“We can do it here.” It’s out before I even think it all the way through, but it makes sense.
“What?” Shock is written all over her face.
“Yeah, even if she knows your address somehow, it’s only one off from mine. We can play it off like she got it wrong. We have them come here, that way your space remains safe but they feel like they’re winning with the private get-together.”
“Okay.” She drags out the word. “You’re sure? That’s a lot to ask of you.”
“Joss, I offered. You didn’t ask.”
She shifts, looking around the room, taking it in with different eyes, and nods.
“We’ll have to grab some of my stuff though, make it look more lived-in. You haven’t made any changes to the stock furniture and decor since you moved in, have you?”
The observation makes her look a little sad. Why would my not decorating make her sad?
“I haven’t had time, I guess,” I say with a shrug, my shoulder brushing hers with how closely we’re sitting now. “I’ve never beengood at the whole decorating thing, and I’ve moved so much that I rarely put much effort into it. I just go to your place for that homey feeling anyway.”
Her smile comes back at this, and her eyes brighten. She must know that she’s what makes this place feel like home to me.
“Oh, okay then. I’ll still bring over some stuff to make it feel morehomey.” She winks. “What’s our backstory going to be? You’ve only been here a few months; I don’t know how believable it will be to my mom that I moved in with someone so soon.”
“Maybe I’m just that good in bed.” It’s out before I can stop it, and since the damage is probably done, I wink and waggle my eyebrows at her for good measure. She bursts out laughing. “What? You don’t believe me? That hurts me, Joss.” I jut out my bottom lip, pouting.
“You stop that.” Her swat to my shoulder makes my smile reappear. “This is serious, Wes. She’ll know. She’s like a bloodhound, she’ll sniff out the lie if we don’t sell it properly, and I don’t want her knowing how much effort I’m putting into keeping her at arm’s length here. If she senses that weakness, she’ll exploit it.”
“You’re not weak, Grey. You’re protecting yourself. I promise I’m taking this seriously. I’ll be the best fake boyfriend you’ve ever had.”
“Easy title to achieve since you’re the only fake boyfriend I’ve ever had.”
“And I better be the last.” At my words, her eyebrows rise a little and I rush to cover for what just slipped out. “That was me showing you how possessive your fake boyfriend can be.” I send her another wink, and her eyebrows relax.
I wasn’t saying I want to be the last boyfriend she’ll ever have—I don’t think. Her home is in freaking Australia. My home is… where?
Nope, not going there.Those thoughts need to go somewhere else to be dealt with—well, probably never, but definitely not right now.
“She doesn’t need to know I’ve only been here a few months. We can fudge the timeline a little. We can keep how we met the same. It’s such a great story after all.” I bump her shoulder with mine. “One for the grandkids, am I right? But we just make out that it happened, what? Six months ago? A year? What do you think she’ll believe?”
“Split the difference, nine months? We’ve been living together for three. We can skip the part about us being neighbors first, yeah?” Her body relaxes with each detail as they fall into place.
“Sounds good.” I nod, watching her intently, enjoying the warmth of her body where it presses against the side of mine.
“Ground rules. I want us to still be able to look at each other after this, so we’ll need to make sure we don’t cross any lines that might affect our friendship. Maybe something similar to our date night with Jaz?” She swallows, and I watch her throat bob. It’s like she really had to work to get those words out. Her cheeks are pink and she looks uncomfortable. She turns so her back is pressed into the arm of the couch and her knees are pulled in tight to her chest, her toes skimming my thigh.
“Well”—I up the flirtation in my tone—“if we’re living together, she’ll assume we’re sleeping together.” The pink flames to a bright red, but she doesn’t look away as I continue. “That obviously won’t be happening while she’s here, but we need to be comfortable touching each other. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a pretty physical guy. Maybe not as much as Breck, but um, yeah. I’m going to needyou to spell out what those boundaries are for you. Because I’m not going to lie, if you were mine, I’d probably be all over you all the time.”
There’s that word again.Mine. Fuck.
The blush moves down her neck and I reach over to feel it as it warms her skin. Her eyes are focused on mine and that electric pull between us has my heart pounding in my chest. She’s barely breathing as I touch her, like she’s unsure of what I might do next.
Instead of letting go and allowing her to lead this conversation, I shift on the couch so I’m facing her. My shin presses over her feet and I leave my left hand resting on her neck, my thumb on her cheek.
“Is touching you like this okay?” I ask, and it comes out more ragged and gravelly than I intended, but I’m not in control of much right now.
She nods, like she can’t quite form words.Me too, Joss, me too.But I find a way to get them out as I continue. “Holding hands, yeah?” I slide my arm from the back of the couch, trailing it down hers to interlace our fingers.
“Mm-hmm, yeah.” Her thumb coasts over the back of my hand, and it’s like a live wire brushed my skin.
I bring her hand up, turning it in mine as I press my lips to the underside of her wrist. “What about kissing, Joss?” I bring my eyes back to hers, watching them darken slightly at my words. Good. She is just as affected by our proximity as I am. Whether it’s a good thing or not, I’m not actually sure, but I’m sure as hell not going to stop. I can’t.
