Page 76 of Let's Get Textual

He sighs. “You’re tiring.”

“You tell me that often.”

“Because it’s true.” He leans in closer. “But I secretly enjoy sparring with you.”

“Secretly?”

“Not so secretly.”

I grin. “I know. Now, shh. I need my beauty sleep.”

He kisses my forehead and turns back over on his back.

We lie there in silence. He’s still awake; I can feel it.

“Hey, Zach?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for not trying to bang me.”

His laughter shakes the bed. “You’re welcome.”

“I’m just saying, that’s a real non-asshole thing for you do. I appreciate it. Thanks for being so chill about me teasing you too. You’re a cool dude.”

“A cool dude, huh? That’s what you call your best friend, or a guy you’ve stuck in the friend zone, not someone you keep kissing. Are you trying to friend-zone me, Delia?”

I roll over to face him and he peers down at me, one eyebrow raised.

I reach up and smooth it down. “You look like you’re trying to smell what the Rock is cookin’ when you do that.”

“Exhausting.”

“Shh. I’m not trying to friend-zone you. That’s kind of why I want to wait. I rushed into my last relationship and we lost our spark quickly, settling into a routine and never feeling like we could walk away. I don’t want that with you. I want…”

“More?”

I nod. “More.”

“I want more with you too, Delia.”

“Good,” I say. “So no boning until at least our third date.”

“Are we counting this as a date?”

I lean in and place a kiss at the corner of his lips before rolling over until my back is to him. “We’ll see how horny I am after our next date.”

His laughter echoes through the room before he switches off the bedside lamp and wraps an arm around my waist, snuggling me just as he planned.

Thirteen

“THE KITCHEN ISA NO-NUDITY ZONE!”

Zoe’s piercing voice rattles the apartment, and I’m jumping to my feet and flying through my bedroom door and into the kitchen.

I skid into the room, stopping next to Zoe, who’s glaring at an alarmed Zach.

“What the…”

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