Page 40 of The Silent Count
“Can you not talk about your dad while I’m kissing you?” I can feel him smiling against my cheek and a smile of my own plays on my lips as well. “It’s kind of a mood killer.”
“Good. We’ve got to get ready for work, anyway. If we stay here any longer, we’ll be late.” I say the words to convince myself more than anyone. But there’s something about the way Fortune’s hand trails up my stomach until he’s cupping my breast that does a complete backslide against any of the convincing I just did for myself. Then even more so when he drops his lips to my neck again, but this time the kisses he presses against my neck pack heat. So much heat that a shiver races over my skin and goosebumps erupt over my arms.
Staying here with him is so tempting—so incredibly tempting.
“And I still have to go back home and pack since someone”—I shoot him a wide-eyed look over my shoulder—“invited me in to watch a movie last night, but instead of doing that, I ended up passing out in his bed.”
“It was in the best interest of Miami residents to not let you get behind the wheel of a car. You were falling asleep sitting up at dinner.”
I press my palm against my forehead. “Shit. My car is still at Scar and Abel’s place.”
“I’ll drive you home, then we can ride into the facility together. If anyone asks, we’ll say you had car troubles and Abel wasn’t picking up.” Fortune slides his hand down over my stomach until his fingertips dip between the hem of my underwear. “Let’s be late.”
His breath is hot against the shell of my ear as I place my hand over his and slide it down further.
“Ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes,” He echoes back, but both of us know it’ll be at least twenty.
* * *
“You were late this morning.”My dad announces as he walks into my office and makes a beeline for the coffeemaker. Three hazelnut pods into his pocket, and a dark roast for the road… some things never change. “Those girls keep you up late after Friday night dinner again?”
“Oh, you know how they are…”
He’s met Mae and Scarlett enough times to pick up on their antics. There’s also the fact that I’ve told him just about all the crazy shit the three of us have gotten up to over the years. Like the time the three of us came up with a plan to toilet paper Abel’s house. In our defense, it was before he and Scarlett started dating, and she thought he was being an asshole, so it was warranted.
Hell, my dad even gave me pointers on how we could’ve done a better job. Made it harder for him to clean up. I think he said something about pouring boxes of instant mashed potatoes on his lawn before a big rain or something.
“You girls sure do have fun.” He lets out a huffed laugh before he pauses and turns to look at me with an arched brow. “Did I see Parker giving you a ride into work?”
“Oh, yeah. You did,” I say as casually as possible. Making sure not to move a muscle in my face or shift in my seat to show any outward sign of the nerves that are swirling around in the pit of my stomach. “I was having car troubles, and I tried calling Abel, but he wouldn’t pick up. Fortune lives the closest to us, and since we were both going to the same place, it seemed dumb to call an Uber.”
My dad nods as he rolls my words around in his head. There isn’t any tension in the air. No noticeable signals that he suspects anything off. “I’ll stop by after work one day this week and check your engine. I know it’s been giving you grief for a while now, so it probably has to do something with that.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking, too.”
My engine is completely fine. I took it to the shop a few months back once the check engine light came on, but my dad didn’t need to know that.
“Nice of Parker to give you a ride, though.” He nods to himself. “He might be quiet, but he’s a good kid. I’ve always liked that about him.”
Me too, I think to myself.Me too.
One of my favorite things about Fortune is that he's the kind of person who doesn’t flaunt his generosity. He doesn’t need to snap a picture and post it online showing people how good of a person he is. I can’t say the same about some of his teammates, though. I like that my dad sees the side of Fortune that I see, because I’m falling for him faster than I ever imagined.
I swallow.
Wait.
Did I just…
I’m falling for him faster than I ever imagined, I repeat the thought to myself.
I try to keep it cool. Not showing the windstorm of emotions that I’m feeling on the inside as Dad picks up the steaming coffee mug and twists on the lid before making his way to the door.
He turns back over his shoulder before saying, “Alright, well, I’ll see you on the plane. Is Abel giving you a ride to the tarmac?”
“Yup,” I lie straight through my teeth.
