Page 24 of Love.V2 (Occupational Hazards #2)

“They haven’t worked since I moved in. The washing machine sprays water everywhere.

I emailed my super, but it’s not a priority, I guess.

Oh!” Tess startled when a knock sounded on her door.

Everything under the tank top jiggled delightfully.

I lunged to intercept her, opening the door and blocking the view inside with my body.

“Thanks, man.” I smiled at the guy standing in the hall. “Appreciate it.”

I lifted the bag out of his hands, aromas of egg rolls and lo mein wafting out of it. I didn’t regret leaving my dad back at that bar, but damn, I wish I’d eaten something before coming over here.

“The face mask isn’t that bad,” Tess griped, swiping the bag from me.

Did she realize when she did things like grumble at me when she was so cordial and composed with everyone else, it made me want to melt at her feet?

It reminded me I was one of the few people who got to see the real Tess.

Not just the one she wanted people to see .

That beautiful girl, who’s quiet and thoughtful, with paint under her fingernails? She has road rage like you wouldn’t believe, and once she’s got two glasses of wine under her belt, curses like a sailor.

That was my Tess. It was a privilege to see it.

“It’s not the mask, trust me.” My eyes traveled down her face, then down, down, across her throat, and down some more. It took her a second.

“Oh!” She jumped. I got another glimpse of a jiggle before her arms wrapped around her chest. “I forgot I wasn’t wearing a bra. Oh, shit.”

“Please.” I laughed, watching her pivot on her heel to her bedroom, then turn back to the laundry hamper by the door, her cognitive dysfunction firing hard as she tried to find the closest acceptable underwear. “Please, please , don’t cover up on my account.”

She flicked a sports bra at me. I snatched it out of the air, still laughing.

“It’s not funny! This shirt is practically see-through. What if I’d answered the door like this?” she demanded. Little cracks were forming in the clay on her face, which only made me laugh harder. She crossed her arms, hiding again. “I’m serious. I almost just flashed that guy.”

“Good thing I’m here to save the day, then.” I chuckled, coming down from my laughing fit.

“I guess,” she mumbled, still glaring.

“Admit it.” When I pulled her arms away from her body, they came easily, wrapping around my waist when I scooped her up. “I’m a hero. Surely that’s worth at least one egg roll?”

“Oooh,” she hummed. “You don’t care about my boobs at all. You just want to pilfer my delivery order. ”

“Whoa, whoa, let’s not be hasty.” I gave her my most charming smile. “It can be both.”

After finishing the egg rolls and settling in with old Friends episodes, we spontaneously added a new entry on our list. I proudly checked “do something you’ve never done before” off while Tess gave me a pedicure.

Getting my toes painted with bright red lacquer and daisies shouldn’t have been erotic, but with Tess leaning over me in a see-through crop top, anything could be hot.

I helped fold her laundry, grinning when she strictly forbade me from touching her underwear.

I snagged a pair anyway, and the ensuing chase ended with Tess in my lap, groaning as she rocked her hips while I licked into her mouth. We took our time, nowhere to be but right here. Our agreement to wait to have sex slowed everything down—no pressure, just appreciation.

All her little sounds and movements. The sigh that flowed out of her throat as she tipped her head back. Her skin under my palms when I swept them under that almost-sheer top. Time took on a slow, languid stretch, and I didn’t know how long we sat there, grinding together like teenagers.

“I don’t want to go.” The Netflix had gone dark some time ago, the polish was dried. Her laundry was neatly tucked into her dresser, and I’d run out of excuses to stay. The thought of leaving physically hurt.

She paused just long enough for me to realize how that might have sounded, especially since she was splayed out on my lap, lips puffy and chest red from where I’d tried to devour her. “I didn’t mean it like—“

“I don’t want you to leave either.”

A relieved sigh gusted out of me. I pressed my lips to the crown of her head.

“We don’t have to—“

“We can just slee—“

We grinned as we spoke and stopped at the exact same time. I pressed a grateful, careful kiss on her mouth.

It was that strange, unfamiliar mix of new and routine.

She handed me one of my own shirts to sleep in—one that had gone missing about six months ago—but didn’t make eye contact as she crawled into bed.

Clothes remained on by unspoken agreement, and when I pulled her across the mattress and into my arms, every muscle in my body relaxed.

Home .

When I woke up in the morning, Tess’s purple hair in my mouth and arm numb from where she laid on it, I’d never felt as happy as I was at that moment.

My dad was full of it. This was right. This was what everything was about.

I still had daisies on my toes when I went into the office on Monday.