Page 63 of Miss Treated

We both heard our phones buzz and pulled them out at the same time to read the messages. “Looks like Daisy had an emergency come up,” I said out loud.

Brooke sighed. “Yeah, I got the same text. I’m sorry you’re stuck with me. I’m a mess and maybe shouldn’t be out right now.”

It was funny how you’d never guess by looking at her. Guess it was true when they said you never knew what a person was going through. “I’m not sorry in the least. I’m glad I get to spend time with you.” Perhaps if I’d had someone I could’ve talked to about my breakup, I wouldn’t have hit such a low. “My engagement broke off a few months ago, and I wished I’d had more girlfriends to confide in.”

She got serious. “Tell me it gets better with time?”

How had I come from the person barely able to make eye contact to giving breakup advice? Talk about a moment to be able to pay it forward. I took her hand and squeezed. “It gets better. Take it from me, that is something I never thought I’d hear myself say when it first happened.”

She gave me a sad smile. “Thanks, Kelsey. I’m glad I met you.”

“Me too.”

The rest of the night was a blur of drinks, good food, and even better conversation. While I’d chosen to lick my wounds in private, it was clear Brooke needed a night out and a copious amount of vodka to distract her from her breakup. She also gave Scott her hotel room key.

I arrived at Dominic’s condo after one o’clock in the morning via Uber. I was nicely buzzed, so when he opened his front door in nothing but a pair of boxers, I wanted only one thing.

“Oof” came his grunt when I leapt onto him like a spider monkey to a tree. “Well, hello there,” he chuckled, shutting the door despite one hundred and twenty-seven pounds attached to him.

I leaned back in order to see his face. “Hope you don’t mind me coming over tonight?” I hadn’t specified whether I’d crash here or return to my hotel, and I absolutely loved the fact he hadn’t guilted me either way.

“Mind? I was hoping you would come over. You have a good time?” He carried me into the master bathroom and set me down on the vanity.

“I had the very best time.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Dominic

Kelsey was absolutely adorable sitting on my bathroom sink slightly drunk. I wet a washcloth and gently removed her makeup, thrilled she’d not only had a terrific time, but that she’d come home to me.

She went on about her new friend Brooke, about the five drinks she’d had, and the fact they’d promised to keep in touch and do dinner again in the near future. Given she’d been with her ex since junior high, Kelsey had never had “single time,” I realized. She might be eager to live as a single and experience more nights like this one.

“What did you do tonight?” she asked, hooking her legs around my waist and pulling me into her.

“Played basketball with the guys, ate some pizza, and came home.”

“This is what should happen in a normal relationships, isn’t it? You go out, I go out, I come home to you, and we talk about our nights.” She stopped, her entire face going red. “I didn’t mean to say— I mean I know we’re not in a relationship— I didn’t—”

God, if she had a clue as to the depth of my emotions, she wouldn’t have been worried about my reaction to her slip-up. But I didn’t want her to feel pressure. “It’s okay. I knew what you meant, and yes, I think this is how it’s supposed to be.”

“You ever been in a relationship or in love?”

Not until now. There was no doubt in my mind I’d fallen hard for Ms. Kelsey Maxwell. “No, it’s always been casual.”

She bit her lip. “Like this?”

“No. I meant what I said. I’m a one-woman guy. I might come across as flirtatious, but you’re the only one in my bed, Kels, and I want to be the only man in yours. How we define it, well, I’ll leave it to you because I realize you’re coming off a bad relationship and might need time before getting involved again.”

She smiled, pulling me in for a kiss. “Thank you.”

Then her hand snaked out to cup my dick through the material of my boxers.

I inhaled sharply.

“Do you know what I thought about tonight?”

“No,” I squeaked out when she went under my waistband of my shorts and took my hardening length in her hand.