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I laugh and shake my head. “I like blurting. And I like kissing you.”
“My face is going to be bright red the whole time, isn’t it?”
“I hope so, doll face.”
As the time goes by the conversation flows and we end up laughing and talking non-stop. I’ve never been so at ease with anyone before. Normally I’m guarded with people, but with Pepper I want to tell her everything. We talk for hours and the sun sets as we end up finishing our food and ordering more. Asking someone on a date at lunchtime has its advantages.
“Did we really eat two meals?” she asks, rubbing her belly as we leave the restaurant.
I hold her close with my hand around her waist as we walk back home. “Yeah, and I never even touched the pasta,” I say, but she looks up at me and raises an eyebrow. “Okay, but that’s the story we’re telling Rico, right? You promised.”
She holds up two fingers and says, “Scout’s honor.”
“I think it’s three fingers, but okay, I believe you.”
It’s dark out now, but I have no idea what time it is. All I know is I’m not ready for the night to end. I want Pepper to come back to my place so I can kiss her some more, but I know if I do that I won’t be able to stop myself. The longer I spend with her, the weaker my self-control becomes. I’m normally so disciplined, but one word from her and I’d change everything.
“Well, this is me,” she says, pointing to her front door. We got here so fast I didn’t have time to think about saying goodnight. “Do you, um, want to come in?”
I close my eyes and pray for strength and then shake my head. “Doll face, you have no idea how badly I want to go in there. But I think if our kiss proved anything it’s that I might just take things too far too fast.”
She leans in and places her hand on my chest as she looks up at me with her big blue eyes. “I like fast.”
“You’re going to break me in half,” I say, covering her hand with mine. I lean down and press my lips to hers, but this time I don’t linger. I brush my mouth against hers softly one more time and take a step back. “You’re coming with me in the morning, right?”
She blinks a few times and then nods. “As long as you promise I don’t have to exercise.”
“I promise,” I say, crossing my heart. She smiles at me as she bites her lip and goes into her apartment.
I stand there until I hear the lock click and then go into my apartment. I lean against the door and bang my head on the wood a few times, because all I want to do is rush back across the hall and pull her into my arms. But after tonight I’ve found out two things. One, I’ve got more self-control than I ever gave myself credit for, and two, Pepper’s the one.
I can’t screw this up.
Chapter Seven
Pepper
“Doll face.”
I smile as I roll over, enjoying the dream. I’m cuddling in bed with Bear, and I never want to wake up.
“Oh god, you’re naked.” The blankets move and I’m covered up. “She’s going to kill me.”
His voice is so clear that I open one eye. When I see his handsome face hovering over me, I smile. It’s the best thing I’ve ever woken up to in my life.
“Hi,” I say, wondering why he’s so far away from me. “Wait.”
I gasp and then sit up, almost knocking my head into his. Thankfully Bear is quick and moves out of the way in time. I look around and see I’m still in my bedroom with Bear standing next to the bed. He’s not in it with me, but he must have been leaning over to wake me up. He’s dressed in gym shorts and a sleeveless shirt. His big muscled arms are on full display and I can’t take my eyes off of them. Cheese and crackers, he’s strong.
“I knocked, but you didn’t answer. Then I let myself in because I was worried.” He runs his hand down his face. I can tell he was concerned. And I’m guessing he has a key to all the apartments if he owns the building.
“I’m fine,” I yawn. “I was too excited to sleep last night, so I worked instead.”
I stayed up and made a video and a blog post. Then I spent another hour cleaning to try and wear myself out, but I was too excited about seeing Bear again today. All I kept thinking about was kissing him again and how I wished he’d have come inside last night. Plus, I didn’t get to talk to Tasha yet to tell her how my date went. She had plans last night. I sent her a few texts but haven’t gotten a response yet.
