Page 59 of Choose Me

21

Jules

Iturnoffthewater in the shower and grab a towel, drying off quickly before heading into the bedroom. Erik is only now pulling himself out of bed, and I wander closer, appreciating the view. He smiles up at me sleepily and stretches, flexing a bit more than necessary, but I definitely don’t mind. I brush my fingertips along his chest. “Mmmm, you look good.” He grabs me around the waist and hauls me onto the bed, kissing my neck as I squawk in surprise and burst into laughter. “Were you setting a trap for me?”

His beard scrapes along my skin, sending tendrils of pleasure rippling through me. “I’ve had a nap, and you’re standing there in a towel tempting me. I think you were the one setting the trap.”

I laugh and push away, rolling off him to sit on the edge of the bed. “Go take your shower. The pizza will be here any minute.” He growls as he sits up, then leans in and nibbles at my shoulder, which he knows makes my knees weak. He’s doing it on purpose. I don’t resist when he pulls me against his naked body. “Menace.” It sounds more affectionate and turned on than the scolding I was going for. “Maybe after pizza we can do more of this.” He places sweet kisses along my jaw, and if the pizza delivery guy wasn’t going to be here any minute, I’d reconsider getting out of bed. I groan and nudge him. “Erik, go shower.”

He grumbles but lets me go. “Fine. Kiss first.” He leans in and kisses me softly on the lips. “I love you.”

My stomach does happy little flips at those three words. It’s been a week since he first said them to me, and I hope I never stop feeling like this when I hear them. I kiss him back, trying to convey my happiness in the press of our lips. “I love you too.”

He places one more soft kiss on my forehead and wanders off to the bathroom. I watch him go, because that ass deserves to be ogled, and then stand up, letting the towel drop to the floor. Since we’re only hanging out in my apartment tonight, I dress comfortably in sweats, a T-shirt, and the hoodie Erik had been wearing earlier. It’s way too big on me, but it smells like him, and I like wearing his stuff. Is it juvenile or possessive? Maybe. But I don’t care, and neither does he.

The intercom buzzes and I hurry down the hall, pressing the outside door release, then head to the kitchen, pulling out two beers from the refrigerator, opening them, and taking them into the living room with plates and napkins. As I set everything on the coffee table, there’s a knock at the door. My stomach rumbles hungrily and I hurry into the hall again. When I open the apartment door, it’s not the pizza guy standing in the hall. “Stef.” Shit.

“Jules!” He launches himself at me, squeezing the stuffing out of me. “I was on my way back from a client and I thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful to see Jules? It’s been ages since I saw you, and Iwasgoing to text, but then Jocelin called me, and by the time we hung up, I was already here. So here I am!” He holds out his arms in a ‘ta da’ motion and then sweeps off his coat and hands it to me. “I hope you don’t mind. You weren’t busy, were you?”

I stand there with panic rising while he pulls off his boots and sets them aside. “I… I…” I have no idea what to say. None. Fuck. There’s a very naked Erik in my shower. What if he walks out here in a towel? What am I going to tell Stef? “No. Not busy. I’m expecting the pizza guy soon.”

“Oh, good! I’m starving!” Stef walks into the living room, spinning around to face me as I hurry after him. I swear my heart is going to explode. What the fuck am I going to do? “Oooooh, it’s sooo good to see you! It’s like it’s been forever.” He grabs me in another crushing hug. “I’ve missed you. We’ve both been so busy lately and haven’t had time to chat.”

He’s not wrong. Most of my free time is spent with Erik, and Stef has his clients and classes he teaches. In fact,he’sprobably feeling badly about neglecting me, even though lately it’s been me who’s been neglecting him.

“So…” He heads toward the kitchen, and I hope Erik stays in the bathroom. I’m shocked Stef hasn’t heard the shower running. “Babe, you have wine, don’t you? Of course, you have wine. Silly question.” He opens the refrigerator and pulls out the bottle of Sauv Blanc. “Oh, thank god you have the good stuff.” He grabs a glass out of the cupboard and the corkscrew from the drawer, making himself at home. Not that he shouldn’t. He knows his way around my apartment after so many years. “So, what have you been up to? How’s work?” Before I can form a response, he keeps going, and I’m so incredibly thankful. Fear of what’s about to happen has me speechless. “Oh! Did your new boss start yet?”

I force words out of my mouth. “No, that’s next week.”

Stef sighs and slumps against the counter dramatically. “I’m so sorry he’s such a jerk.”

I’m still holding Stef’s coat, and now I’m not sure what to do with it. “I’ll make it work somehow.”

“You always do. You’re amazing at that.” He pours himself a glass of wine and re-corks the bottle. “But if you need anything you call me, all right? I don’t mind going in there and raising holy hell.”

He wouldn’t, either. He’d be in my new boss’s face in a heartbeat if he thought the guy deserved it. And Van wouldn’t know what hit him. Stef is a force of nature that can’t be denied. “It’ll be fine.”

He rummages in my cupboards, probably looking for a snack. Before either of us can say anything else, the buzzer sounds again. I’m assuming it’s actually the pizza guy this time, but I’ve learned my lesson. I hurry into the hall, tossing Stef’s coat onto a chair in the living room as I pass, and hit the intercom button. “Who is it?”

The male voice on the other end is less than thrilled. “It’s Siciliano’s Pizza.”

I press the button unlocking the main door and hurry back to the kitchen. Thankfully, Stef has stayed there. When I walk back in, he’s snacking on the kalamata olives that were in my fridge, pulling them from the deli container one at a time and popping them into his mouth like they’re chocolates, making yummy sounds as he chews. “So, what else is new?”

Before I can answer, Erik’s voice booms from the bedroom. “Elskling.” I stare wide-eyed at Stef, who’s frozen with an olive paused midway to his mouth. Erik’s voice gets closer. “You need to put shampoo on your shopping list.” I spin around as Erik comes into the kitchen, thankfully dressed. Mostly. He’s wearing sweatpants that sit low on his hips, showing off his v-cut, but still pulling on his T-shirt. Shoeless, sockless, and with wet hair, he’s obviously been in the shower, and no expertly woven story will explain it any differently. When he settles the T-shirt in place, he looks up and stops in the doorway. His eyes lock on Stef and then flick to me. And then back to Stef.

Blood whooshes in my ears, and I can’t catch my breath. Shit. I’m not ready for this. I should have been ready for this. Fuck, we should have told him weeks ago. We just kept putting it off because we had no idea what to say. It feels like somebody’s sitting on my chest. In a flash, Erik crosses the kitchen, taking my face in his hands, blocking out everything else. “Hey, hey. It’s all right. Jules, it’s going to be okay.”

He brushes my hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ears, and holds my gaze. His eyes are so blue and calm. “But, but…” I point at Stef. “And you.” I gesture to the hall like he’ll understand what I mean. “And we didn’t figure out how to tell him.” My voice is getting higher, and evenIcan hear the panic in it.

“Shhhh. Shh shh shh. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” He pulls me into his arms and I bury my face in his chest. His tight embrace is incredibly comforting and I slowly relax enough to catch my breath.

“So, what’s happening?”

There’s so much sass in Stef’s voice, but I’m not sure if it’s amused or angry.

Erik kisses the top of my head, and his voice rumbles under my cheek. “We were going to tell you.”

“Mmm. What exactly were you going to tell me?” There’s definitely confusion in his tone, which I guess is better than anger.

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