Page 46 of The Roommate Problem
“No, me and the guy who works at the coffee shop down the street. I always ask my last sexual partner for advice on my next one.” She pushed his arm playfully. “Of course you and me, silly.”
At his hesitance, she pressed herself against him, the evidence of desire for her clear. “Obviously all that scratching last night did nothing to alleviate the itch. So why not keep enjoying each other while the chemistry is there?”
August’s thumb absently rubbed her hip, stroking, caressing, driving her wild while the stoic man lay there and pondered her offer. What was there to think about? She was offering him a live-in bone buddy. Who turned that down?
She was about to give up and escape to the bathroom to lick her wounded pride in private when August opened his mouth and spoke.
“Yes.”
She arched one brow. “Yes?”
“Yes, I agree last night didn’t alleviate the…issue.”
She snorted. “The issue? Such a polite way to say raging case of the hornies.”
The hand on her hip moved down over her backside. August gave her cheek a light smack. She let out a small yip. Ooooh, someone was getting feisty. She leaned in closer, giving him a saucy wink.
“Harder next time.”
August tried and failed to hide the smile at her antics. Which was fine by her, because she was seriously starting to love the man’s smile.
“Can you try and be serious for five minutes?”
She shrugged. “I can try, but no promises.”
He sighed, but there was humor in the tone. “As long as we both agree that this thing is what it is, I don’t see why we can’t keep doing it.”
“And what is it?” she asked. “Just so we’re both on the same page.”
Because she was the type of person who skipped to the end of a book to make sure everything ended happily, but she kind of figured Grumpy Gus Gus didn’t believe in the forever type of love.
“We’re two consenting adults enjoying each other’s bodies with no long-term expectations.”
See?
Something inside her cried a little at his words. Not only for herself, but for August, too. What happened in his life to give him such a bleak outlook on love and marriage? She knew he wasn’t the forever type of guy. And he wasn’t the type of guy she envisioned spending her forever with. This was just supposed to be fun and temporary. But she also knew sometimes life handed you unexpected curveballs, and she very much feared August Porter was hers. How hilariously awful would it be if fate decided that her soul mate was the type of person who didn’t believe in them?
“I can agree to that.”
“And we still can’t tell my grandmother.”
Yeah, yeah, because if Agatha got a whiff of this, she’d see wedding bells in their future, and Mr. Commitment-phobe over here couldn’t be a big boy and tell his grandmother he was in a roommates-with-benefits-type situation.
Not that she cared to explain that to Agatha, either.
“Agreed.” She frowned at all the secrets currently rolling around in her head. If she kept any more, they’d start knocking into each other, and she might lose track of who she wasn’t supposed to tell what. “But I don’t like lying to Agatha.”
Or him. Or anyone, for that matter. Mo believed in honesty in all things. But with the Porter family, it seemed no one wanted to explain anything to each other.
“It’s not lying,” August said. “It’s just keeping our personal lives personal.”
And just so they were clear on the personal part of their lives, she cleared her throat. “Um, this might sound kind of unfair, but as long as we’re doing…this, can I ask you not to bring home any other women for the night?”
He hadn’t brought any home yet, so she didn’t know why she wanted to put down a hard and fast rule. All she knew was the thought of August being intimate with another woman made her want to bake a whole batch of her nonna’s special laxative brownies and shove them down his throat.
She didn’t begrudge the man his liaisons. He’d been pretty clear about this just being fun. But she didn’t want to be a firsthand witness to them.
August’s brow pinched, a frown marring his beautiful face as he stared down at her. “I’m not planning on sleeping with anyone else as long as I’m with you, Mo.”
