Page 49 of Man Seeking Woman

Her hair was a deep burgundy color, thick bangs almost covered her eyes, but that smile, that smile was gold. It was pure, happy, and full of life.

Ella kept moving and rocking, reaching out her arms to take the picture. “Yeah, yeah, very funny. Hand it over.”

“I'm serious,” I said, passing it to her. “You look really happy.”

Squeezing next to me, she held the frame and stared at the image. “I was.”

The way she said it made me think that her life had taken a wrong turn, but that turn had come long before I stepped into the picture. Her eyes seemed to look past the picture, as if she had climbed inside that small frame and was trying to reclaim the girl she used to be.

“And what, you're not happy now?”

“I wouldn't say that, I'd call myself. . .” Pausing, her mind twisted, looking for the right word to use. “Frustrated,” she finally spit out. “I'd say I'm more frustrated than anything.”

I wanted to ask her more, but I figured I'd give her some time to settle in. We were going to have plenty of chances to learn about each other's pasts, and I wasn't the type of guy who pressed where pressing wasn't wanted.

If she wanted to tell me, I would let her decide when.

Smiling at her, I picked up the box and stood up. “I won't pry, but if you ever want to talk, I'll listen.”

Ella ran her fingers through her hair and snapped her head up to look at me. Giving me a soft smile, she danced her eyes around my face. “Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.”

Setting the box on the floor, I turned around to find Ella leaning against the door frame. “So this is my room?” she asked, crossing one leg over the other.

“This is our room, I already told you that.”

“Yeah, I know, I was just hoping you forgot. But, you said you're sleeping on the floor, right?” Taking a step in, she ran her fingers over the knickknacks on my dresser, picking up a bottle of cologne and smelling it.

“Nope,” I said, flashing my brows and baring my teeth. Stepping to the dresser, I grabbed a pair of shorts from the drawer and laid them out on the bed. “This has to look real, so we'll be real. A real couple, who shares everything that real couples share.”

Dropping my jeans and boxers to the floor, I heard Ella suck in a gasp of air. Looking at her under hooded lids, I watched her cover her eyes with one hand and quickly jerk her torso so she was facing the wall behind her.

“Seriously? Can't you do that in the bathroom?” she asked, her eyes drifting to peek over her shoulder, only to be ripped away by her good conscience.

“I could, but this our room, in our home, and since we're going to be sharing a lot more than just walls, we might as well get the uncomfortable stuff over with early.” Picking up my shorts, I slid my feet through the legs and pulled them up.

“This is really early, don't you think? It's literally day one.”

Shrugging a shoulder, I smirked as I watched her peek again. “I'm dressed, but tell me, did you like what you saw?”

Ella gave me a flirty smile, her eyes twinkling with tiny stars. “It's cold in here, don't you think?” Biting her bottom lip, she winked.

“Burn,” I said laughing, shaking my head side to side. “It's not cold and obviously you weren't looking, but that was good. You're quick, Ella Day, I like that.” Looking at the bed, I asked. “Left or right?”

“What?”

“Left or right, which side of the bed do you like sleeping on?”

“Don't you think it'll be a little weird if we share a bed?”

“Why would it be weird? We're just going to sleep. Are you afraid to sleep in the same bed as me? Afraid you won't be able to keep your hands to yourself?”

“No, but I don't know you and you don't know me. I just think we should get to know each other a little more first.”

Brushing past her, I spun on my heels and dropped onto the bed. “You know I mean we're just sleeping? I'm talking about real sleep, not porno style, dirty naked, screw like jack rabbits type of sleeping. . .” Pausing, I pushed up on my elbows and asked, “Unless you want to?”

Ella smirked, twisting away and shaking her head. “Uh, no, I don't think so.”

But you thought about it. I saw that grin on your face.

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