Page 53 of Novice Girlfriend

“Okay, thanks for the sushi,” Wyatt sighed and stood. “Let’s go, Quinn.”

Quinn said bye to Teddy too and Teddy took the hint… And more sushi before making himself scarce.

“I cannot believe you just did that,” I whispered as I focused on my food, no longer hungry.

“You’re the one who offered it,” he tried to defend. He simply chuckled when I pressed my lips together. He rolled to his feet and started cleaning up some of the containers and our mess, waving me off when I went to help.

I wasn’t just going to sit there though and combined things into other containers for later. The place had given us enough chopsticks to build ten birdhouses since they probably thought the order was for a party. The packets of soy sauce would make up a small bottle and—what a waste and probably a lot of their overhead.

“What are you thinking about so hard?” he asked after we were done.

I chuckled. “My mind is scary, but this time just stuff like a business owner.” I gave a half shrug.

He let it go and we actually walked back to the house. Jasmine was sitting at the table looking over stuff with a couple of Taylor’s people and didn’t even glance up as she tapped a cleared-off spot.

“Dogs have the cheese tax and attorneys have a sushi tax?” I teased her, the other people there giving me funny looks.

Jasmine already understood my sense of humor or that I was kidding and rolled with it. “Exactly, and sushi is best fresh, so gimmie.”

“Always keep the housemates happy,” I said to Winter as I set mine down, nodding for him to do the same.

“I’m going to be hungry again in like an hour. That’s not enough time for it not to be fresh,” he grumbled as he set his down too. “I would have eaten more if I’d known about the attorney tax.”

Jasmine snorted and it was actually light-hearted banter between them, so that was nice. “I added those IPAs you like to Nelly’s grocery list since it’s break and I knew you’d be here a lot helping out.”

“Thanks,” Winter accepted. “We’ll leave you to it. We can pick up dinner if Clare’s not up for cooking or whatever.”

“I have no idea,” she admitted. “This is something extra helping Taylor out with another contract. Some bullshit trying to force them to extend and—people are assholes.”

All of us snorted because yes, and the sky was blue.

It was like a switch was flipped the moment we were upstairs in my room though and I was pinned against the door. I was breathless as heat and something more filled Winter’s eyes.

“I trust you, but Link wants you even if he doesn’t act on it and yes, I want to be a caveman, little sexy. Say yes now and not as a slip.” He brushed his lips over mine when I didn’t say anything. “I promised you we’d do everything good in the shower when we had one big enough and now you do. Let me show you. Give me permission, then behave.”

I flinched and worry filled his eyes. “Sorry, something Conrad said. He said—sorry.”

“Never be sorry.” He leaned his forehead to mine. “Never. He is a monster, and I don’t ever want you to think of him when you’re with me. Tell me. Always tell me.” He moved closer. “It’s us here only. I want us to have fun and be a bit—fun. I want us to have some fun and my breathtaking girlfriend to give me my fantasy. Play with me, Bev.”

I nodded, panting even as my heart beat too fast.

He lifted me under my butt like I weighed nothing—and to him I probably did—and carried me towards the bathroom. He tripped but easily recovered, ignoring my yelp and my clutching onto him as my heart raced for a different reason.

“You okay?” I worried when he also stopped walking.

“Yeah, just, you know, caught sight of the magical apples from the gods and that’s—they’re just sitting on your counter, Bev. Maybe not the best place for them?”

“Who—what?” The topic change threw me and then I looked where he was. “Right, but like what should I do with them?” I frowned when his expression was funny. “What?”

“Clare comes in here. Doesn’t Nelly?” He nodded when I winced and then set me down. “So let’s hide them. Wait, same amount?”

“It would be bad if the housekeeper ate food from our rooms, right?” I hedged.

He snorted. “Like you’d care if she ate an apple of yours?”

I thought of it a minute as I collected them. “No, but from my room? Without asking? That would be weird and she can come in here, but she’s really not supposed to after Kelton explained my past with maids.”

“Yeah, it would, but—let’s just hide them. Maybe get you a safe.”