Page 97 of Falling Back to You

Once she left, I teased him, “Are you okay, Ozzie? If you need anything, and I mean anything, do not hesitate to call.”

“Stop it.”

“She likes you.”

He grabbed my hand, fidgeting with the rings on my fingers. “Sucks to be her, ’cause I’ve got my eyes on someone else.”

“Me?” My lips curved upward. “What do you like about me, Ozzie?”

“This—whatever the fuck this is, I’m really appreciating it.” He interlaced his fingers with mine.

“I’m just being nice.”

“Nah. I know how you act when you’re being polite. This is you being flirty.”

“Do you like it when I’m flirty?”

“I like you every which way, but I like you especially when you’re all mine.”

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. Was that what I wanted to be? His again? “Ozzie…”

“Don’t. We’re having such a good time. Let’s just put a pin in it.”

“This morning you were more than ready to talk.”

“You weren’t looking at me with those fuck-me eyes this morning.” His gaze pinged across my face like the longer he looked, the more points of interest he noted.

My stomach flipped before taking a nosedive. Dragging my free hand down his forearm, I said, “It’s not like I haven’t thought about this a thousand times. But if we’re being realistic—”

“You’re not allowed to start coming up with all the reasons this could never work. Save that for another day. Because tonight, I just want it to be about us. I’m so full right now, Dial. The possibilities—”

“I don’t wanna disappoint you.” Loving me came with an extensive warning label. He needed to truly understand what loving Dial entailed.

“Hey, look at me.” He caught my chin, tilting my head up. “You could never disappoint me. Because you’re Dial Birch, and she is a wonder. Dial Birch made me into a man. Dial Birch pushed a child, our child, through her hips. Dial Birch is like the sun and moon in the eyes of her daughter. You are not a disappointment—you’re my joy.”

I sighed in disbelief. “Why are you so sweet to me?”

“You know the fuck why.”

In my spare time, I tuned into strongman competitions. Contestants had to lift and hold a hundred-pound ball, or hang from just their arms. Whoever lasted the longest won. No matter what the feat, at the start it felt doable, because they’d trained for this. Cut to forty-five minutes in, and their arms and legs were shaking, sweat dripping down their face. I was just like those strongmen, able to keep Ozzie at bay for years, but I’d met my breaking point; my knees were weak and my resolve battered. I wanted to throw in the towel, give up the fight, and just fall in love.

“Do you remember my twenty-first birthday?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember what we did in the bathroom of this very establishment on my twenty-first?”

Ozzie’s smirk turned fiendish. “I do.”

“I’ma need us to run that back.” I downed the rest of my wine and Coke, stood, and headed to the back of the bar toward the restrooms. Oz followed, then scanned the hallway before locking the door. Inside the small single-person restroom, the Lysol scent had a hint of cigarette smoke. “Do you want this pussy, baby?”

“Always.”

“Maybe I should make you beg for it.” I toyed with my breasts, pinching my taut nipples.

“You don’t think I’ll beg for it? Shit, I’ll drop to my knees and bark.” Ozzie assumed the position, caressing my thighs before helping me out of my boy shorts and shoving them into his back pocket. “Arf, arf.” I hopped on the counter, and he spread my legs. “There she is.” He planted sweet kisses along my inner thigh. “Did you miss Daddy? ’Cause Daddy missed you.” Oz was carrying on an entire conversation with my pussy.

When his lips connected with mine, the conversation transitioned to a silent one, with Oz lapping my center until my juices glazed his tongue. While he sucked and licked, he moaned like my pussy was Sunday dinner with all the fixings. “That’s my girl,” he said when my legs trembled.