Page 21 of Wrong Place, Wright Time
“Hey,” I say, smiling broader than I probably intend to as he passes me my coffee, made just the way I like it.
“Hey, yourself,” he says as we start walking and his fingers catch mine. It's just a little hook off our middle and pointer fingers, like we're testing this out. Or more like he's testing me out. It's no secret that he's doing his best not to push me. But as was evident on Friday night when he almost walked out of my door, even a patient man like Banks has his limits. Time will tell if his limits and mine align. Because I can't promise to lower all my walls just because we get along and have mind-blowing sex. No. The only thing I can promise Banks Johnson is time. It's all I have to give right now.
“Why is it that you seem surprised I’m even here this morning?” he asks after a while of walking in quiet contemplation.
Swallowing the mouthful of coffee I've just taken I bounce a shoulder. “I hoped that didn't translate into my expression. But obviously it did. I was definitely very happy though.”
“Oh, I saw that too,” he says, turning to me slightly and bumping me with his elbow. “And for the record, if that sun is shining and the weather is suitable for walking, then I will still be here. Unless of course I wake up in bed next to you. If that's the case, I'll still get you coffee, but I'll send you to work with a different kind of smile. And if it’s raining that day, we’ll take your car.”
The promise in his voice makes me squirm, and I wonder if I now look like I applied too much blush this morning.
“Admittedly, I did have a different kind of smile on my face this morning,” I say, a warm feeling spreading up my arm when he laces our fingers completely.
“Oh, really?” He waggles his brows up and down as he looks at me.
“Mind out of the gutter. I was talking about a certain hicky that spells out somebody's name. I feel like you've staked out a claim.”
“I have.”
“We’ll see,” I say, grinning to myself as we walk along, quietly drinking and just enjoying each other's company.
I can't deny the warmth pooling in my lower belly as I think about the hicky on my thigh that spells out ‘Banks’. Ridiculous as it sounds, it's also crazy hot. Looking at it and remembering his mouth on my body produced a carnal desire in me that did nothing but urge me to want more from the man who keeps showing up at every turn.
And when I get to work after a sneaky kiss goodbye out the front of the building, Karen seems to sniff out the change in me the moment I walk past her desk on the way to my office.
“You’ve hadsex,” she declares under her breath as she follows me in, closing the door behind her with a thud.
“That is such an inappropriate thing for an assistant to say to her boss,” I say as I drop my bag and take a seat behind my desk, powering up my computer.
She plops herself in the seat across from me and waves her hand dismissively. “We are constantly inappropriate around each other. So this is nothing. Tell me everything. I want details. Was it the dirty-talking guy who sent you flowers because they reminded him of the color of your lady lips?”
“You are so crass!” I cover my mouth and giggle, unable to hide the flush in my face as I cross my legs and sit back.
“What is on your thigh?” she gasps, her eyes going wide as she shoots out of her chair and leans in close, making me realize the letter ‘s’ is poking out from underneath my skirt.
“That is nothing,” I say primly, uncrossing my legs and pulling my skirt down lower.
“Oh, no, girlfriend. That is definitely something.” She moves around to my side of the desk, and since she’s my best friend, I hitch my skirt up a little and let her see my special little brand. She gasps and covers her mouth, stepping back with her eyes alight. “I fucking love this guy for you. When am I going to meet him?”
“I don’t know,” I say, pulling my skirt back down again as she takes her seat. “Everything about us is so new, and I honestly don’t feel ready to put any extra pressure on us. I need to take this slow.”
“A love bite that spells his name is not taking something slow, dear girl,” she says.
“I kind of disagree with that because we've had a whole month of getting to know each other outside of the sheets before we got back into them again.”
She nods her head slowly as she listens. “I like it. You're making him work for it.”
“It's not even that. I just don't want to repeat the mistakes of my past by rushing into something just because it feels good. I've done that twice already and both times it turned out that those men were not the men I thought they were in the beginning. I came out of both those marriages with even worse self-esteem than I had when I went in them and it's taken me a long time just being happy as me. I don't want to give that away again. I want to be cautious this time.”
“OK. I get it. I mean, I wasn't around to witness the fallout of your first marriage. But I did know you during your second and I saw how much he broke you. So, I really do understand. However, I'm not here advocating that you marry the guy. Hell, I don't even believe in marriage after the shitshow I witnessed growing up. Andy actually proposed to me not long ago and it honestly almost broke us up.”
“Are you serious? Why didn't you tell me about that?”
She bounces a shoulder. “Because we managed to sort it out rather quickly. He's the love of my life for crying out loud.”
“Then why don't you want to marry him?”
“Because I don't need that to be happy with him. And after we talked, he realized that he only wanted it because he thought it was the logical next step. After I assured him that all I want is him, it stopped being an issue for us.” She sits forward and looks me dead in the eyes. “Now, I'm not saying that you guys need to be super serious about each other off the bat. But I am saying that I hear you, and as your best friend I'm here to support you. Even if that means telling you that you're being an idiot occasionally.”
