Page 57 of The New Guy
“To be honest, I don’t either.” He rubs his thumb along mine. “Even if you were in a position to openly date me, I still don’t know how I’d handle a boyfriend around Jordyn. I have to be cautious with her. She can’t afford to lose any more people in her life, you know? And she’s nuts about you already.”
Well, yikes. “That does make it complicated.”
“She’s my number one priority,” he says, giving me a sideways glance. “But she does have an early bedtime.”
Thank you, Jesus. “Kids do need their rest.”
“Kinda glad she invited you over for dinner tonight, though. I should have thought of it first.”
“I bet.”
He laughs. “I should probably go. It’s getting late.”
“Oh, is it?” I ask as my heart plummets. Then I set my drink down, too. “I guess we should both get some sleep.”
We glance at each other. And neither one of us gets up.
“Tomorrow is game night, huh?” He puts a hand on my chest and rubs my sternum. “Are you going to morning skate?”
“Probably.” I turn a few degrees and run a hand down his arm.
I’m not sure who moves first. But somehow we’re kissing again. He nips my bottom lip as he rolls onto my chest. I wrap my arms around him.
Goodnight kisses are a thing, right? Any second now I’ll break this off and go home.
But not just yet. My lips are already stubble-burned from earlier, but I just can’t stop. His body feels so right against mine. We slide down the headboard bit by bit, until we’re full-on making out on the comforter.
He groans, and then I groan, and we’re probably just going to spend the rest of our lives here in this room, because neither of us can find the willpower to leave.
And I’m one hundred percent okay with that.
TWENTY
Gavin
APRIL
“Bye, Daddy!”Jordyn waves at me from the steps of the elementary school.
“See you at three!” I call, waving goodbye.
When she goes in, I turn around and hoof it up the block toward work. I’m running a little late, so I don’t even stop for a cup of coffee.
Last night I got a good night’s sleep. But lately that’s not a given, because Hudson and I have made quite a habit of our late-night hookups. Once or twice a week, when he’s in town, I get a text.You around?
And unless Reggie is out at a late rehearsal or performance, I always make myself available. Each and every time.
Our ground rules are unspoken, but very clear to both of us. Nobody at work can know, and Jordyn can’t know.
And it’s just a hookup. There’s no future for us. Obviously. But that doesn’t stop us from making a habit of it.
“This block of Brooklyn is very, very horny,” my sister had said the other night as I grabbed my keys and headed for the door in my socks.
“You shut your gob,” had been my reply. But I couldn’t hide my smile.
“Be careful out there,” she’d said in a low voice.
And I’d paused with my hand on the doorknob. “Careful? I’m right next door.”
