Page 46 of The Complete Truth Duet
Definitely, definitely not the worst first date.
Penn
All three of them were asleep. The home screen on the DVD player illuminated the room. Savannah was stretched out on the ugly, brown loveseat. River was curled into a ball on the opposite end of the couch. And Cora was in the middle, her legs pulled up, her heels to the cushion, her head resting on my chest, and her hand on my abs.
My body was still amped from her confessions about her family and her ex. I wanted to slay the entire universe for having abandoned her in a life like that. If there was ever a woman who deserved more, it was her.
I tightened my arm around her and she briefly stirred only to fall back asleep with a sigh.
Cora was a cuddler.
And I was whatever the hell she wanted me to be.
Now, with her secured to my chest and lost in what I hoped were dreams for her future, I hated that I had to wake her up.
I hated that I had to leave.
I hated the life that awaited me outside that apartment.
This wasn’t supposed to be a part of it. The warmth in my chest. The overwhelming contentment with her in my arms. The singe of desire.
But, for some fucked-up reason, it was all there, rising to the surface like a pot of boiling water.
Sweeping my fingers around the curve of her face, I whispered, “Cora. Baby.”
She hummed, but her eyes didn’t open.
“I gotta get going. I need you to lock the door behind me.”
With closed eyes, she tilted her head up. “What time is it?”
Resting my palm on the side of her face, I lazily traced her cheekbone with my thumb. “One.”
She groaned, stretching her legs out like a cat. “Shit. I need to make sure all the girls got out on time.” She pried one eye open and peered up at me like an adorable weirdo. “Hi.”
I smiled, feeling it radiate over my entire body. “Hi.”
“Sorry I fell asleep.”
“Don’t be. I thoroughly enjoyed watching you do it.”
“Not creepy at all,” she teased.
“Nah, creepy was when I held your nose to make you stop snoring. For the record, it didn’t work.”
Her mouth fell open and a brilliant laugh bubbled from her throat. “You liar.”
“All right, fine. You caught me. It actually worked like a charm.”
She slapped my chest and softly giggled. “You know, I like this guy. He’s a lot more entertaining than Mr. Broody.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “You better be talking about me, or Mr. Broody and I are going to have words.”
This earned me another giggle, only she didn’t slap me. She glided her hand up my chest and around my neck, all the while staring at my mouth.
Or at least I think she was staring at my mouth. Because I sure as hell was staring at hers. With the way she’d been watching me all night, it was a miracle of epic proportions that I hadn’t kissed her already. I’d snuck a few in on the top of her head while she had been pouring her heart out, but I hadn’t been brave enough to take her mouth yet.
Snapping my attention away from her pink, crescent-shaped lips before I had the chance to do something seriously stupid—and more than likely seriously amazing—I said, “I gotta go. Can you lock the door?”
“Yeah,” she groaned, sitting up. Dragging her messy hair up into a ponytail, securing it with a rubber band from around her wrist, she glanced at River and Savannah. “Jeez, we all passed out.”
I stood. “Obviously, it was a very stimulating movie.”
“Hush, I saw you mouthing along to ‘Roxanne.’”
“It was a cover of The Police. But, being that you were barely a fetus in the eighties, I don’t expect you to understand.” I extended a hand down to help her up.
Her round ass swayed as she led me outside. I closed the door behind myself so as not to wake the girls. The cool, early morning temperature was only hours from giving way to the heat of the sun, but for now, it swirled all around us.
“I had fun tonight.” Crossing her arms, she rubbed her shoulders for warmth.
I needed to walk away. Go back into my apartment. Remember who I was and why I was there. Instead…
“Come here,” I said, opening my arms.
She didn’t delay in moving into them.
I wrapped her in a hug, warding off the chill in the air—and in my chest. “That better?”
“Much,” she whispered, snuggling in close. “Thanks for tonight. I had a lot of fun. Even if I did snore on you.”
I chuckled. “Me too, Cor. Also, I should probably tell you while I’ve got you wrapped up so tight you could never escape that I do in fact like mustard. But I should warn you it is by far not my worst quality.”
