Page 104 of First-Time Caller
“I’m an idiot,” I tell her and she laughs. My nose bumps hers in the dark. “I thought once would be enough.”
“It wasn’t?”
I shake my head. It only took one second of seeing her in the hallway to realize what a monumentally stupid idea that was.
Lucie grips my sides, her palms pressed flat against my rib cage. “It wasn’t enough for me either.” She shifts and I wrap my arms around her like I wanted to, my hand moving up her spine in a firm stroke. “We should probably kiss each other some more. Maybe two times will be enough.”
“I don’t think two times will be enough,” I murmur.
“You’re right,” she breathes. Her mouth hovers right below mine in the dark. “Let’s make it three times.”
“Lucie.”
“Aiden.” She sighs, a smile at the edge of her voice. The sound rockets down my spine. “It’s okay. You’re not—you’re not misleading me or making me any promises. I’ve spent most of my life doing what everyone else needs, and I want—now I want to do something for me. You’ve been very clear about where you stand and I’m tired of overanalyzing every thought and feeling. I know what this is.”
“What is it?” I’d love to know because I don’t have a damn clue.
Her hands slip lower, resting on my waist. “Do you remember at the bar? When I told you that I never have any fun?” I nod. Her pinky edges up beneath my sweatshirt, cold against my skin. I shiver. “Maybe that’s what this could be. Two people having fun.”
“Fun,” I repeat.
She nods and her nose bumps against mine. “Yeah. That’s what I want.”
We slip tighter against each other, her chest crushed to mine. She breathes in every time I breathe out. Time slows to a crawl. Something sticky and heavy as I consider which path to take. One is significantly more complicated than the other, but it’s also the one that has Lucie.
There’s really not much to consider.
Lucie wants fun.
And I want to give her whatever she wants. I might not be able to give her the fairy tale, but I can give her this. I can give her fun.
“Okay,” I tell her.
“All right.”
“Good.”
“Yeah,” she whispers, hands tugging at my shirt. “Good.”
I smile and find her mouth with mine in the dark. I kiss her soft and sweet and slow and all the things I wasn’t capable of the other night. I swear I’ve never thought about kissing someone as much as I’ve thought about kissing Lucie.
I squeeze the back of her neck and tip her head back, dragging my mouth from hers to press kisses along her neck.
“I meant to ask,” she whispers with a gasping breath when I find a spot near her fluttering pulse that she seems to like. I drag my teeth against it and her nails dig half-moons into my chest through my shirt.
“What?” I mumble against her skin. I never want to leave this spot.
“The other night,” she continues, losing her train of thought when I nip at her neck again. A shiver rocks over her shoulders.
“When I called?”
She nods. “I should have asked what you wear to bed. I was thinking about it and . . .” She gets distracted when I hook two fingers in the collar of her sweater and tug it over her shoulder. I nose lightly at her bra strap and then press a kiss to it. She sighs and rolls her head to the side, giving me more room. “It doesn’t seem fair that you didn’t share,” she finishes lazily.
“It’s not fair how I’ve been unable to think about anything besides tiny shorts with a hole in the thigh.”
She laughs. “I never said my shorts are tiny.”
“Shh,” I whisper. “Don’t ruin my fantasy.”
