Page 75

If I had my way, we would do nothing but “other things” all the time.

Sounds perfect to me. I’m fine with whatever you want to pick.

We negotiated for a little while and settled on pizza from one of the best local places.

I was going to see Delaney tonight. And there would be food and nudity involved. Did life get better than that?

I almost wished I could go back in time and tell my awkward teenage self that one day she would get to see that girl she had all those confusing thoughts about naked. That someday things wouldn’t always be so awful.

I finished my last few tasks of the day right around the time when Delaney would be closing the bookshop. I put in the pizza order to be delivered in a half hour to Delaney’s house and changed out of my work clothes. It took too long to pick what to wear as I tore through my closet and drawers before selecting a pair of ripped black jeans and a purple shirt that was cropped just enough to allow my belly ring to peek out. Delaney had been riveted by my piercing and I wanted to show it off for her.

This time I put my hair up and took off most of the makeup I’d put on for my workday.

Too excited to wait any longer to see her, I got in my car and drove to Delaney’s apartment, parking a little ways down the street. Just as I was about to ask her if she was back yet, I got a message.

I’m home if you want to come over whenever.

Not wanting to appear too eager, I waited five endless minutes before I answered that I was outside.

She met me at the front door to let me in with a smile on her face and still wearing her work clothes.

“Hi,” she said, holding the door open.

I kissed her hello.

She laughed as I showed her with my mouth how much I’d missed her since I had seen her.

Once I had kissed her until my knees were weak, I leaned back. “Hi.”

Her eyes blinked open. “That was a hell of a greeting.”

“Should I apologize?”

She grinned and grabbed my shirt to drag me inside. “Hell no.”

“The pizza will be here in a few minutes,” I said in between kisses as she pushed me up against her door and pulled at my clothes.

“Shit, I’m hungry,” she said, but didn’t stop devouring me.

“We can’t eat and kiss at the same time,” I pointed out and she made a frustrated sound and pushed away from me, putting her hands up between us.

I laughed, still a little unsteady on my feet. “Food first.”

She nodded. “Right. Food first. Um, how was your day?”

We sat on her awful couch and discussed how our Mondays had gone while we waited for the food to arrive.

“I’m going to change really quick,” she told me.

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if I could watch, but that would lead to us completely forgetting about the pizza and she needed to eat. Sometimes food had to take precedence over sex.

I sat on my hands on the couch until Delaney emerged from her bedroom in one of her T-shirts and a pair of soft green shorts, her hair up in a messy bun.

“You’re beautiful,” I breathed, and she snorted.

“You didn’t always think that.”

Fuck. My past misdeeds always came to bite me in the ass.