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“No,” Kyle said. “And yes.”

“I kind of hate her.”

“I kind of hate her, too,” Kyle said, running her hands up and down Melinda’s naked back. “But I’ve already let her ruin most of my day. I really don’t want her to ruin our night, too.”

“Not possible,” she replied. “I’m naked and pressed up against you. No ruining that.”

“Will you tell me about your day? I don’t want to talk about her anymore.”

“Which tour should I start with?” she asked, running her fingers over Kyle’s breast.

“Go from your least favorite of the day to your most.”

“Should I order us some dinner first?”

“Do they deliver beignets?” Kyle asked.

Melinda laughed and said, “I know a guy.”

“Oh, of course. You know everyone here,” Kyle teased, her hand stilling on Melinda’s ass, not gripping but resting.

“You will, too,” Melinda replied. “Stick with me, and you’ll know this place like the back of your hand.”

“I think I’ll stick with you regardless,” Kyle replied in a whisper against Melinda’s ear.

Melinda smiled and thought about how she hoped that were actually true. She couldn’t imagine having nights in thisapartment with Kyle so far away, missing her, thinking about this very moment when they were snuggled up on this sofa, and wishing Kyle was here. If long-distance was in their future, she’d do it, but she’d hate the moment they’d have to say goodbye, and she was hoping this altercation with Kyle’s mom wasn’t the thing that took her away from her too soon.

CHAPTER 25

Kyle sat up in bed, swinging her legs over the side of it before standing up. It took her a good minute to realize that she was completely naked and that the blinds in front of her weren’t all the way closed. She stretched anyway and then turned around to look at Melinda, who was still asleep, looking beautiful. Seeing the woman with a half-open mouth and hair that covered part of her face, though, Kyle couldn’t help but laugh silently. She’d woken before Melinda’s alarm and didn’t see the point in making Melinda get up any earlier than she had to, so she went in search of her clothes, which they’d left in the living room.

They’d remained on that sofa, holding each other for well over an hour before Melinda had finally donned clothes to open the door for the pizza they’d ordered. She’d quickly taken them off again, much to Kyle’s delight, and they’d eaten naked on the sofa, drinking the coffee Melinda had brewed for them earlier. After that, they’d talked for hours. Melinda had insisted they take a quick shower before bed, and while they hadn’ttouchedeach other too intimately in there, it was still one of the most intimate moments of Kyle’s life. She’d never showered with a girlfriend before. She hadn’t seen the point. Shower sex never made sense to her. Showers were for cleaning. And she’d preferred short showers, anyway.

When Melinda pulled her into the bathroom, though, Kyle had joined her, and they’d held on to one another, kissing and lightly fondling, not trying for more. It was soft and sweet, and they’d been in there for at least twenty minutes before Melinda had turned off the water and wrapped her arms around Kyle’s neck while they continued to just kiss, long and slow, standing in a shower as they both grew cold.

It was then that Kyle had figured it out: she didn’tprefershort showers. She’d never had a choice. They’d had a trailer and one bathroom for three women, so there had beenlittle hot water to go around. There had been no bathtub, either. Kyle had been lucky to get enough time to wash her hair and then shave her legs as a teenager. As she’d held on to Melinda, though, she thought about how she’d love to start taking long showers now or even baths with Melinda’s body pressed against her own.

Walking into the living room, Kyle found her clothes scattered on the floor and got dressed before she quietly proceeded to the bathroom to try to tame her hair and pee. Done in there, she came back to sit on the sofa, pulled out her phone because she didn’t have her laptop with her, and logged into her freelancer account to see if any new jobs had come in. She hated working on her phone, but she didn’t carry her laptop everywhere, so it would do for now. Kyle found she had two new requests, so she opened the first one, which was a short article in English that someone wanted translated into French. It wouldn’t take her long, so she settled more into the sofa and began reading through it.

“Morning,” Melinda said a few minutes later as she joined her in the living room.

“You’re naked,” Kyle replied.

Her eyes raked over Melinda’s nude body, stopping in a couple of spots to enjoy.

“You were, too. What happened?” Melinda asked, instantly climbing on top of Kyle on the sofa.

“Mel!” Kyle laughed as she dropped her phone onto the rug and pulled Melinda against her.

“Why aren’t you in bed?” Melinda asked her, looking down at her.

“I woke early, and I didn’t want to wake you up, so I came out here to work,” Kyle answered.

She ran her hands up and down Melinda’s soft back, not wanting to let her go.

“I interrupted your work?”

“By flopping down on top of me, yes.” Kyle laughed again.