Page 52 of False Assumptions

Letting her go, she resumed shelving books, and he pushed the cart for her, handing her the next book she needed when she needed it. She chewed on her lip some more, and he knew she was thinking, but waited for her to share it with him.

After moving to the next row of shelves, she pushed a book into place, then stopped and looked at him, her hand lingering on the books. “I still think you should go.”

He blinked. “What?”

“To the party. Tonight. I’ll be working until eleven, and I have a paper I need to write this weekend. If you go to the party tonight, I can work on my paper after work, which will give us more time together this weekend.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she closed the distance between them and put her hand over his mouth. Without thinking, he sucked one of her fingers into his mouth. She tasted like dust and paper.

Her lips parted on a gasp, and her eyes dilated. With a little giggle, she pulled her hand away.

He grinned, completely unrepentant. Circling her waist with his hands, he pulled her in close. “What’s this about? Why do you care if I go to some party or not?”

Snuggling into his chest, her voice was muffled, but he still made out what she said. “I don’t want to come between you and your friends. You’ve already turned your life upside down just to drive me to and from school. I’m working. There’s no reason for you not to go. You like parties. You should go.”

He drew in a breath, still halfway wanting to protest, but what she said made sense. And now that he’d had some time to think about it, it would be fun to see the guys. Romero was right that it had been a while. It’d always annoyed him when guys dropped their friends the second they got a girlfriend. And now he’d become one of them.

Sighing, he squeezed her against him. “Okay. I’ll go. But I can’t promise that I won’t try to see you after you’re done working.”

She had a smile on her face when she looked up at him. “I wouldn’t expect any different from you. But just so you know, if you drunk text me at two thirty in the morning, I can’t promise I’ll answer.”

A chuckle escaped him at her narrowed eyes and saucy tone. “I can live with that.” He didn’t plan on having more than a few drinks and hanging with the guys anyway. By midnight, everyone was usually too drunk to be any fun if you weren’t as drunk as they were. Or banging someone in a back room. And since he had Layla, he had no desire to do that.

She squeezed him and pressed a kiss to his mouth. Not letting her get away, he deepened it, holding her against him, wanting to get his fill since he wouldn’t get as much time with her tonight.

When he let her go, her lips were pink and swollen, and he was grinning. He stole one last kiss. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay.”

When he turned, she smacked his ass, and when he looked back at her, her naughty grin almost made him stay and wait for her after all. But she gave him a little wave. “Have fun.” And then she pushed her cart away before he could even respond.

Laughing to himself, he pulled out his phone to text Romero and get the address for the party. He gathered his things and headed out, looking forward to seeing some friends and ending the night in Layla’s bed.

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