Page 94 of Hoax and Kisses
“Hey! I’m busy,” I say, my face burning. “Don’t knock it till you try it.” Recovering quickly, I spin and stride to the freezer. There, I pull out a bag and toss it onto the counter. “Dinner is served, milady.”
She stifles a giggle, and I mentally high-five.Another one. I won’t rest till I have them all.
“You’re something else, Matt Becker.” She walks to the counter. “So. What’s on the menu? Microwaved lasagna? You’re spoiling me.”
I laugh, probably too loud, but I can’t help it. That’s what she does to me. She puts a fucking smile on my face until my cheeks hurt. God, I don’t want it to end.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fancy enough for ya.” I rip open the bag and dump its contents into a baking dish. “Oliver would kill me if I messed it up. It’s notthathard. All I have to do is add the ricotta at the end.”
Zoey peers over my shoulder, her breath hot on my neck. A moan escapes her mouth, and everything—and I meaneverything—in me clenches.
“Not to be dramatic,” she says, her mouth so damn close to my ear, “but this is my favorite food in the whole universe. I’d die rather than live without it.”
I survey the frozen stuffed shells and marinara sauce. “I think the chef does the pesto himself.”
As she backs away, she mutters under her breath. The words are unintelligible, but I swear they sounded filthy.
“Let me jump in the shower quickly, then we can get started on those bad boys,” she says, already headed for the stairs. Halfway up, she freezes, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “Wait, I don’t have any spare clothes. Do you have something I can borrow?”
I blink, then internally curse myself for not thinking of that tiny but crucial detail.
Now that you offered her the opportunity to clean up, idiot, you can’tunofferit.
As if it’s not hard enough keeping my mind from going places it shouldn’t when I think about her in the shower.
“I, uh, I have… Let me check.” I take the stairs two at a time, my blood running fast in my veins.
In my bedroom, I grab a clean towel, then find a worn T-shirt in the closet and a pair of sweatpants.
“Come here. I think we can work with this,” I call.
A moment later, her footsteps echo softly upstairs. “It’ll definitely be too big for you,” I say when she appears in the doorway, “but it’s all I have.” Hoarseness coats my words as I toss the clothes onto my bed.
Zoey walks over to the bed, surveying the shirt and sweatpants. “I’m sure I can make it look good.” She lifts the shirt to her chest, then turns to me, a teasing tilt of her head. “How do you think it’ll look? On me?”
I swallow. Hard.
The image of her in my sweatpants and shirt hits me hard, but honestly, my imagination already went off the rails ten minutes ago when she mentioned wearing something of mine.
“I think it’ll look… just right,” I manage, my voice tight.
Lie.Lie, lie, lie.
She’s gonna look fucking delectable. I’ll have to tug on the invisible leash clasped to my collar all night to avoid playing out the naughty thoughts swarming me.
“Just right, uh?” she says, her smirk morphing into a full-on smile.
I’m clearly not a good liar and I don’t care. Let her see how much I want her.
“I’ll be quick.” Winking, she turns and sashays into the bathroom.
I swear I’m about to combust from the sight of her swaying hips. I watch her walk away, and I justknowshe knows. She’s got me wrapped around her finger.
Once the bathroom door clicks shut behind her, I slump back on my bed and close my eyes, exhaling shakily.
Pull yourself together, asshole. Daphne is right next door. She needs me to be at my best all the time. I can’t let myself get swept away like that.
And yet I can’t wait for Zoey to come out of the bathroom. I can’t wait to see her with her hair wet from the shower. Can’t wait to find out how good she’ll look in my clothes.
