Page 39 of This Time Around

I stiffened against him, because that wasn’t an argument I’d had with Andy since we’d never spent the night together. “True,” I said, hoping I sounded calmer than I felt. I tried to shake off my jealousy, but I felt it growing stronger instead.

Andy’s eyes registered regret when he saw my reaction, but I didn’t want my pettiness to ruin our night. I gingerly eased myself off his still semi-erect penis and smiled as brightly as I could. “Shower with me?”

It was another first, running soapy hands all over his gorgeous body and having him do the same for me. Our kisses were steamier than the hot water, and we realized we weren’t quite as tired as we first thought.

Once we finally tumbled into bed, Andy spooned up behind my body. Instead of worrying how many other guys he’d shared after-sex cuddles with, I focused on how warm and content I felt. “I could get use to this,” I whispered in the dark.

“Mmmmhmmm,” Andy said drowsily.

I slept harder that night than I could ever recall in my life, and I knew it was mostly because of the human furnace pressed up against me. It wasn’t just because of the amazing orgasms either, it was a sense of rightness and belonging.

I woke before Andy since I had to be up at four thirty. I wasn’t sure if I should wake him up or let him sleep. It wasn’t like he had to show up at our job site by a certain time, so I let him sleep. I took a quick shower to wake up, and then hoped for the best when I got dressed in the dark. I loved my job, but leaving Andy naked and alone in my bed was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

Maegan arrived about an hour after I did. She stopped in her tracks and did a double take when she spotted me pulling a huge tray of muffins from the oven.

“What?” I asked. Could she see a difference in me after one sappy night?

“Did you get dressed in a hurry or in the dark?” she asked, pointing to my feet.

I looked down and saw that I’d put on a black and gray sneaker on my right foot and a silver and navy sneaker on my left. I looked up at Maegan and smiled. “Both.”

I was prepared to wear them the rest of the day rather than wake Andy up to ask him to bring the other two shoes. Luckily for me, Andy saw the mix-matched pair of shoes by the dresser, guessed what I’d done, and brought both shoes with him so I could change.

“Thank you,” I said appreciatively.

“I was going to run them by sooner then go home and get ready for the day, but someone’s cat was pissed about getting locked out of the bedroom and took her revenge on my work boots.”

“Oh no,” I said. “Let me replace them for you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Andy said good-naturedly. “It was a really old pair.” He looked over at my tray of goodies. “Can I get a muffin and tea to go?”

“Sleeping with the owner has its benefits,” I teased, snagging three muffins for Andy to take with him.

“Least of which is the muffins and tea,” Andy said. “I want to see you again tonight, Milo.”

“I’d like that too.”

“We’ll sort out our plans later,” Andy replied. “I need to get a jumpstart on my day so I can finish earlier.” Before he left, Andy placed a lingering kiss on my forehead that turned into a longer French kiss.

“That’s the good morning kiss I wanted to share with you this morning in bed,” Andy told me. “I missed you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you up when you were sleeping so soundly.”

“Wake me up next time.” Andy dropped another quick kiss and disappeared upstairs.

As I was changing into shoes that matched, I heard Maegan hiss and curse out the espresso machine. It was about damn time that evil bastard took its vengeance out on someone other than me. Oh, it was shaping up to be a fabulous fucking day.

The rest of the week passed along in remarkable bliss. Milo and I weren’t frustrated or fighting, but we sure were doing a lot of fucking. It seemed like we were trying to make up for lost time, and perhaps we were. I wanted to leave my mark on him, and he seemed just as eager to do the same to me.

When I first asked Milo out on a date, I didn’t anticipate spending every single night in his bed leading up to it. I had to admit, it felt kind of ass backwards to be screwing before our official date. It wasn’t like I wanted him to have some lame-ass, three-date rule when it came to me, but I didn’t want him to think I only cared about sex. I even said as much to Milo. I expected brownie points for being sensitive. In typical Milo fashion, he gave me the exact opposite.

“Andy, are you still allergic to peanuts? Do you still break out in hives when country music starts to play? Are you still a switch hitter? At the plate,” he clarified when I raised a brow.

“Yes, but—”

“Well, I still hate green peppers and onions, I still love to sing ‘Does He Love You’ at the top of my lungs.” He paused and looked at me seriously. “Just so you know, I’m Reba, the heartbroken wife, and Faith is still Linda, the cheating whore.”

“Is that the video where Reba blows up the husband and his mistress on the boat at the end of the video?” I asked.