Page 60 of Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake
“You just took a while. I thought maybe you had…” She trailed off, trying to lift her horny eyes from the slight bulge they’d noticed in the front of the towel.
“Had what?”
“Diarrhea,” she whispered, making eye contact with his nipples.
“What? No!” Rake said, horrified. A blush touched his cheeks.
“Oh, don’t look so scandalized. Everyone poops.” She gave him a teasing poke in the abs. He flinched, the spot ticklish, but Lizzie was the one to giggle. She catalogued the reaction, her brain wanting to soak up every detail.
“Oh my God, please stop,” he said, lightly smacking her hand away and gripping the towel tighter around his waist. “I realized five minutes in that I didn’t have any clothes, and we’re out of clean towels, and it took me a second to find one that wasn’t damp and make sure it was mine and…” He trailed off, running his hands through his hair. “Did you order the pizza?” he said, maneuvering past her toward his dresser. Lizzie watched the muscles of his back tighten and release with every step.
Get a grip, you horny monster.
“Yep,” she said, trying to sound casual as she flopped onto the couch. She bit into one of the throw pillows and kicked herfeet for a second while he wasn’t looking, needing to get out some of the naughty energy building inside her. She could hear him searching through his drawers, the whisper of fabric as he pulled a T-shirt down his body. She threw open the pizza box and shoved a slice into her mouth. Fuck it, she needed stimulation from something.
“What toppings did you get?” he asked, moving around the TV stand toward the couch. He sat down, his thighs slightly spread and inviting, the loose fabric of his workout shorts riding up to show the definition of muscle and dusting of leg hair. She wanted to perch like a horny little bird on his lap. Even his kneecaps were sexy. It was ridiculous.
“Pineapple,” she said through a mouthful.
“Bold choice.”
“Oh shit, do you not like pineapple? I forgot how controversial of a topping it is. It’s what Indira and I always get.”
“No, I love it. Great pick.”
“Ugh, coparenting will be such a breeze at this rate,” she said, holding up her hand for a high five. He slapped her palm, and they shared an indulgent smile. Buddies. Partners in crime.
Clueless idiots.
He leaned forward and grabbed a piece. A long strand of cheese dangled from the end, and he lifted the slice high, catching the string between his teeth.
Lizzie watched, completely enraptured by the swipe of his tongue to grab the inch of cheese that stuck to his chin. She shoved the remaining half of her slice into her mouth so she wouldn’t say anything stupid or obscene or embarrassing or make this already bizarre situation of a sexually charged platonic living arrangement any worse.
Rake gave a grunt of approval as he bit into it, and Lizzie almost spit hers out.
Pizza was supposed to be safe, not sexy.
But Rake made it look very, very,verysexy.
She was about four seconds away from a heaving bosom.
“Wanna watch TV?” she asked, reaching with grabby hands for another slice. She needed to keep her mouth full and eyes distracted if she was to avoid mauling him.
“Sure.”
She turned on the TV and flipped to the Travel Channel, her favorite. It was one of the fifty identical shows where a host roamed around an exotic city, and Lizzie was hooked instantly. She nestled more firmly into the couch, tucking her feet up under her.
“God, could you imagine seeing a place like that in real life?” Rake asked, nodding his head at the gorgeous landscape on the screen. A waterfall tumbled from the edge of thick jungle brush, white foam cascading into tiered pools of soft turquoise water—a delicious color that reminded Lizzie of Rake’s eyes. She could almost feel herself floating in the warm water, little triangles of sunlight falling through the canopy above and creating a kaleidoscope of aquamarine.
“I’ve been there,” she said, shooting him a sly smile from across the couch.
He snorted. “Bullshit.”
“I have! It’s called Kuang Si Falls. It’s in Laos.” The show’s host relayed similar facts on a few-second delay, and Lizzie pointed at the screen. Rake still looked skeptical as he leaned over and squeezed the fleshy spot above her knee, making her yelp at the tickle.
“I have pictures! I went the spring I turned twenty.”
“Thatwas your spring break?Laos?”