Page 68 of Almost Love

“Make sure you add some new nicknames into it too.”

“Aw, you still don’t like being my baby?”

“Oak,” she growled, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Love riling you up, sweetheart. Now, lemme eat this cake.”

She fluttered her hands at him and he smiled at the lightness in her mood. Once he was sitting down, he picked up the firstpiece. There were six in total, and all of them looked similar on the surface. Knowing Clementine, each one would have something delicious on the inside and he couldn’t wait to find out what it was. As he took a bite, he lifted his eyes to find her swinging her legs and typing furiously on her phone. There was something so simple about having her there with him, but not feeling like she had to fill the silence with chatter. Honestly, that’s how it was with her always and he loved it.

All thoughts of Clementine vanished the minute the chocolate hit his tastebuds and he groaned, not even bothering to contain the volume. She was brilliant in so many ways, but with dessert? She was a genius. His eyes had no hope of staying open as he finished the piece and licked his fingers. When he opened them as he groaned again, he found her watching him in amusement.

“Have I mentioned that your dessert is orgasmic?”

“Not in so many words.”

Oakley picked up another piece. “Not as good as sex with you, but pretty close.”

“We haven’t even done that much.”

“But I can already tell that it’s going to be better than dessert.”

“Put that into your cheesy notebook,” she teased and he smirked as he stuffed the cake into his mouth.

“Jesus, Clem,” he moaned, chewing and licking his lips because she had outdone herself again. “Fuck the donuts, I want cake.”

She adjusted her sweater, pushing her sleeves up. “You’re getting cakeanddonuts, isn’t that enough?”

“You’re forgetting one important thing.”

“What?”

“You,” he said softly and stood up, setting the box down. “I’m getting cake, donuts andyou. Which is more than anybody else is getting.”

Her lips twitched. “And yet, you still seem to turn this up to a hundred when you’re with me, why?”

“Because you make me this way.”

She shook her head and spread her legs so he could step between them. He smiled when she picked up another piece of cake and held it against his lips.

“This is my least favorite. Can you identify the flavors?”

He gave her a ‘what do you think?’ look and opened up. She slid the piece in, her eyes fixed on his mouth as he took a bite. Their eyes met as she put the rest of the cake into her mouth, tongue swiping over her lips to get the icing. He closed his eyes as he chewed and focused on the flavors before swallowing to speak.

“It’s got a funfetti taste to it, but I don’t think that’s what it is. There’s some vanilla, for sure. A citrus of some kind, but I can’t figure that one out.” He smacked his lips, like that would help him identify it.

“It is funfetti with citrus,” she told him and his eyes widened.

“Really?”

She nodded, licking the rest of the icing off her fingers. “It’s apparentlytheirfavorite and wanted me to put a twist on it. Funfetti seemed so boring, so I tried something else.”

“It’s interesting, not sure I like it that much.”

“I knew there was a reason I picked you,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss the corner of his mouth, her tongue brushing against his skin gently. She hummed and pulled back. “Couldn’t waste any of the icing.”

Then, her mouth was pressed against his. Oakley sighed softly into the kiss and cupped her face with his other hand as well, stepping closer until their bodies were locked. Her fingersbrushed through his hair and he almost buckled at the knees from how good it felt to have her touch him that way. The kiss deepened, their mouths parting and tongues dancing, her chest squashed against his.

In that moment, with Clementine in his arms and the taste of cake on her tongue, nothing else mattered. He forgot where they were, the sounds around them fading into nothing. All he could feel, hear and think about was the woman he was falling madly in love with.

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