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So, I don’t buckle under his gaze and grab his face.

So, I don’t kiss him when every fibre of my being wants to.

4

ANTHONY

I grinas I watch Kali saunter away, her hips swaying from side to side. SheknowsI’m watching her. Her confidence is one of the sexiest things about her. Her resolve for her own beliefs and morals. She’s so self-assured about so much stuff. Some guys find that intimidating, but I think it’s a massive turn-on.

“What are you smiling about?” Hazel rounds the corner with an iced glass of water held out to me.

“Admiring your best friend from a distance,” I admit, taking it from her with a wink.

Hazel rolls her eyes. “She’s going to make you work for it, you know.”

“No complaints here. I relish a good challenge.”

Kali disappears into her bedroom, and I sigh with appreciation, which earns me a knock at the back of my head. “Ow!”

“None of that when I’m here.”

I cast her a mocking glare. “You’re as bad as Patty.”

I don’t know why I suggested the bet in the first place or why I think I can last much longer than I already have. It took a hell of a lot of willpower not to throw her against the wall of the porch as she pouted up at me. It took a hell of a lot of willpower to not grab her face and kiss her, to claim her mouth like it belonged to me.

I’ve been with my fair share of women in my time. Some fleeting and forgettable, some who I loved and will never forget, some who broke me in more ways than I knew were possible. But something about Kali lights a flame within me that’s been out for a long time.

“The house is off-limits to your shenanigans,” Hazel says, heading into the garage.

I follow her as I sip my water. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want to walk out and see you and Kali having sex on the kitchen counter.”

“Nowthatis an image I’m going to replay over and over tonight.”

Hazel gags and slaps my arm. “Don’t be that guy.”

“Hate to break it to you, Jonesy, but Iamthat guy.”

Hazel shakes her head before taking in the workshop explosion in her garage. My power tools are lined up against the wall and planks of wood scatter the sheeted floor. It took a good half hour to push Hazel and Kali’s boxes of crap to the side before I could even set up. “Thank you for doing this.”

“It’s nothing.” I tip the rest of the water down my throat and wipe my mouth. “But you can repay me by getting your girl to crack first.”

Hazel narrows her eyes at me. “You’re both crazy.”

“Thank you. She’s a wildcat, as I suspected.” I hesitate before lowering my voice. “You didn’t tell her about … you know …”

Hazel offers me a kind smile. “What’s happened in your past are not my stories to tell, Anthony.”

“Right.”

“You wish I had told her, don’t you? So, you didn’t have to?”

I nod, unabashed. “It’s not a conversation that comes up over coffee.”

“I know, but it’s not my place to tell her,” Hazel continues. “And I know it must be hard to be vulnerable with someone again, but Kali is the most accepting, fiercely loving person in the world. You should give her the chance to hear all of it. Fromyou.”

I’m not sure that’s true. What Kali and I are doing feels a lot like fooling around with off-the-Richter sexual chemistry. Maybe she doesn’t need to know. Maybe it’ll fizzle out before we get to all the heavy stuff.