Erin flicked the switchfor the kettle, but getting a tea bag out of the canister was too much. The strings twisted, and a twirling mess of threaded bags lifted. She had no patience for it. The canister clattered against the tiles when she shoved it away.
She slumped against the wooden counter. “I can’t even make a cup of tea without it turning into a drama.”
“Hey,” I said. “Come here.” I coaxed her out of the corner she’d wedged herself into.
Erin’s footsteps inched closer, and I put my arms around her. A muffled “He’s never going away” came from the spot where she buried her face against my chest.
“No, I guess he’s not,” I said.
“You hate me.”
“Never.”
“You hate thesituation.”
“I knew what I was getting myself into.”
“It’s only going to get worse.”
“Jeremy’s down here—what—a couple of days on some weekends? We’ll manage.”
Erin’s chin lifted, and she frowned at me. “Tell me how you really feel about all this. And be honest. You know I can tell when you’re lying, Cal.”
“Then watch me real carefully, okay?” I snuck a kiss to her forehead before letting her see my face again. “Jeremy can go fuck himself. He talks down to me like I’m a moron. Always has. Worse still, he treats you like garbage, and he’s always done that, too. But I also know you have a kid together, and that means that no matter how much I hate him, I’ve got to step up and be the bigger man. I can do that. You’re worth it.”
“I’m really not…”
On whose scale? Not mine. “I love you.”
Erin’s eyes widened. “That’s the second time you’ve said that. You said it once before in the bathroom… I wasn’t sure…” She bit down on her lip.
“If I meant it?” Did she think I’d belesshonest with my hand on my dick? Guess so. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”
“Are you upset I haven’t said it back?”
“Nope. Even if I hadn’t had a four-year head start, I know you like to take things slow, think everything over…” And I liked that about her. “You’ll tell me how you feel when you’re good and ready, and when you do, I’ll knowyoureally mean it.”
Erin’s hand touched my cheek, fingertips running down the longest scar. “It’s easier to show people how I feel...”
“I like it when you send me messages.” I grinned down at her. “Even if I can’t always guess those bloody Unscrambles as quickly as you.”
“That’s all?”
“I like the way you make people feel special in little ways.”
“Anything else?”
I bent forward and whispered in her ear, “I like the way you’re touching me.”
“Yeah?” Erin bit back a smile. “This is enough?” Her hand wandered down my neck, her fingernails dragging over my skin. I shuddered. I couldn’t help it.
She liked teasing me, but I was just as good at making her knees weak. I captured her lips in a kiss. And another. My hand slipped over the curve of her ass, and I pulled her against me. I liked her best when she was close enough to feel the heat spike underneath her thin cotton T-shirt.
Gasps of air panted against my lips. “Til’s with Mim…” she murmured. “But I don’t think I’m ready for… for…”
The same hesitation paused my hand from drifting further down her waist. We both knew there was no going back once we fell into bed together.
Unexpected nerves tightened in my chest. Everything else about the relationship growing between us wassoperfect. What if I wasn’t what she hoped for in bed? I’d lasted less than a minute the night I’d seen her naked. She was going to be disappointed if our first time together was all over in two pumps. With her under me, touching me, feeling her… I’d beluckyif it were two.
