Page 40 of Almost Love

“I take it you don’t believe me.” She didn’t say anything and he continued, “I haven’t been with anyone in a long time too and I had a panic attack after my last hook-up.”

“I believe you.”

He didn’t look away, almost like he was staring into her soul. “Why suggest this arrangement if it scares you?”

Damn good question.

She busied herself by plating the slices of pizza.“Because I figuredyoumight help me get over my fears.”

She heard him inhale loudly and closed her eyes. It was definitely too much pressure to put on someone, especially someone new. But it was clear that he wanted her too and for that reason alone, she knew that Oakley would stay.

“Maybe we can help each other.”

“We can?” she asked, looking at him over her shoulder.

“We’re both nervous and scared about what sex means, maybe we need to get to know each other. Talk about why it scares us.”

“Isn’t that what therapists are for?”

He chuckled, the sound wrapping around her heart with a tight clench. “Pretty sure my therapist would suggest we do this too.”

“Mine would as well,” she admitted with a nod. “So…dinner and conversation first?”

“Absolutely. That pizza smells delicious.”

For that, she rewarded him with her best smile.

CHAPTER 12

The evening was going differently from how he thought it would. For one, she didn’t greet him with another soul-altering kiss. Secondly, the fear in her eyes when he leaned in was startling.

The one thing that had gone as expected was that Clementine looked amazing.

It was the only part that his brain registered when she opened the door. The black dress, made out of some kind of soft material, clung to every inch of her body. Which meant that he saw her perfect hourglass figure, full breasts with a delicious dip of her cleavage and her wide hips he’d gripped days ago. Even her soft stomach was on display, a bump in the front that he wanted to press his lips against. He never wanted her to wear her pretty chef coats anymore, because they would get in the way of all that gloriousness.

Even if she hadn’t said sex scared her, he would have figured that out simply by the way her voice quivered when she spoke. Oakley hadn’t been thinking, that much was clear. All he knew was that he wanted to get close to her, touch her, kiss her, taste her and remind both of them why they were there. For all her brashness, it was almost comforting to see a softer side ofClementine. He hated that it happened when she was feeling her most vulnerable.

He’d let her touch him, hold his arm as she tried to explain what was going on. He’d never been someone who flat out assumed things about people, because you never knew what they’d been through before. However, with the way she carried herself and came up with this plan, he had assumed a lot about her. To see that none of it was true was surprising. Something had happened that changed the way she viewed sex.Hegot it.

So their ‘no strings attached sex’ plan now had a few strings attached and honestly, he was glad for it. He knew that there was no way he would survive a purely sexual relationship with Clementine, but building something more with her and navigating it together? He was all for that.

Armed with plates loaded with pizza and glasses of water, they sat on the couch while the television played some cooking show. He wasn’t paying attention, because he was focused on Clementine. Her couch was large, so instead of sitting right beside him, she sat with her back against an armrest and stretched her legs out so that her feet were closer to him.

“Eat your dinner,” she grumbled when she caught him watching her. He smirked and bit into it his slice. Oakley intended to keep watching her, but the minute the food hit his tongue, his eyes slipped shut. She hadn’t made anything new and yet, it felt like he was eating pizza for the first time. He didn’t even bother hiding the groan that fell from his lips.

“What did you put in this?” he asked, mouth full of deliciousness, barely able to open his eyes.

“Everything is homemade, well, except the cheese and pepperoni.”

“It’s so fucking good.” He took another bite and felt like he was melting into the couch, every ingredient finding a spot on his tastebuds. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Sex, apparently.” His eyes flew open at the casual way she dropped that and found an eyebrow arched as she watched him. “If I can’t joke about it, what’s the point?”

“You worry me sometimes.”

She scoffed and ate her pizza, eyes drifting away from him to focus on the television. Whatever they were watching was on mute, but the subtitles were on. He wondered how often she did this, sit on the couch and multi-task while her shows played. He wanted to know everything about her, really. Her sleeping, eating and cooking habits. Her routines, her likes and dislikes. He wanted to burrow so deep into her soul that everything she did would become a part of him.

“Ask the question, Oakley.”

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