She smiled. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Maybe for something sweet. It’s Halloween, and I haven’t had anything yet.”
“I’ve got that brownie ice cream you like, and Noah made bank trick or treating tonight.”
“Did he get any Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?”
“I’m sure he did.” I hopped off the couch and searched through his bag until I found the orange wrapper.
“Perfect.” She took a bite. “What time do you have work tomorrow?”
“Nine. We can sleep in as late as Noah does.”
“Good, I’m exhausted.”
“I bet.” I moved behind her so I could give her a shoulder rub. “You’re so tense.”
“I know.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
She moaned. “That.”
I assumed she meant the back rub and continued.
She moaned again. “I could get used to this.”
“I’ve given you these plenty of times before.”
“Yeah, but not after a long day of work.”
“You know what my reply to that is going to be.”
She laughed. “What, that I can have one every time I come home?”
I let go of her shoulders and pulled her back against me. “Every single time.”
“Do you also cook and clean too? I mean if you’re trying to sell the opportunity.”
“You know I cook. And clean…this is as good as it gets.”
“Are there any other services I should know about?”
“Yeah, and I’d be happy to demonstrate those if you’d just follow me into the bedroom.”
“That sounds appealing, very appealing, but I’m going to take a shower first.”
“I’d ask to join you, but I’m going to be responsible and say I’ll listen for Noah so you can actually enjoy your shower stress free.”
“And you’ll be rewarded for your thoughtfulness.” She brushed her lips against mine before heading into my room.
She may not have actually agreed yet, but I knew she was going to say yes. Emily’s maybes could mean either, but you could always tell. She wanted to say yes, but was too scared. I’d just have to give her some encouragement. I hadn’t actually planned on asking them to move in, but once the idea got planted in my head I needed it. Things were moving fast, but I didn’t see any reason to slow them down. I’d never been surer of anything in my life.
I heard the water turn off and listened at Noah’s door before turning out the lights and heading into my room. I left the door open a tiny bit so we could still hear Noah, but I had a feeling we’d need the privacy. I pulled off my t-shirt and slipped out of my jeans. I lounged on my bed waiting for her. We’d spent tons of nights together, but I was ridiculously excited to have her in my bed again.
She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later wearing one of my Clayton Falls Mustangs t-shirts from high school. It was worn out and faded, but damn it looked so good on her. “I like the pajamas.”
“I didn’t remember to pack any. I’m going to borrow a pair of your shorts too for the morning.”
“Oh, are you? You’re not even asking anymore?”
“Nope. You like me wearing your clothes.” She grinned.
“That I do. But you know what I like even better?”
“What?”
“You naked.”
“So original.”
“It’s true. You look good in everything, but you look best wearing nothing at all.”
She glanced at the door.
“He’s sleeping.”
“Good.” She pulled off the t-shirt.
“Yeah, see that’s what I mean. How can any clothing compare to that?”
“You don’t look so bad naked yourself.”
“No?”
“No.” She came over and tugged off my boxers.
“Now you’re overdressed.” I pulled off her panties.
Before I could reach out and touch her, she was slipping under the covers. “I forgot how comfortable this bed was.”
“You know—”
“You don’t have to say it.”
“If you moved in you could—”
She cut me off with a kiss. It wasn’t a gentle kiss either. She pushed into my mouth, and I welcomed her. I loved the way her mouth tasted, minty from the toothpaste, yet sweet at the same time. I let a hand slip down to cup one of her br**sts and she moaned. Before I could do anything else, she climbed on top of me. “It’s my turn.”
“I’m all yours.”
“Good.”
She pulled out her hair tie and leaned her head back as she shifted on top of me. There couldn’t have been anything hotter.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Emily
I couldn’t give him an answer. I knew what I wanted to say, but that didn’t mean it was the right decision. I wanted to move in with him—I wanted to get Noah out of our cramped apartment. I wanted to spend every night in Jake’s arms. But what happened if Jake changed his mind about us? Where would that leave us? My lease wasn’t up until the end of December, so I had time, but Jake wouldn’t want to wait that long for an answer.
I was still worrying about it when Mel came over a few nights later.
“Jake asked us to move in with him.” I didn’t beat around the bush. I barely gave Mel enough time to sit down before throwing it out there.
“Wow, what did you say back?” She ate a few pieces of popcorn. She’d come over after Noah’s bedtime so we could catch up and watch some of our shows.
“I told him I didn’t know.”
“You want to say yes though.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“But you’re scared.” She set aside the bowl of popcorn.
“Terrified.”
“I honestly don’t know the right answer. I see the way Jake looks at you. He worships you, and I really think you can trust him, but you’ve also only been with him a few months. He’s obviously got a history of being reckless…” She looked away as she trailed off.
“I know. I want to trust him, but it’s not just me at stake.”
“The way I see it is you have a few more months. Give yourself some more time. If you still feel the same away about him when the time comes to sign the lease, then take the plunge.”
“Take the plunge? That’s a very good description for it.”