“What would you be doing if you weren’t sitting here with me right now?”
“I’d be at the bar, a club, or with some woman I plan on never seeing again.”
She frowns. “That’s sad.”
“But I’m having a better time sitting here with you, talking and barely touching, than I would’ve had doing any of those things,” I admit, without even thinking about what I’m saying. “You still haven’t told me why you agreed to this yourself. It can’t be only because you believe in happily ever afters and all that mumbo jumbo.”
She drops her hands from my body, and I instantly miss her heat. “I’ve never been great at dating. I’ve always been too nervous about impressing the other person. I thought this would be great practice for me, too, without all the expectations.”
“Babe.”
“What?”
“You’re not great at dating?” I raise an eyebrow.
“I’m awkward and have the worst taste in picking the right men.”
“I haven’t noticed you being awkward.”
She smiles down at me. “I feel comfortable with you.”
“You do?” I ask, furrowing my brows.
She laughs, moving her hand back to my hair, ruffling it between her fingers. “Yeah. We’re just hanging out, pretending to be something so I can help you move toward your forever. I don’t have to worry about you judging me for my lack of putting out. We have a history together, although short.”
“Can I ask you about…”
“About my lack of sex?”
“Have you done anything with a man? Sorry. That’s none of my business. You don’t have to answer.”
“No, it’s okay.” Her cheeks turn pink as she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “Yes, Mello, I’ve done things.”
“So, you’ve kissed someone?”
She nods. “A little bit more than that.”
Her words make me proud and sad at the same time. Proud of her for sticking to her guns, which isn’t easy in today’s society. And sad because I know I am never going to experience her completely.
“In our fake relationship…”
“Yeah?”
“Can we kiss? I mean, maybe I can give you some pointers. We can help each other out instead of it being a one-way street.”
She laughs softly. “You’d do that to help me out?”
I nod quickly. “I could be your coach in all things physical, and you can be mine in all the ways of love.”
It doesn’t hurt to ask, and I fully expect her to tell me to fuck off, but I hold my breath, praying she doesn’t.
“Maybe… Can I think about it?”
“Sure. Totally. No pressure. I feel like I’m the only one taking, and I’m a giver.”
She smirks, running her finger along the side of my face, sending chills down my spine. “I’m sure you are.”
My dick twitches, and I know we’re entering dangerous territory. “How about those ribs? We should get them cleaned so you’re all set for the night.”
I need to change the subject and stop thinking about planting my lips on hers. It’s been the only thing on my mind since she walked out of the shop two days ago, which is insane. I’ve never put this much thought into kissing a woman because it’s kissing. Something I’ve done with at least a hundred different people or more. There’d been women I’d been with whom I didn’t even kiss. I wouldn’t allow it because I wasn’t sure where their mouth had been last. The condom kept my dick safe, but there was nothing to keep my mouth protected from whoever’s dick they’d had their mouth wrapped around recently.
“You don’t have to do it,” she tells me. “I can do it after you leave.”
“I want to take a look and make sure it’s healing well.”
“If you want to. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to.”
She’s acting like it’s a hardship to look at her body, which it’s not. This is the closest I’m going to get to any type of action with Arlo tonight, and I am surprisingly okay and excited about it too.
“I just need to get some stuff to clean your skin.”
“Grab a bowl in the kitchen, and soap and towels are in the bathroom, first door down the hall.”
“On it,” I tell her, brushing my hand against her knee as I rise from the floor. “Don’t move.”
I go into the kitchen first, grabbing a bowl she had on a towel, drying on the countertop. When I turn around to head to the bathroom, I stop dead.
Arlo’s lifting her tank top over her head. My breath hitches like I’ve never seen a half-naked woman before, or even Arlo, because I have. With the bra she wore to the shop, there hadn’t been much that was covered.
My feet finally come unstuck, and I head toward the bathroom, moving faster than before.
Arlo’s topless.
Topless.
Putting a few pumps of soap into the bowl, I add warm water and grab the soap dispenser and a washcloth and towel from the shelf next to the shower.
I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, wondering who the person is staring back at me. I’ve never hauled ass for a shot at seeing breasts. I don’t even go to strip clubs with my friends because I can get the real thing in person without spending a ton of cash, and with an orgasm at the end.
By the time I make it back to the living room, Arlo’s on her back, arm over her breasts, cupping one in her hand. “Is this okay?” she asks, looking up at me with such innocence.
“If you’re comfortable, I’m okay with it,” I tell her, sitting next to her hip on the couch.
“Nudity doesn’t bother me,” she says softly, staring at me with those green eyes that call to me.
“Clearly you’re not shy.”
“Modeling made it impossible for me to be shy or worried about someone seeing my body. When you have to get naked in a room filled with twenty people, you get used to being comfortable in your own skin really fast.”
My stomach knots at the thought of all those people looking at her, seeing the beauty I see lying before me. “I wouldn’t like that.”
“Really? You seem really comfortable in your skin too.”
“No, babe. I wouldn’t like other men looking at your naked body—or women, for that matter.”
Arlo smiles, blinking slowly. “That’s kind of sweet, but that was my life when I was younger.”
“I don’t think I could deal.”
“It’s one of the reasons why I didn’t date much. Men were only after me for my body, having seen the photos online, or they were in the industry. I wanted to find someone who loved me for me before I gave them all of me.”
“Makes sense. Sit up, baby,” I tell her, holding the towel. “I don’t want to ruin your couch.”
She does so without question as I fold the towel in half, placing it between her back and the couch. This is going to be messy, and I plan on taking my time when doing it too.
“Be right back. I need to wash my hands, or else it’s all for nothing.”
She nods, her eyes following me as I walk back into the kitchen like my ass is on fire. I make quick work of washing my hands, careful to clean them thoroughly before I dare get near her ink.