Page 41 of Bad At Love

“Perfect,” he said, unbuttoning the Nehru-style jacket he’d worn on top of his linen shirt. Usually, he wasn’t a fan of dressing up but Mona would go military on his ass if he messed up her aesthetics, so he’d packed carefully.

Chaaru hiccupped.

“You’re buzzed,” he said, catching her wrists carefully in his hands.

“Hmm,” she said, leaning into him. Her warm breath stroked over him like a lick of honey. “Lunch was ages ago, and I missed my snack window. The cocktails went straight into my blood.”

“Come, let’s eat.”

Her arms came around his neck, the fingers not touching each other. “Can we dance first? I’ve been waiting for you all evening.”

Been waiting for you for years,he wanted to say. “As you wish, sweetheart.” Wrapping his arms loosely around her waist, he pulled her to him until she leaned her head against his shoulder. He swallowed a groan when her sweet curves settled against his. Every time he held her like this, it felt both thrilling and comforting.

Tendrils of jasmine from the oil on her face teased his nostrils. Something was going on with her,about them,he realized, cupping her hips. He’d deal with it and allay her fears. All he needed was for her to not shut him out.

“How was your day?” she said, as they slowly swayed, their thighs grazing and parting.

“Exciting. Tiring. But perfect,” he said, nuzzling into the arch of her neck. It was quickly becoming one of his favorite nooks in her body. “You want to know the best part?”

“Yes, please.”

“Knowing that I was coming back to you at the end of the day.”

Her gaze turned liquid as she looked up. A tremulous smile made her lips tremble. “I kept looking at my watch all day. Kash and Mona are calling me dick-notized. The other option was cock-locked.”

Laughter burst out of him. Catching her strange expression, he sobered. “You don’t like it?”

“I told them I prefer slut-for-DP. Which, of course, led to Mona pontificating on double penetration. Also, since Kash was involved, we got into a heated discussion about claiming these phrases for ourselves.”

He dragged his mouth to her temple, smiling against her skin. “Sounds like an interesting day.”

“It was,” she whispered, pressing her cheek to his.

Once again, he was awed by how perfectly she fit against him, how easy this intimacy was.

Being with her as a couple was like discovering a spark of joy in every morning, noon, and night. In every moment. Like seeing your life with a new, sparkling lens. Like being present for a communion of the earthly and the divine.

For a while, there was nothing but the soft beat of the music and the satiny slip and slide of their bodies, nothing but the feel and scent of her engulfing him.

Soon, he noted that the other women wore elaborate, colorful, silky robes over pajamas. Every single one had bright lipstick and some glittery bronze powder on their face. Only Chaaru had dressed down.To make a point, of course.

Hands on her shoulders, he shifted her back so that he could see her better. Her brown eyes searched his eagerly.

Laughter kicked up from his belly, filling his chest with this…free-falling feeling that he’d never get used to. Tightening his hands over her hips, he pulled her closer. “Is there a reason you’re testing me?”

She rubbed her tits against his chest, and he groaned loudly. Against her soft belly, his cock thickened in anticipation. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said in a breathy whisper.

“No?” He sent his hands on an exploration of her upper back, loving the taut muscle, hugging her tighter and closer. “No one told me tonight’s program was an above-forty pajama party/reality show.”

She giggled against his throat, and the sound moved through him like some sacred chant, settling deep in his psyche. “Yep. Only instead of cupcakes or donuts, we have cannabis gummies. Also, some of us are natural beauties like Kash over there and some of us turn into sexy ogres. Like in Shrek.”

“Hey, that’s my girl you’re talking about. Mind your tongue.”

She looked up, a wealth of insecurities shining in those eyes. “This is how I look in the mornings and when I go to bed. I get regular lash extensions, color my grays. There’s this obnoxious little chin hair that pops up every few days and it’s gray and curly.”

His chest shook with laughter and burned with affection. “Couldn’t get it to grow by tonight? I’d have loved to play with it.”

A smile teased the corners of her mouth, but didn’t bloom. “Sometimes, I don’t shower for two days straight. Though that’s usually when I’m between jobs.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “When I’m really lazy and can’t be bothered to do a load of laundry, I wear my underwear inside out for another day. My cousins and I used to call it A-side, B-side. Like tape cassettes.”

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