Page 56 of All This Time

“Then act like a grown-up, please.”

I lean closer to her, getting my mouth as close to her ear as I can. “Trust me, Laney. I’m all grown up now, in more ways than one. Would you like a demonstration?”

Her breath is shaky as I lean back, smirking at her just as Carolina comes back to our table.

“Okay, here we go.”

Laney clears her throat as Carolina sets the tray down and I pull out my phone.

“Fletcher, now is not the time to be on your phone,” Laney chastises.

I hold up the screen so she can see that I’m checking her glucose level through her app. “Just making sure you can handle the cake right now, angel.”

Laney’s eyes grow wide. “Oh.”

I glance up to see Carolina grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Is she good to go?”

“Yup. Perfect.” Holding my hand out, I say, “Please give us the spiel.”

Carolina clears her throat emphatically. “Perfect. Now, the flavors are labeled, and here are the scoring cards to help you decide. I’m going to leave you two to sort this out. Just ring the bell when you’re ready with your choices and then we can talk other details like colors, ribbons or flowers, etcetera.”

“Sounds good, Carolina. Thank you.” I smile as she leaves and then immediately scour the tray for a Funfetti flavor. “Oh, hell yes.” I lift one of the squares and pop it into my mouth, moaning as the cake melts on my tongue. “Automatic winner for me.”

Laney sighs. “See? You are a child.” I finish chewing as she reaches for the other square of the Funfetti, but I beat her to it. “Hey!”

“Open up, angel.”

“Can youpleasestop calling me that?”

“If you open up.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not letting you feed me.”

“Then you won’t get to sample this one and when I tell Carolina to make the whole thing out of Funfetti, I’m going to tell everyone it was your idea.”

Her glare gets deeper each time she flashes it at me, and it only makes my dick harder.

She sighs, licks her lips, and then opens her mouth just enough that I can slide the piece of cake inside, but I make sure to graze her lips with my thumb before pulling my hand away.

What the fuck are you doing, Fletcher? You’re definitely sending mixed signals, and not just to Laney, but also your own fucking dick.

Every time I touch her, I know I’m playing with fire. But the more I do, the more I don’t fucking care.

She reaches up to dust off a few crumbs from her lip, rubbing the spot I just grazed as she chews. “It’s…not bad.”

“Don’t lie. It’s perfect. Moist and sweet, but not overly so. Classic.”

“You seem to have a lot of opinions about this flavor.”

I tilt my head, studying her. “You seriously don’t know why that cake is my favorite, do you?”

She doesn’t glance in my direction as she marks her scoresheet. “Nope, and I don’t really care either.”

I reach for her hand and pull her toward me, our faces inches apart. Laney’s eyes widen and her lips part slightly, just far enough that I can smell the sweetness of her breath.

“That’s funny,” I say. “Because I don’t think I’ll ever forget the cupcakes that a certain someone made for my eighteenth birthday and brought to school.”

Our eyes remain locked when she says, “Interesting how you remember that, but you’ve forgotten other things, Fletcher.”