Page 20 of Triple Play
She takes a step closer. Then another. Until we’re two feet apart and I can see the pulse hammering in her throat.
“You could, um.” She clears her throat. “If you needed to. I wouldn’t—I mean, it’s only fair, right?”
Is she seriously offering—
“That’s not how this works,” I say.
“How what works?”
“Any of this.” I wave between us. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“I know that.” Her chin lifts. Defiant. “But maybe I want to.”
My cock throbs. Traitor.
“Want to what?”
“Watch.” She says it so quietly I almost miss it. “Maybe I want to watch.”
Every coherent thought evacuates my brain.
“Elise—”
“You listened to me.” Her eyes are bright. Challenging. “Seems fair.”
My cock throbs at the thought. Her watching me. Those hazel eyes tracking every stroke. Seeing exactly what she does to me. It would be hot as hell and I’m already half-gone just imagining it.
Which is exactly why this can’t happen.
“That’s—” I stop. Try to find words that don’t involve me agreeing to the worst idea I’ve ever heard. “That’s not the same thing.”
She tilts her head. Studies me. “Why not?”
“Because I wasn’t trying to listen.” My hand flexes at my side. Wants to reach for her. I shove it in my pocket instead. “You’d be watching on purpose.”
“So?” She takes another step closer. The kitchen suddenly feels too small.
“So that’s different.” My voice comes out rougher than I want.
“How?”
The question hangs there. Simple. Impossible to answer without admitting things I’m not ready to admit.
“It just is.” Weak. I know it’s weak even as I say it.
She takes another step. Now we’re close enough that I can feel the heat coming off her body. Close enough to touch.
“You want to,” she says. Not a question.
“Doesn’t matter what I want.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re my roommate. Because youjustmoved in. Because this is complicated and I don’t do complicated.”
“Who said anything about complicated?” Her hand lifts. Hovers near my chest but doesn’t touch. “It’s just bodies. Just want. Doesn’t have to mean anything.”
The words hit like a punch.
