Page 27 of After All This Time (A Time For Love #2)

I chuckle, as I lock the door behind me and head to the car, thinking about the way we’ve been teasing Nate about Madison since the beginning.

Me : Nah, nothing of the sort, handsome.

Me : I’m pretty sure I was just invited because I told him I needed something to distract me.

Li : Handsome?

My heartbeat stutters.

Me : I’m playing around with a few pet names.

Me : Do you like it…?

I watch with bated breath as Liam types and stops, types and stops.

Li : Fuck, Coop. You make me crazy.

I bite my lip to stifle the deranged smile that threatens to take over my face in the middle of the street, so I put my phone in my pocket deciding to answer like an adult when I get to Nate’s.

Except a second message vibrates in my pocket as I drive, making me hyper-aware and dying to read what else Liam has sent.

The 15-minute drive seems endless, but the second I throw the car into park, my phone is in my hand.

Li : Why do you need a distraction, sweetheart?

Oops.

Li : Is something on my baby’s mind?

Oh, God.

Don’t get hard. Don’t get hard. Don’t get hard , I repeat like a mantra.

Me : Please don’t make me hard right when I’m about to meet with our mutual friend and his girl.

Liam sends a laughing emoji, followed by a second message.

Li : Okay, I’ll leave you to your distraction.

Li : For now.

His last words make me shiver, imagining him saying them in his low, throaty voice that makes me lose higher brain function.

And somehow, I’m supposed to act normal now?

Great.

I barely have the time to get myself under control before the door swings open and I’m met with Nate’s smiling face.

“Hey, man,” he grins, pulling me in for a half-hug. “Come on in.”

“Hi, Cooper!” Madison’s cheery voice sounds from somewhere further in.

“Hey, guys! How are my two favorite lovebirds doing?”

Nate groans while Madison laughs heartily.

“Oh, come on, man. You know I can’t resist messing with you. You make all the best faces.”

And it’s true. Nate’s face is full-on frowning. Grumpy mode on.

Except, the moment Madison rounds the corner, his face transforms before my eyes, his expression gentling, radiating all the adoration he feels for this woman.

“Nice to see you again, Madison. You look cute as always.”

A growl sounds from somewhere on my right and I aim a shit-eating grin at the source of that growl.

“You’ve got to chill, my dude. I’m just being nice.”

Hugging Madison to his side, Nate throws a glare at me.

“Be nice somewhere else.”

Madison and I both laugh at his grumpiness as we make our way to the living room where I plop down on the comfy armchair.

What’s with all that hostility anyway? Just because I asked him if he could introduce me to her when we were in high school?

If only Nate knew what his two best friends have been up to recently.

Would he be okay with it?

“Cooper?”

“Hm?”

Nate’s looking at me as if he’s been taking to me, but of course I was off to Liam-land.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I asked you how things are going with Liam. You know, with the whole living-together.”

Yep. Plunged back into Liam-land.

“Oh, things are great!”

Is my voice too shrill?

I clear my throat.

“Things are great. Couldn’t ask for a better roommate.”

I mean, who wouldn’t want a roommate who is clean, organized, makes you come your brains out, and lets you fall asleep in his arms.

So much for my distraction.

“It’s good to hear,” Nate smiles kindly, and I know he means it.

I turn to look at Madison who’s been silent next to Nate on the couch all this time, and I swear, her smart eyes see right through me. Her gaze seems to catch briefly on my neck where the redness from Liam’s hand has almost completely faded.

But she says nothing, just smiles at me in that calm, understanding way of hers that makes me relax.

I return her smile with all the honesty I can muster.

“So, what are we watching?” I grin, rubbing my hands together. “Please tell me it’s something scary.”

Madison sighs in defeat and Nate chuckles.

“Yeah,” she mumbles. “I owed him one for making him watch something incredibly cheesy the other day.”

“Don’t worry, Mads. You can always hide behind the cushion.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just take off my glasses. It’s just colors and shapes without them.”

Grinning, we all grab our snacks and bowls of popcorn, lowering the lights until it’s only the light of the TV and the haunting soundtrack filling the room.

The movie is surprisingly good, just this side of scary to keep you invested but not too much to feel like jumping at even a whisper of a sound.

Halfway through, I feel the vibration in my pocket, and it makes my heartbeat pick up in a way that no thriller ever could.

I try to fish it out of my jeans discreetly, but a quick glance at Nate and Madison, huddled together, tells me no one is paying any attention to me.

Li : Tell me what was on your mind.

Me : Now?

Li : Now.

My dick twitches in my jeans.

Me : How I feel you even if you’re not here.

Li : Fuck

Li : Go on

Me : How I swear I can smell you everywhere in the house, in my bed, on my skin even after I’ve showered.

Me : How I miss your hands on me and it makes me weak with need.

Me : And how I can’t wait to see you and go on that date with you.

Me : How does that sound?

Li : It sounds like you’re trying to make me jump on the next flight home.

Li : I need to hear your voice, baby.

God, I want that, too.

Me : I’ll be home in a couple of hours.

Me : Wait for me?

Li : Always.