Page 27 of No Place Like You

I whip my fingers to the volume on my phone. “Annabelle!”

“What? Those were your words, not mine,” she answers innocently. She lets out a small giggle at the same time I give her a piqued shake of my head. “Does this mean a round two?”

“Absolutelynot!”

“Why not?” she argues.

“Because, Annabelle,” I scold. “We can’t. What happened was a one-time thing. I was never supposed to see him again. But now, his best friend is marrying my sister. Which means I know his people and he knows my people. I can’t do casual sex with men who know my people. I don’twant to complicate things right now.Especiallynot right now. I need easy breezy, not…complicated messy-cated.”

Annabelle smiles with a taunting bounce of her eyebrows, making a flush creep up my neck.

“Can we talk about something else?” I beg. “It was a meaningless hookup. Basically a one-night stand. I was drunk and stupid and, like,reallyhorny. And I doubt he even thinks about it. I mean, it’s been threefreakingyears. Ofcoursehe doesn’t think about it! It would be near stalker status if he still thought about it. I mean, right? He can’t still be thinking about it?”

“So did you still want to change the subject or…”

I sigh and slump my head back to face the ceiling, not even bothering to hide all the confusing thoughts running in what feels like a loop in my head. “He can’t still be thinking about it,” I repeat, more to myself this time.

“Well,youobviously still think about it,” Annabelle comments observantly.

I lift my head enough to side-eye her with something that isn’t quite disapproval but leans more toward ambiguous.

“I mean, you do, right?”

I finally give in and fully face her, shifting an inch closer to my phone screen. “All the damn time.”

“Lucy!” Annabelle practically shrieks. “What are you doing on the phone with me? Why aren’t you out there, jumping his bones?!”

“Annabelle,” I plead. “What is wrong with you? Why do you act like everything wrong in my life can be fixed with a hot and sweaty fuck fest with someone I shouldn’t be thinking about inthatway?”

“I mean, it can’t fix it, but it can make it easier to deal with,” she answers, her thin argument dissolving into an unconvincing set of words, making me even more uneasy about invading Dexter’s personal space.

“Ann—”

My words are interrupted by a rough cough that sounds like it’s meant to get my attention rather than an act of clearing one’s throat. I turn to see Dexter at the doorway, his hand on the doorknob that definitely didn’t click when he opened it.

Shit!Did I leave it open?

“I ordered some food if you’re hungry.”

“Is that him?” I hear Annabelle whisper loudly through my phone. I panic-reach for my phone and fumble with it before turning down the volume on the call.

“I’ll be right out,” I answer, a guilt-stricken look on my face. My heart starts to pound in my chest, and my ears feel hot.I really hope he didn’t hear me.

“I ordered Thai. I hope that’s okay.”

I avoid his eyes, keeping them trained on the floor instead. My gaze lingers on his bare feet, where his loose sweatpants stop right at his ankle. They shift on the wood floor, and his toes wiggle a little. The vulnerability of the exposed skin, so different from the confidence in his deep, gravelly voice, makes me feel fuzzy and warm inside.

So apparently, I have a thing for feet.

My eyes finally meet his, and I immediately regret it. How can one look, one single, second-long glance, cause everything in me to dissolve into mush? I just want to run to him and cry into his chest. Thank him for unexpectedly being my knight in shining armor.

“Of course,” I answer.

Before he turns to leave, he takes one long, drawn out look at me. His eyes trail down the loose sleep shirt and short set I changed into after I showered, now a little stained with wet spots from the water dripping off my hair. My bare legs are crossed on the fluffy comforter, and my hands are tucked into the small space between my thighs.

Dexter closes the door slowly, and I turn back to face Annabelle. “Do you think he heard me?”

“I hope he did.”

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