Page 61 of Love Thy Neighbor

It’s like she’s reverted to the same Caroline she was the summer I met her.

Quiet and cautious. Unsure about me.

And I fucking hate it.

I hate that we did this to ourselves.

But I hate even more how much I want to do it again.

The water starts to run cold, and I realize I haven’t even washed my body yet.

I squirt some bodywash onto the loofa and quickly wash up, rinsing off before the water really starts to freeze.

I turn it off, step out of the tub, and begin to dry off.

I realize my mistake then.

I forgot to grab new clothes.

“Fucking hell.” I sigh. “Not again.”

I push my clothes into the corner, not wanting to carry my dirty laundry through the house, and wrap my towelextratight around my lower body.

“Here goes nothing,” I mutter, pulling the door open.

The steam billows out around me, and I look down the hall toward the living room, listening for the pad of her feet.

Nothing.

I crane my neck the other direction…and my eyes collide right with Caroline’s.

Her bedroom door is open, and she’s sitting at her sewing desk.

Staring right at me.

Her eyes flit down my body, and her stare somehow feels even hotter than it did before.

Catching herself before her eyes travel too far, she snaps her attention back to my face.

Need.

It’s right there in her gaze.

She wants me just as badly as I want her.

She swallows once, twice.

And then slowly drops her head to the work in front of her.

Don’t say anything, Cooper. Don’t say anything at all. Go to your room.

“You could at least buy me dinner next time.”

She lifts her head, brows crushed together. “Huh?”

“If you’re going to eye-fuck me, the least you could do is buy me dinner first.”

Her face twists in anger, then she pushes up from her chair, stomping to her bedroom door.

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