Page 50 of The Little Black Book

The thought gives me pause. Will we be doing this again? I don’t know where Zoey’s head is at, but I sure as hell hope so.

We rewind and finishLove Stinkswhile we eat picnic-style in bed, laughing and feeding each other sweet and spicy meats and rice. Afterward, we while the afternoon away, watching movies and cuddling, then make love one more time before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

I don’t know if this is love yet, or not, but it certainlydoesn’tstink. It has been the perfect day, and I’m going to want a repeat as soon as fucking possible.

Chapter21

Hot Tub Hijinks

Zoey

My cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and Zeke has been giving me strange looks all morning, but I don’t care. I haven’t felt this happy and satisfied in a long time––if ever––and I’ll be damned if I’m going to try to suppress or hide the feeling.

I reign it in when Sophie and Ava pop in to say hi, ordering some chocolate donuts and coffee. I don’t know why, exactly, but I’m not ready to tell them about Sam. They don’t know we slept together that night after his date at the nightclub. And they definitely don’t know he stayed over after driving me home two nights ago, nor do they have any clue we spent the entire day together yesterday…in my bed.

He left this morning after fucking me against the wall of my shower, then using a soft, soapy cloth to clean me up and massaging shampoo and conditioner into my hair. My core tightens just thinking about it.

“Come to my house tonight. I get off work at eight, so I’ll be home by eight-twenty,”he said just before he kissed me goodbye and walked out the front door.

Then his hand shot out, catching it before I could fully close it behind him, and he shoved his way back in to kiss me again. One hand palmed my ass and the other gripped my neck, holding me in place so he could thoroughly ravish my mouth, leaving me gasping for more as he winked and walked back out, whistling.

“Zoey.”

“What?” I yelp, my gaze refocusing on Sophie.

“Are you okay? You seemed a million miles away,” she says, her voice dripping with concern.

“I’m fine,” I say with a light laugh and a shake of my head. “I’m just tired, I think. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Lie.I slept like the dead, wrapped up in Sam’s embrace after the day’s activities.

“Okay, well, get some rest,” she says, then checks her phone. “Shit. I have to go. I’m going to be late for a meeting with Waverly.”

“I have to go, too,” Ava says, her voice a little subdued. “The kitties wait for no man. Or woman. See ya.”

She gives Sophie and me a nod, then spins around to walk out of the shop, her donut and coffee in hand. Sophie looks back at me when the door closes behind our friend, concern once again etched across her features.

“Does she seem off to you?”

“I don’t know,” I say with a shrug. “Maybe a little? But she’s not really a morning person, so she always seems off this early.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she says, looking back through the front windows before shaking off her concern and giving me a smile. “I really need to go. Call me later?”

“Sure,” I say, returning her smile.

I hold it until she leaves, then it drops into a frown as my shoulders slump. I don’t like lying to my friends, and I know they’re going to murder me when I eventually tell them about Sam and me. And I will. Soon.

I guess I just kind of want to enjoy him a little more before they start throwing out questions I don’t know the answers to. Like does this mean we’re together now, as a couple? Because I honestly don’t know. I’ve been telling myself all morning it’s a friends-with-benefits kind of thing, and I’m perfectly okay with it being that way.

But Sophie and Ava will see through the act. They know me, and they know I’m not a casual sex type of girl. That I’m all in, and I want Sam to be all in, too. And they’ll scold me for being too scared to talk to him about it.

I’m not scared, exactly. I just don’t want to make things awkward between us when everything is going so well. And I don’t want to put pressure on Sam. He needs to decide for himself what he really wants.

I just hope that when he does make the decision, it goes in my favor, because I’m not ready to give him up. I don’t know if I ever will be.

* * *

Sam’s houseis a mid-sized one-story in a nice, quiet neighborhood. The entire property is fenced in by a thick row of six-foot shrubs, giving Sam his privacy without the need for real fences. I park in the driveway and take a deep breath before climbing from the car. By the time I make it to the front door, Sam is there, standing in the opening with a wide smile on his face.

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