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“Then what about all of your shit that prevents me from actually using my en suite in my own house? Because there are tubes, cans, sticks, and cotton balls everywhere, Poppy. Everywhere.”
He smirks like he’s just proven his point.
“That’s not girlfriend behavior,” I say. “You’re so mistaken. That’s the aftermath of me visiting your house to, what? Oh, yeah. Fuck you.”
“You’re so full of shit.”
His cheeky grin makes me feel a little sorry for him—and a lot turned on—but that’s not helpful at the moment, because he’s only making my argument for me. We need to redefine our situation. Because the things I’m seeing as the aftermath of our banging sessions, he’s seeing as examples of our growing … intimacy?
Ew.
“Let me try to explain this to you another way,” I say. “Cade Samuels asked me out.”
Finn’s head whips to mine. “Who?”
“It’s just a guy I knew growing up. And he asked me out, and I said no.”
He smirks.
“No.” I laugh. “No smirking. This is not a good thing.”
“The United States Football League and I disagree.”
“Why does the league care?” I ask, curious where he’s going with this.
“Because I can’t play football in prison, and that’s where I’d be if Cade or whatever his name is thinks he’s going to take out my girl.”
My stomach wobbles, and I fight a grin. “I’m not your girl, Miller.”
“Oh, I wholeheartedly beg to differ.”
For fuck’s sake. I take a breath and blow it out slowly, ignoring the wobble in it. At least, now we’re getting somewhere.
“See? You’re internalizing things the wrong way, too,” I say. “Because this thing between us is not a relationship.”
He rolls his eyes, slowing the wipers. “I don’t think I’m confused about shit,” he says, taking an exit ramp. “Do you want to go to your house or mine? I gotta go left or right.”
“Home. I don’t have a clean piece of laundry to my name, and I dropped my toothbrush on Mom’s bathroom floor this morning.”
“Like you don’t have those things at my house, but okay,” he says, making a left at the intersection. “Now back to your ever-entertaining side quest. We’ve operated like a couple for a while now. I find it curious that you only have a problem with it when another guy asks you out.”
He faces forward, the vein in his temple pulsing. Seeing him jealous that I might be interested in someone else is so ridiculously hot, and it’s so tempting to tell him to pull over so I can ride him like a rodeo. But I’m not trying to make him jealous and don’t want to muddy things more than they apparently already are.
“This may be a terrible boost to your ego.” I grin. “But this has nothing to do with another guy. My reaction just opened my eyes to how we’re starting to behave like a couple. Trust me when I say that I’m not looking to be with anyone else. You keep me a very happy and fulfilled woman.”
His smirk is heavenly.
“If not, I would’ve been having sex with someone else these past two years.” I shrug.
“It’s so fucking hot to hear you say that.”
I laugh. “It’s not supposed to be hot. It’s supposed to illustrate my point.”
He glances at me. “For the record, I haven’t been with anyone else since the night we walked from Branch’s to that bar on the river. And then we got caught in the snowstorm on the way back.” He laughs. “Do you remember that?”
“Oh my God, it was so freaking cold.” I laugh along with him. “I think I wore your sweatshirt home the next day, too, actually.”
“I was trying to impress you by giving it to you and nearly gave myself frostbite in the process.”
