Page 73 of With a Cherry On Top

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Covering all bases.

She shakes her head lightly, teeth sinking into her bottom lip like she enjoys me flirting with her. It’s mesmerizing, how her reactions play out so clearly. No poker face. It makes me ache to see them in person—to make her smile just like this, to make her feel as special as she is.

“Well, let’s see.” She draws her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. “I guess I’d stop camming. Of course, I do this for the money, but also because it’s fun. And I don’t think I’d enjoy it if I were committed to someone.” She rolls some hair around her finger. “Luckily for you, I don’t have boyfriends.”

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Never?

“Never.” She shrugs, like it’s no big deal. “I stick by three rules that pretty much make that impossible.”

Three rules. I don’t know what they are, but I already want to break them.

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Let’s hear them.

“Number one.” She playfully widens her eyes. “No kissing.”

No kissing.My stomach twists—I hate it.

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Right, right. I’m familiar with Pretty Woman.

She clicks her tongue. “Of course, that rule does not apply to a young Richard Gere. Or Julia Roberts.”

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Reasonable.

“Rule number two. No sleeping together. Too complicated—cuddles, breakfast, morning breath.Faaaartoo intimate.”

What’s wrong with intimacy? My fingers twitch with the urge to type the question, but she keeps going before I can.

“And third rule . . . no sleeping together.”

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You said that one already.

She tucks some hair behind her ear. “No, Cole. Nosleepingtogether.”

Wait, what?

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As in . . . sex?

“As in sex.”

As in sheneverhas sex? My brain short-circuits for a moment, trying to compute this new information.

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You mean . . . until the right guy comes along?