Page 42 of Every Time We Touch

“It’s a little complicated,” I say. There are certain things I can’t think about, just as there are things that are impossible to ignore. This time last week, she was still dating my dad.

“It’s a lot complicated.” Clancy pulls the covers over us, hiding her spectacular body—which might be for the best, because a naked Clancy is impossible to resist. And it’s high time to start resisting.

“I can’t really answer your question, because… even if it is something, it really can’t be.” It’s hard to forget the look on my dad’s face last weekend.

“What if we… wait?” Under the covers, she puts her hand on my hip. “An appropriate amount of time.”

“How long would that be?”

“I don’t know,” Clancy says. “There’s no manual for this.”

“I’m sure we can find something on the internet.” Like the appropriate age gap rule, I think, but wisely don’t bring up.

“Will you stay the night?” Clancy’s grasp on my hip tightens. “Please?”

I nod. I’m not sure my legs still have the power to carry me out of her bed—nor do I want to leave. Even though I should. But ever since I met Clancy, doing what I should hasn’t been very high on my to-do list.

“Thank you,” Clancy says, as though I’ve just done her a massive favor. She inches closer, bumping the tip of her nose against mine. “I’m wired but also exhausted,” she whispers.

“Even with two hours off teaching this afternoon?” Oh, how I missed our lesson. Dancing with Clancy is definitely the second-best thing to sleeping with her.

Something has changed about her. She’s no longer the woman who punished me earlier, as though she has already resigned herself to something I’m not ready for yet. And that’s why she asked me to stay the night—because when we wake up, it will all be over.

Asking if it can be something is just grasping at straws. We both know that. I can’t be with my father’s ex-girlfriend. Maybe if they’d dated years ago, but even then, it still wouldn’t be right. But they broke up because Clancy and I kissed.

As difficult as it is to think about, this is what I need to focus on, as an antidote to all the other things I’m feeling. Why couldn’t she have just been hot but bitchy? The answer is as easy as it is devastating: because then my father would never have dated her, nor introduced her to us.

“I think that, meanwhile, I’ve taught you another lesson.” Clancy tries to inject a levity into her tone she no longer feels. I know because that accompanying grin doesn’t come close to reaching her eyes.

“You sure have.” My reply is equally lackluster because every minute that passes bring us closer to the morning, to when we have to say goodbye. “Will you be able to sleep?”

“If I can hold you.” Clancy kisses me gently on the cheek.

“Of course.” I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep in her toned arms, although I am also spent. It’s not every day I’m treated to an avalanche of orgasms by a ravishing dancer.

“You can turn around after this.” Clancy’s lips find mine and she kisses me. Her hand lands gently on the back of my head, but she doesn’t pull me in too close—doesn’t risk this kiss being the gateway to so much more again.

I roll onto my other side, until I’m with my back to Clancy, and then she does pull me close. Her body is hot against mine, her arms firm around my waist.

She plants a kiss on my shoulder. “Sleep tight,” she says.

It takes me a few minutes to get used to lying in someone’s embrace again. Clancy’s breath rushes over my shoulder and her fingers rest dangerously close to my breast. Then there are all the memories we made the past couple of hours. My clit threatens to go into overdrive again, but I’m only human, and my body is in need of a longer break.

I push myself as close to her as I can—now that I still can. Against her soft, smooth skin, and the heat of her that burns like a furnace against me. I think of how she spoke to me and how it turned me on beyond measure—beyond anything I’ve ever known. But lying like this must have supreme relaxing powers, because I soon drift off into a deep, uninterrupted sleep.

When I wake up, it’s light outside. Clancy’s on her back with the covers thrown off, and too much of her body exposed. Her chest rises and falls as she breathes the slow breath of sleep.

For a moment, I contemplate sneaking out. Just leave and be done with it—with her. But I can’t do that. I can’t even get out of this bed. I can’t tear my gaze away from her. I’m about to put my hand on her belly—because I simply can’t resist—when a phone starts buzzing. I don’t even know where my phone is. Where my bag is. Least of all where my head is at.

Clancy stirs and, still half-asleep, reaches for her phone on the nightstand. Was that there all along? Did she get up while I was sleeping? I was so out of it, I have no idea. Like I took the world’s strongest sleeping pill—a couple of Clancy climaxes will have that effect.

Once she’s switched off her alarm, Clancy turns to me. “I have a nine a.m. class,” she groans.

“What time is it?” Slight panic starts to set in—starts to override the compulsion to stay here in bed with her all day long. Do I have a meeting this morning? My head feels as though it’s no longer screwed onto my body in the right way. My brain is scrambled and my thoughts—as well as my life, I guess—are in disarray.

“Five past seven.” Clancy smiles a touch inexplicably. “When I woke up earlier, I set my alarm for the best time for us to get the most sleep but also have enough time together this morning.”

“Did you get some sleep?” I try to focus on her face, but it’s hard when her breasts are bare and looking like the best breakfast of my life.