Page 69 of Stick Fight

She goes still.

“I meant what I said,” I add, voice rough. “Just you and me. That wasn’t a line. I don’t mess around, Gabs.”

“Yeah, we said that. Just you and me,” she murmurs.

But something’s off. Her body, it’s too tight, her eyes aren’t meeting mine.

“You don’t believe it?”

She hesitates and that tells me everything. “This… is it about those pictures, is it?”

Her eyes flick to mine. “I…”

“Social media is a fucking joke,” I say quickly. “Those pics mean nothing. I’d never fuck around on you, Gabby.”

“I know,” she says, her voice low, like she’s trying to convince herself. What the fuck happened since I last talked to her?

I brush her hair from her face. “Gabs, what’s going on?”

For a second, she looks like she’s about to say something—something important—but before she can get the words out, my traitorous stomach lets out the most obnoxious growl known to man.

Her eyes spark. “I picked up a few things from The Nook. It’s gorgeous out. I thought… maybe we could have a picnic in the park? Fresh air, sunshine, carbs.”

I’m about to press, demand to know what’s really going on inside her head, but she looks so happy, I don’t want to ruin the moment.

“A picnic,” I repeat. I glance toward the window, blinking against the sunlight filtering through the glass. “I actually thought it was supposed to rain today. April showers bring May flowers.”

But what does May bring for me?

Forus?

She grins. “It’s not showering. Not yet anyway.”

“No. It’s not. It’s an absolutely perfect April morning. Wait… you want to go out with me? In public?”

She shrugs, like it’s nothing, but her eyes are watching me close. “We could wear hats. Sunglasses. Go full celebrity incognito.”

My heart lurches. “Babe, I would fuckinglovethat.”

We’re going incognito, yes, but maybe this is her way of testing the waters? Seeing what it might be like, the two of us,outside together. Or maybe she’s just sick of the apartment, Tanner’s place, the grocery store, and The Nook, pretty much the only places she goes. Still, I’m trying really fucking hard not to read more into this, but it’s hard.

“Let’s shower and get out of here,” she says, already moving.

I grab her wrist before she can escape. “Okay, but here's the thing…”

She stops, brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”

I grin. “I know exactly what you’re like in the shower. If you want to make it to the park before sundown, you’re going to have to keep your hands to yourself.”

Her laugh wraps around me, and my damn heart swells in my chest. “I’ll do the best I can, Roman,” she says, voice dripping with sass. “But no promises.”

I give her ass a playful smack and she yelps before she bolts from the bedroom and darts down the hall. By the time I find her in the bathroom, she’s already bent over the tub, adjusting the water, her bare ass aimed right at me, like a goddamn invitation.

I growl. “I know you’re doing that on purpose.”

She glances back with mock innocence, pressing a hand to her chest as she stands. “Who, me?”

I cross the room in two steps, and kiss the fucking breath out of her. She melts against me, all fire and heat and home. When I finally pull back, I smack her ass again. “Get those buns in the shower.”

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