Her shoulders relax, and I continue her massage, ignoring my throbbing cock. “You’re ready, Parker. You know the material,” I say to distract myself from the sounds she’s making and the raging hard-on in my pants.
“I know. I just want to finish strong, you know? This is it. I have one more semester, and I’m a college graduate.” I can hear the pride in her voice.
I lean in close, my breath caressing her cheek. “You’re going to do great, babe.”
I watch as goose bumps break out across her skin. I’m glad she can’t see my face, so I don’t have to try to hide my grin. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one affected by us being this close to one another. Instead of continuing our conversation, I keep quiet and rub her shoulders. With each caress of my hands, I can feel her muscles relax
“I told you we should have moved to the couch.”
“The couch is… too tempting,” she confesses.
“The couch or me?” I put the question out there.
“Both.” She laughs softly. “We both know what happens when we get too close.”
“I’m close to you now,” I remind her, digging my fingers into the base of her neck.
“You are, and trust me, it’s not easy to just sit like this. I can feel how much you want me, and your hands are on me. It’s taking extreme effort to be good.”
“Who said I wanted you to be good?” I don’t want her to be good. She should be bad, very, very bad. In fact, we can be bad together.
“Holden” she starts, but the knock on the door stops her. “That was fast,” she says, standing. She moves to the kitchen to grab her purse. I don’t wait on her. Instead, I make my way to the door, my wallet already in hand, ready to pay for our dinner.
“Thanks, man. My girl was starving,” I say, looking down to pull some cash from my wallet. When I look up to hand it to him, I’m taken aback when I see Cameron Taylor and his wife, Parker’s sister Paisley, standing before me.
“Who’s dat?” the little man in Cameron’s arms asks.
“Holden, I’ve got it. You helped me study, and the mas” Her voice cuts off when she stops to stand next to me and sees who’s standing at her door.
“Pawker!” the little guy exclaims and leans over for her to take him.
“Hey, buddy.” She smiles and pulls him from Cameron’s arms to her own. “I missed you,” she says, snuggling him close. She presses kisses to his cheeks, and he laughs as if it’s the funniest thing to ever happen to him.
I step back from the door and hold it open for them. Cameron watches me intently while Paisley grins and pats my chest as she enters her sister’s apartment. As soon as I get the door closed, there’s another knock. I take a deep breath and hope it’s not another member of her family. Not that I want to hide, but I don’t know how she’s going to handle this. And as selfish as this sounds, this was our night.
Pulling open the door for the second time, I sigh in relief that it’s the delivery girl. I quickly hand her a wad of cash, way more than the cost of the food, and shut the door. “I’ll just put this in the kitchen,” I say when I turn to find all eyes on me.
I place the box on the small island and rummage to find paper plates and napkins. I set it all up like this is my place and her family are my guests. After it’s done, I brace my hands on the island and bow my head. Parker and I were having a great day. I felt like I was actually getting somewhere with her, and now, I don’t know if all of that’s going to be washed away.
“What’s up, man?” Cameron says.
I look up to find him standing in the doorway. “Hey. Hungry?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No, but I heard you say your girl was.” He gives me a look that tells me I need to explain.
The thing is, I don’t need to explain shit to him. I open my mouth to tell him that exact thing, but then I think about Parker. This is her family, and although I’m not sure what we are, I know I want to be more with her than I’ve ever been with anyone else. So, instead of barking off with some sarcastic comment, I go with the truth. “She is. We’ve been studying for her exams all day.” I point at where her books and laptop are covering every inch of the small kitchen table.
“So you were helping her study?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Yep,” I say, popping the p. I want to tell him to fuck off, but again, he’s her family.
“She’s my sister.”
“Sister-in-law,” I correct. He narrows his eyes but doesn’t get to reply before Parker and Paisley join us.
I grab a plate and open the pizza box. I add a slice, a breadstick, and three wings and hand it to Parker, who’s still holding her nephew. Parker takes the plate, and I reach for the little guy.
“Hey, little man,” I greet him. He comes to me easily. “Are you hungry?” I ask him.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“My name is Holden. What’s your name?”
“I’m Jett.”
“Nice to meet you, Jett.” I offer him my hand to shake, and he giggles because it’s the wrong hand for a proper handshake. “You want something?” I point at the food on the counter.
“I wuv chicken,” he tells me. “Papaw eats dem wif me when we watch baseball.”
I look up at Paisley. “They’re mild. Can he have one?” I ask her.
“He’ll eat them hot.” She laughs.
“All right, buddy. Let’s sit you next to Aunt Parker, and I’ll make you a plate.” I carry him to the table, and with one hand, I help Parker move her study materials to a pile and push them off to the back of the table.
“I sit wif you, Pawker.” Jett smiles at her like she hung the moon. I know the feeling.
“I’ll be right back.” I sit him in the chair next to her and make sure she has him before going to grab him two wings and a stack of napkins. I have a feeling they’re going to need them.
“Tank you, Holden,” Jett says, grabbing a wing and putting it to his mouth.
“What do you want to drink?” I ask Parker.
“Uh… water’s fine.”
“And what about you?” I ask Jett.
“I want milk.”
My eyes find Parker’s. “He has a sippy cup in the cabinet. I can get it.” She starts to rise.
I place my hand on her shoulder. “I got it, babe. You’re hungry. Eat.” She smiles up at me, and my chest tightens. It happens every damn time she gives me that smile. I move around the kitchen like I own the place. I get lucky, and the first cabinet I look in holds the sippy cup. I pour my man Jett some milk and grab Parker a bottle of water.
“You want something to drink?” I ask Paisley and Cameron as I deliver drinks.
“No, thank you. We’ve actually already had dinner, but this one won’t pass up food.” Paisley smiles, taking the seat next to Jett at the table.
“Not that you’re not welcome, but what are you guys doing here?” Parker asks.
“We were just out for a drive looking at Christmas lights.”
“All the wights, Pawker.” Jett nods.