Euan barely takes his eyes off the movie long enough to give me a baffled look. “But they’re in the title.”
“It’s because—” the buzzer goes off, alerting me to the delivery driver’s arrival. “Oh, the pizza! I’ll go grab it.”
Without me asking, Euan picks up the remote and pauses the movie. I’ve seen it enough times that I know what happens next, but I still appreciate the gesture. I don’t want to miss a single one of his reactions or expressions as the movie continues.
A few minutes later, I return to the apartment, balancing an extra-large box of the best pizza in town. Euan is already at the apartment door, holding it open for me. I set the pizza on the coffee table and call over my shoulder, “Can you grab some paper towels?”
Euan returns with the whole roll. Probably smart. The butter sauce is delicious, but it’s thinner than the normal sauce and makes for a messier pizza slice.
We both settle on the couch, and I flip the top of the box open, revealing the pizza inside. Going with an extra-large was a gamble—what if he doesn’t like it?—but this is basically lunch and dinner, so I wanted to make sure there was enough.
Euan reaches for a slice, holding one hand underneath as he carefully brings it to his mouth. I watch the whole process avidly, fidgeting in anticipation. He takes a large bite, and I hold my breath as I wait for his reaction. Then his eyes close and a deep moan rumbles from his throat.
Now I’m fidgeting for a different reason as the sound sparks a hot, sudden flash of arousal. I release my breath in a shuddering sigh and purposefully shift away from him, snatching up a slice of pizza and taking a bite to keep my mouth occupied. The warm, flavorful sauce, the cheese, the juicy chicken is enough to give me a much safer reason to moan.
“This is the best pizza I’ve ever had,” Euan declares. “I’m going to want it every time I’m here.”
Every time. It’s the second time he’s mentioned future visits. I know it’s because of the inevitable court dates, but I can’t help picturing him coming back here forme. Staying longer than a week. Maybe a month.Maybe forever.
I shove the thought away. That’s too much, too quick. Even with Theresa, I wasn’t thinking about ‘forever’ until we’d dated for months, and I’ve only known Euan a few days. I’m just high on good pizza and a fun day out, playing hooky from work. It’s enough to forget the real reason I called off today, the awkward and messy reason we’re together at all.
Euan’s knee knocks against mine. We’d both shifted toward the center of the couch to eat the pizza over the box to lessen the risk of stains. His knee stays pressed against mine, like he doesn’t even notice, but I can’t think of anything else.
After the first slice of pizza, Euan starts the movie again. There’s less laughter and commentary than before, both of our mouths otherwise occupied. The whole time, he doesn’t movehis leg away from me, and I’m enjoying his presence too much to even consider moving.
Since I’ve long stopped paying attention to the movie, the loud popcorn explosions on screen startle me into almost dropping my last bite of pizza.
“What is happening right now?” Euan demands, his voice devoid of emotion, as if the scene has short-circuited his brain.
“What, you don’t burst into popcorn when you cum?” I ask with a straight face.
Euan leans back on the couch and stretches his arm over the back of it. His dark eyes lock with mine and his lips spread into a slow, mischievous smile. “You want to find out?”
I slowly let myself fall back until we’re right next to each other. The distance from before has almost disappeared, only an inch or two remaining. With some minor adjustments, we’ll be pressed together from ankle to shoulder.
Euan’s fingers dip down until they barely touch me, brushing back and forth in a light caress that slowly fuels the fire building within me. “We’ve been dancing around the topic all day.” His low, intimate voice encourages me to lean closer to him, until even those scant inches disappear, our arms and thighs pressed together.
It’s not nearly enough.
“We shouldn’t,” I say, like some naïve heroine out of a romance novel. “We’re married.”
Euan laughs, lightening the mood a little, somehow clearing the haze of desire from my mind.
“You know what I mean,” I grumble good-naturedly.
“I do,” he agrees. “Sex would definitely complicate things. I just think it’s a shame.”
I arch both eyebrows at him. “That we can’t fuck?”
He raises his other hand to cup my jaw, running his thumb over my cheekbone. “That I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you, but because of one drunken impulse, I can’t really have you.”
My breath catches in my throat. I want to lean into his hand, to press a kiss against his palm, to take his fingers into my mouth and lick the salt off his skin. “You just wanted a one-night stand,” I argue, though my voice is faint, strained, unconvincing.
He gazes at me, an odd look in his eyes I can’t interpret. “Maybe.”
The admission doesn’t cool my ardor the way I hoped it would. I lick my lips, watch his eyes darken. “Maybe that means … if we do it once, we’ll get it out of our system. You won’t be interested in me anymore.”
His thumb continues gently caressing my cheek, back and forth as steadily as a metronome. Eventually, he smiles and gives a self-deprecating laugh. “I doubt that.”
