“We’re having dinner tomorrow,” Carson said. “So chill.”
“About fucking time.” Charlie shoved a slice into his mouth and headed to the couch.
“You gonna eat?” Matt handed me a plate.
“Sure.” I took it.
“What about me?” Carson said in offense. “I feel like you’ve replaced me with Dax.”
“We have,” Charlie said from his spot on the couch facing the TV.
“He’s much better.” When Matt had all his pizza, he headed to the couch to join Charlie.
She looked at me and shook her head.
I stood up and set my plate in front of her. “Here, sweetheart.”
She took the plate with a slight smile. “At least someone here likes me.”
When the game was over, Matt left. “See ya.”
“Bye.” Charlie carried the plates to the sink then put all the empty bottles into the recycling.
I didn’t expect to stay, but I also didn’t want to leave either.
When he was finished, he headed down the hallway. “Night, Dax.”
“Night, man.”
Carson sat on the other couch, and she watched him leave the room with her arms raised. “Uh, bye?”
Charlie shut his door in response.
“He teases you because he loves you.” I leaned forward with my arms on my knees. “It’s one of the perks of being so close to someone.”
“I wouldn’t call it a perk…” She got to her feet and grabbed the remote to turn off the TV.
I knew I wouldn’t get an invitation to stay, so I rose to my feet and headed to the door.
She followed me, coming close to me and immediately circling her arms around my waist as I turned to face her. Her eyes went to my lips, like she wanted to kiss me all over, but she didn’t. Her eyes flicked back to mine.
My arms wrapped around her, and I held her with the same enthusiasm, wanting to drag my hands all over her body and feel the curves my fingers could never forget. All the other women in my bed were a disappointment because they didn’t have what she did. She was fucking perfect.
“I’d ask you to stay, but…” Her eyes lifted from my mouth to my eyes.
“There’s no rush, sweetheart.” My hand cupped her face, and I kissed her, getting a taste of what we could have whenever she was ready to give me all of her, not just a piece. She used to use sex as a distraction, a meaningless act to cure the loneliness while guarding her heart. But now that she was emotionally available, it actually meant something to her, and that was exactly what I wanted. I wanted her, all of her—heart, body, and soul. “You’re worth the wait.”
Sixteen
Carson
“So, how are things with Dax?” Kat sat across from me and waggled her eyebrows. We got a drink after work and split an appetizer. “Girl…that kiss.” She licked her lips. “You’re a lucky woman, I’ll say that.” She grabbed her lemon drop and took a drink.
“Yeah, he’s good at the kissing thing.”
“He’s good at everything, right?”
“Yes.” I hadn’t had it in a while, but my memory hadn’t faded. But I also suspected the sex would be totally different…whenever it happened.
“Are you guys doing it all over the place?”
“Well, we haven’t gotten there yet.”
“What?” she asked in surprise. “If you aren’t screwing, what are you doing?”
I shrugged. “Talking and stuff…”
She stared at me like I was the biggest weirdo she’d ever met. “Who are you right now? You went from juggling boy toys and playing the field to being in a monogamous relationship without sex?”
“We’re just taking it slow.”
“But you’ve already slept together.”
“I know. But it’s different…”
She drank her lemon drop and narrowed her eyes, like she wanted me to elaborate.
“Come on, everyone knows I was sleeping around as a defense mechanism. I was coping in the only way I knew how. But I don’t want to do that with Dax. When I sleep with him, it’s going to be…different. It’s gonna be meaningful. That’s just a lot for me right now, and I’m not sure if I’m ready.”
“You mean you’re going to make love instead of fuck?”
“I guess. And I haven’t done that since I was married…”
Her eyes softened once she understood. “That’s pretty romantic, actually.”
“I really like him, and while I’m fucking terrified, I want to do this. I want to have a relationship. You know…a deep one. I’m not even angry with him anymore for the lie he fed me. I’m just…totally hung up on him. I hate it, but I am.”
She gave me a slight smile. “I think this is great. You know, it means you’ve really moved on, emotionally.”
“Not quite…because I have to sleep with him still.”
“Come on, it’s going to be amazing.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it will.”
She drank from her glass again then moved to the nachos. “I’m happy for you. I know Dax was a little shady in the beginning, but you can tell he’s a good man. Come on, a man doesn’t kiss like that unless he’s totally sprung.”
It was a damn good kiss.
She kept picking at the nachos.
We did the small-talk thing, caught up, discussed work, and our relationships…and now there was nothing else to talk about.
That meant I had to do the thing I absolutely didn’t want to do. “Kat…there’s something I want to talk about.”
“Alright…” She grabbed another chip and popped it into her mouth, but her eyes were narrowed on my face, anticipating the fall. “Lay it on me, girl.”
“Well, it’s kinda a rough thing to talk about. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I felt like I should. So, here it goes…”
“Now I’m officially freaked out.”
“Denise told me she kinda has a thing for Charlie.” I started with my sister since the truth about Charlie would hurt a lot more. “They’ve been spending time together, and she said she’s attracted to him…thinks he’s great.”
Her eyes dropped, and the blood drained from her face, like this really stung her. She had been about to grab another chip but dropped her hand instead. “Um…” She released a heavy sigh. “I’m trying to be diplomatic about this whole thing since she’s your sister…but that’s a knife right in my back. There are rules for these things. What kind of friend is she?”
“Before you get mad, she said she would never do anything because of your friendship.”
Relief flashed across her eyes, her temper dimmed. “Good. Charlie and I were together for years, and we’ve only been broken up for nine months… That would be just callous.”
I found it ironic that she hadn’t gotten over their relationship, but people expected me just to bounce back after my divorce when I’d had almost the same amount of time to digest it. “Yeah.”