Page 74 of Kismet

This is nuts.

Yet, despite how ridiculous I feel, I still find my knuckles rapping on his large, wooden door anyway, and when a soft “come in” sounds from the other side, I still find flutters in my stomach—flutters that I fucking refuse to believe are butterflies.

Because that would be absurd.

I twist the cold, brass doorknob, pushing the door open, before stepping over the threshold, and shutting it behind me. My back rests on the now closed door as Stone spins around in his plush desk chair.

A smile immediately slides on his face as he takes me in, and I don’t miss the once over he does with his eyes. “Cash, hey. Good morning.”

“Hey. Good morning.”

“What a pleasant surprise. What’s up?”

Why am I here?!

“I just wanted to say hey,” I reply, pushing off the door and sauntering toward the chair in front of his desk. Pulling it out, I plop down, and with the new close proximity, I can smell his fresh, clean scent mixed with the subtle cologne he’s got on.

It does nothing to help keep my head on straight.

The grin plastered on his face is half smile, half temptation. His dark, deep eyes roam all over my face as his tongue dips out, wetting his full bottom lip. The short, full beard that lines the lower half of his face is inky black, with only a few salt and pepper strands mixed in.

My hands itch to run my fingers through it. It’s been so long, but I can still feel the ghost of it scratching my face when his lips would devour mine.

“How’s your week been so far?” he asks, after what seems like hours of us just studying one another.

“It’s been good,” I reply. “Kind of hectic, but we’re halfway there now. What about you?”

“Been pretty good. Busy, but good.”

“Any plans for the weekend?” What the fuck is with our awkward ass small talk?

“My brother-in-law’s club has an event I’m going to. You should, uh. You should come.”

“What?! I couldn’t do that. Andclub?”

“He’s in a biker club. And why not? It’ll be fun. Lots of food, drinks, good company. You should.”

That’s right. I do remember the leather cut his brother-in-law was wearing when I ran into them at the bar.

“I can’t. My best friend, Kylie, flies in this weekend.”

“So, bring her! Honestly, there will be so much food, and it’ll be a blast. Lots of other women there too. My sister, for one.”

I can’t. There’s no way I can see Stone outside of work again. Not after what happened when we went out for drinks. Yet… My logical brain clearly isn’t doing the talking today, because before I know it, the words, “Yeah, that’d be fun,” slip from my mouth.

That elicits another wide, beautiful smile from him. “Okay, great.”

“I should get to class.” Getting to my feet, I walk toward the door, when he speaks, stopping me in my tracks.

“Hey, wait a sec.” He comes over to me, stopping when he’s several inches from me. Too damn close. “Here, enter your number so I can text you the details.”

I take his phone and plug my number in, feigning a confidence I don’t feel. My gaze locks on his when I hand it back. His fingers brush mine as he takes it, an electric current flowing from him into me, and if the way his eyes darken as he watches me is any indication, he felt it too.

“Have a nice day, Cash.” His voice is low, gravelly, and it sends a shiver down my spine.

“Yeah, you too, Stone.”

Once I’m out of the office and outside, I take a deep breath and pull out my phone. I shoot Kylie a text before shoving my phone into my pocket and heading to my classroom.

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