Page 27 of The Way Love Heals

I traveled my hand down further to grip as much of her ass as I could and squeezed. She bit her bottom lip before ours connected. Three solid but sweet pecks, and I pulled away. It was hard as hell not pinning her to the bed and fucking her to an oblivion, but I wanted us to enjoy the night. No sex, just vibes.

“If I ask to touch you, my bad. It’s been a habit for so long that I’m not sure how I’ll break it.”

“Have you always asked?”

I nodded. “I have.”

“How did other women feel about it?”

“Some thought it was weird, and it turned them off. They wanted a man who could just take charge and do what they pleased. Unfortunately, that’s not the type of man I am. Don’t get me wrong. I’m confident in myself, but I’m big on respect and not overstepping.”

“How did you navigate that?”

“I left them where they were. You’re the only person who I’ve felt comfortable sharing my story with,” I admitted, gently brushing one of her loose curls from her face. She took my hand and kissed my palm.

“I’m glad you did. Thank you.”

“No, thank you.”

“Let me go put these in water, and we can leave. Want to take a shot?”

“Of?”

“Tequila, of course. It’s the only liquor I can handle straight.”

“Lead the way.”

I loved when she took lead. She laced her fingers with mine, and we went to her kitchen. Closely, I watched as she placed her flowers in a red vase and grabbed two shot glasses.

Pulling out two bottles of liquor, Brittish asked, “White or brown?”

“Both.”

“Oh, two shots then?”

“You said drunk karaoke was the best, right? Let’s pregame.”

“Say less.”

As Brittish poured the shots, I crept up behind her and willed myself to embrace her. She leaned her head back against me, exposing her neck where I flicked my tongue before giving it a light suck.

“Mmm,” she moaned, reaching back and running her fingers through my curls. “You better stop before we don’t make it anywhere.”

I pecked the red spot on her neck, swiped my thumb over it, and backed away. “My bad.”

“That worked on me, if you must know.”

“Oh, I bet it did. As badly as I would love to bend you over this counter right now, I want us to just be in the moment tonight. No sex. You cool with that?”

Brittish picked up one glass and handed it to me. We toasted and threw our shots back before she said, “I’m perfectly fine with that, Nyle. While the sex is absolutely amazing, any time with you is as well.”

“Oh, trust me. The feeling is mutual.”

We took our last shot and headed out. On the ride to the bar, Brittish practiced her singing. She had me laughing so hard at how bad she sounded. I couldn’t say anything because I didn’t sound any better than she did, but I’d let her hear it when we got to the bar.

The GPS led us to a little hole-in-the-wall place, one that I knew probably had some good, strong drinks. The type where the bartenders didn’t measure out the liquor how they were supposed to. They measured with their hearts, while the cooks did the same in the back.

Hand in hand, Brittish and I walked into the building. We were able to find a table closer to the front, where a waiter instantly came to get our drink order. I settled for a Long Island Iced Tea, and Brittish ordered a Lemon Drop Martini. It didn’t take long for our drinks to be done, and I slowly sipped on mine. I’d never been big on drinking, so the shots from earlier had me feeling good.