AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“A what?”
“A marine gastropod also known as a sea slug.”
“So a blob, basically.” Dylan laughed. “You’re terrible at this.”
“Maybeyou’reterrible at this, you ever think of that?”
He turned his head to look at her, his expression soft. “I’m so glad I’m here. I’m having the best time with you.”
Brooke rolled onto her side so she was facing him. “Me too.”
His hand cupped the back of her head as he shifted closer to kiss her. She’d never been the kind of person who wanted to be seen making out with a guy in public, but when it was Dylan doing the making out, she couldn’t bring herself to mind.
She’d had her doubts about the friends-with-benefits arrangement, but it had worked out like a dream. Better than a dream.
Adding sex to the equation hadn’t caused any weirdness or tension between them like she’d feared. If anything, it had relieved the tension that had been simmering beneath the surface for so many years. Scratching that itch seemed to have brought them even closer together. Their friendship was stronger than ever, but now with bonus fantastic sex thrown into the mix.
Best of all, they were on the exact same page. No expectations, no commitment, no promises. Just the two of them having a great time for as long as they happened to be around each other. Like a vacation fling, but better.
Dylan rolled away from her and dug his phone out of his pocket. “Sorry, I need to take this call.” He got to his feet and wandered far enough away that she couldn’t hear what he was saying as he held the phone to his ear.
Shielding her eyes from the sun, Brooke sat up and watched his shoulders move as he talked. His back was to her, so she couldn’t read his expression for clues to how the call was going—or what it was about. But she’d be perfectly content to sit there watching this gorgeous man pace back and forth forever. Especially when he lifted an arm to rub the back of his head, making the muscles in his back ripple and flex.Yum.
After a few minutes, he turned around to look at her. She lifted her eyebrows in query, and he gave her a thumbs-up. So…good news, it seemed.
Shortly thereafter, he ended the call and came back over to her, pressing his lips together like he was trying to contain a smile. The news must have beenverygood.
“Well?” she asked, leaning back on her hands as she gazed up at him. The sunlight glinted in his hair, casting a honeyed glow around his already golden features. “Did you get the news you wanted?”
“I did. Everything’s set.” Color tinged his cheekbones, and his teeth bit into his bottom lip, but he didn’t elaborate any further.
C’est la vie.
When he extended a hand, Brooke let him pull her to her feet and straight into his arms. The softness had returned to his eyes, and it filled her with a warm buzzing sensation.
His hands stroked up her back as he bent his head to press his lips to her neck, just below her ear. The buzzing sensation increased, and suddenly she wished very much that they weren’t in a public place.
“Are you ready to go home?” she asked as goose bumps shivered over her skin.
Home.
She kept using that word, as if it was his home too. It was a habit she needed to break before it was broken for her.
He’s going to leave, she reminded herself.
But before he did, she planned to have as much of him as she could squeeze into the time they had left.
Chapter Fourteen
They stopped at the grocery store on the way back to her apartment so Brooke could pick up a dessert to take to the departmental picnic tomorrow. She’d planned to grab a tray of cookies from the Ralphs bakery department like the lazy non-baking person she was, but Dylan insisted on making something from scratch for them to take.
“It’s really not necessary,” Brooke protested as he dragged her through the store.
“Grocery store cookies are for losers,” Dylan said as he surveyed the baking aisle.
“That’s perfect, because I barely even like most of these people,” she snarked in response, only halfway meaning it.
“Don’t you want to be the hero who brings the delicious homemade treat everyone’s talking about instead of the cheap crap no one wants to eat?” He dropped a tin of cocoa powder into his shopping basket. “I’ve got the perfect recipe. You’re not gonna believe how good these brownies are. They’re like an orgasm in your mouth.”
