

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