Page 52 of False Start

I intercept her on the way to the sink and plant a kiss on her temple.

"I have a feeling it'll all work out."

"Thank you so much for doing this, Ms. Jeffries," says a lanky 17-year-old kid with braces as he leans against Denise's doorway. "My mom kept calling the super, but he never called her back."

The kid is having trouble keeping his eyes off D's bountiful cleavage. While I can certainly relate, he's not about to ogle her right in front of me.

I clear my throat and shoot him a glare. The new keys clatter to the floor and he scrambles to pick them up.Eyes up, kid.

"You're welcome, Andy. Tell your mom I said hi and that my girl, Maya, wants her snickerdoodle recipe."

Andy nods before rushing out the door without so much as a wave.

"That was weird," Denise says. "Andy's usually so talkative."

I shrug and scratch my nose to hide my smile.

"That's all of them, then?"

She drops down onto her couch with a groan and I take a seat next to her.

"Yes, that's all of them. What a day!"

She puts her legs across my lap, and I immediately start rubbing her feet.

"Oooh, yes. Definitely keep doing that," she moans.

I shift her feet so she doesn't feel my hard-on. Apparently, being around her is like going through puberty all over again, complete with inconvenient boners.

"Thank you again for helping me with this," she sighs when I knead a particularly tender spot in the arch of her foot.

"Of course. What are boyfriends for?"

I feel her stiffen and immediately want to kick myself.Shit!Why did I have to force the issue?

"Boyfriend, huh?" She rolls the word around in her mouth like she's never used it before. Maybe she hasn't. "So you want to lock me down?"

"Not lock you down," I insist, doing my best to ignore the panic gripping my chest. "I just…" I let out a sigh. Who am I kidding?

"I really like you, Denise. And I know you want to keep things chill. I'm not trying to push you. But I'd like to be your boyfriend. I want you to be my girlfriend. Is that…OK?"

She's silent for a while, and I don't even risk taking a breath.

"It depends," she finally answers. "What do you consider a girlfriend?"

She didn't say no?!Hallelujah!I can't hide the goofy smile taking over my face now.

"The usual. Cooking for me. Cleaning my house when I'm at work. Sucking my dick on command."

I laugh when she pinches my arm.

"I'm joking!" I say through a laugh. "Nothing has to change. For me, a girlfriend is someone you like, someone you spend time with, someone you make plans with. It's all the things we're already doing, so we might as well use the titles."

I can see the wheels turning in her head.

"If nothing has to change," she says hesitantly, "then…yeah. OK. I'll be your girlfriend."

"Hell yeah!" I shout, not bothering to play it cool. "This calls for a celebration. Do you have any champagne? Or we can just toast with beer."

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