Page 76 of Almost Love

Clementine rolled her eyes and kissed the tip of his nose. “What’s the first part of a grocery store you visit?”

He almost missed her question, nose still tingling from the soft kiss. Blinking, he said, “Uh, snacks?”

“What’s your go-to snack?”

“Chips, at the store. Donuts if I can get to your shop first.” She smiled and bumped her foot against his leg. “If we were in high school together, would you have written me a love letter?”

Her expression shuttered and he realized his mistake too late. She looked away and swallowed, he watched her throat bob and winced. When she’d told him about her crushes, he’d seen how vulnerable she was. How it cut her to talk about it at all. And what did he do? Try to stroke his ego all while hurting her.

“Clem, I’m sor—” she stood up before he could finish the word and walked inside. He blew out a frustrated breath and silently scolded himself for not being more conscious of how something like that would hurt her. Pushing to his feet, he walked to where she stood at the sink.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to…”

“I know,” she interrupted him, “and any other day, I might have taken it as playful banter.”

“I’m so sorry, Clem.”

After a long moment, she whispered, “I would have written a poem about your beautiful eyes.”

His breath caught in his throat and he stared at her as she did the same to him. “I’d have been stupid over you in high school.”

“We never would have had anything to do with each other.”

“I’d have worshiped the ground you walked on, Clem. I plan on doing it now, so I would have done it then.” She blinked and he lifted a hand to brush her hair back. “I was callous, saying that without thinking. Let me show you how much you mean to me.”

She hesitated, teeth worrying her bottom lip as they stared at each other. If she chose to leave, he wouldn’t blame her. Oakley hoped that she’d give him a chance to truly make it up to her.

“I might have an idea on how you can do that,” she said softly and moved around him. He frowned as she rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a purple satin pouch.

“What is that?”

“Bought a new one,” she said and opened the bag to reveal a matching purple vibrator. “It fits in my bag.”

His heart tumbled, but he forced a smile. Oakley knew what they were doing was supposed to help both of them get comfortable with sex. But he thought after their conversation earlier, things were moving in a different direction. He’d obviously read too much into what was said.

Clearing his throat, he took a step towards her. “Have you used it?”

“Took it out of the box to clean it. Thoughtyoucould use it on me.”

“In a heartbeat.” He took the vibrator from her, turning it over in his hand. “May I kiss you?”

“Where?” she breathed out.

“Everywhere.”

“Yes, please.”

Cupping her jaw in one hand, he leaned in and started with a soft kiss against her mouth. This woman was going to be his ruin and now he was conflicted about it.

CHAPTER 21

As someone who thrived on research, Clementine had gone the extra mile while looking for the right vibrator. She hadn’t done it so extensively when she bought her first one, but this time was with intention. They came in different colors, shapes and sizes. Some of them could be inserted, others were only for the clit and a few did both. While she’d seen Oakley’s dick enough times to have memorized it, there was no way that she could tell which was the perfect match in terms of size. The more she looked, the more intense the toys became.

It took her almost two days to settle on the vibrator she finally picked up. One of the porn companies she had signed up with a long time ago also sold toys and the reviews said that the product would change her life. While she had Oakley to really, truly, magically continue changing her life, a vibrator that helped her enjoy masturbation more didn’t hurt.

Compact, purple, apparently the perfect size for beginners and included the word ‘thrust’ a million times; it was a no-brainer when she added it to her cart. When it arrived, the first thing she did was clean it. Then Clementine turned it on andit danced across her bed, doing exactly what the website said it would—thrust intensely.

She’d tossed it into her bag, not knowing when they’d use it.

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