Page 122 of Ace My Heart

Joel smiled at me as he pulled out of me and sat up, propped against the lounge. I lay and watched him, feeling uncomfortable about how much I liked looking at him: naked, sex-mussed, with a five o’clock shadow from our long flight.

“I think I need a shower,” I muttered, struggling to my feet – mylegs wouldn’t hold my weight properly. Joel was just too good at what he did. It wasn’t fair. How could one man get so much talent in the sack? No wonder he slept around – it was almost like he owed it to womankind to show us all how great sex could really be.

I clenched my fists as I thought about that. I didn’t want him to sleep with anyone else but me. But it was hardly my decision, was it? I couldn’t just have him all to myself, not unless … no, I was not going there.

“Mind if I join you?” he murmured in my ear. I felt tingles all over me as his breath tickled my neck. I shrugged mutely. It seemed that I was unable to deny him anything he wanted.

Bad, bad situation to be getting into, Melanie Black.

I led the way into the bathroom, flicking on the light. I froze in the doorway. Joel bumped into me, not having expected me to stop so suddenly.

“What’s up, Stink?” he asked, peering over my head into the room. I stared for a moment at the reflection of the two of us in the mirror, naked, and hated the way I liked it so much, then I focussed on the reason that I’d stopped.

“I’m not really sure, but something feels weird in here. I normally leave the shower curtain closed, but it’s open. And I never fold my towel like that before I hang it up,” I pointed to the towel rack, where my fluffy white bath towel was neatly draped. “I normally just chuck it over the rail.”

Joel shrugged in the mirror, but his eyes were serious.

“Maybe you left it a bit neater knowing that you’d have Amanda coming in to feed Connor,” he suggested. I shook my head – it was such a long time ago, or it felt that way, and so much had happened that I couldn’t remember how I’d left it.

That reminded me that I hadn’t seen Connor since I’d gotten home – that in itself was weird. Usually he was circling my ankles like lightning when I walked in the door, begging for attention and food. I pushed past Joel and walked into the bedroom, calling his name.

I heard a bemused meow from under the bed. I bent down and took a peek under – there he was, eyeing me grumpily. I guess he’dprobably gotten annoyed that the first thing I did when I got home was have sex on the lounge. And the living room floor.

I grinned in relief. That was when I noticed the bedding. It was all put together differently. Just as neat and tidy as I would have left it, but not made up the way I liked it.

I added this to the mystery of the bathroom. Maybe I’d left it in a mess and Amanda had tidied up.

Or maybe my mother had been dropping by even after I told her not to. That might be more to the point. I’d have to change the locks. I growled and stomped back into the bathroom. The water was running and Joel was already in the shower.

I paused, uncomfortable again. Sex was one thing, but showering together just felt too intimate, too … couple-y. I knew that Joel wasn’t interested in being a couple. But maybe he didn’t read as much into the whole showering together thing as I did. Maybe he showered with all the girls he slept with.

I’d only ever showered with Grant, and that was only after we’d been sleeping together for a couple of years.

“Come on in, the water’s warm,” Joel joked as he stuck his head around the curtain, and I swallowed my nerves and stepped in.

He looked even better all dripping with water than he did dry, and I coughed as my breath caught in my throat. I reached for the soap and self-consciously started to lather myself up. I could feel Joel watching me, and I blushed and tried to pretend that it didn’t totally weird me out.

I felt the words bubbling to the surface. “Okay, Joel, I have to know. What is this?” I asked quietly.

Joel smirked at me. “This is called a shower, Stinky. It’s what people do when they want to get clean.” He moved closer to me and grabbed a handful of my butt. “Or dirty,” he muttered suggestively. I could feel his erection pressing against my hip bone. How could he be ready to go again already? I took a step away from him.

“Don’t avoid the issue. What is going on here?” I gestured to him and then to me, back and forth with my hand.

Joel shrugged. “Well, we’re … having sex. Stink, it’s no big deal. Peoplecanjust enjoy having sex with each other without therehaving to be something going on. Nothing else has to be different. I can still be your coach.”

I looked down. Yes, we could just enjoy having sex and keep on going the same as usual. I could handle that, I thought. But there was one thing I knew Icouldn’thandle, and I had to bring it up, no matter how afraid of his answer I was.

“Will you be having sex with other girls too?” I asked in barely more than a whisper. There was a long, awful moment where I could hear nothing but the sound of the water splashing down.

“Well, I don’t have any immediate plans to sleep with anyone else, Mel,” Joel said. “And, I promise that if that changes, I’ll be honest with you.”

I sneaked a peek up into his eyes, and he was gazing down at me earnestly. I believed him. I wasn’t sure if that was a total mistake, but I did believe him.

He reached out and pulled me against him. His chest was the perfect height for me to rest my forehead on, and I did, because I couldn’t gaze into his eyes the way he seemed to be able to gaze into mine. But then I found myself staring down, past his washboard stomach and further to … oh my God. He really was raring to go again.

Should I, or shouldn’t I? I couldn’t decide. And then I realised that if I couldn’t decide, it was probably best to say no. I closed my eyes so the sight of his huge erection wasn’t able to affect my judgement.

“I think you should go home now, Joel,” I muttered. “I have to unpack and I badly need sleep.”

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