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10 - SIMON
She lived in a classy two-story condo outside Charleston with red shutters and two hanging basket plants on the porch. She didn’t seem like the type to have a green thumb, but it wasn’t like we knew each other very well. Still, every moment I spent with her made me want to spend a thousand more—especially after that kiss, where she turned my world on its axis.
Sure, I’d had a serious girlfriend or two, and more than my fair share of one-night stands and messy college fumbles, but I’d never felt the lust, desire, and passion I had when she pressed herself against me. Fucking done for by a woman who was using me to improve her image.
“Just like I was using her,” I gritted through my teeth, passing by her condo again. I hadn’t bothered to park because I was too busy second-guessing the next few hours.
And her. Us. Damnit.
Fucking dinner with my parents. More like throwing her to the wolves.
I should have thought up some flimsy excuse, but I knew it would stir more shit, and I had to shut down any more scheming attempts my mother and Yasmine had planned. That ship had crashed and burned. Scrubbing my hand over my face, I resigned to my fate and parallel parked, slamming my hand on the steering wheel to get myself under control.
The sting on my palm grounded me, and I tapped each fingertip to my thumb and pictured the red hair I wanted to tangle my fingers in, and the smell of icing and candy. That calmed me more than counting, more than those repetitive strategies I’d read about endlessly and tried to put into practice. Her. And I was a stupid douche, sitting in my car complaining to myself instead of touching her.
I shook my head and popped a peppermint into my mouth before opening the door and jogging down the sidewalk and up the four steps leading to her front door. Taking a second to straighten my tie, I knocked and waited, focusing on taking deep, even breaths. I’d barely reached three before the door opened, and Addison looked at me with sparkling eyes and a smile a mile wide.
Was it possible for eyes to twinkle? Was that even a thing outside of fairy tales and sappy movies? It had to be—her eyes were twinkling brighter than stars in the Milky Way, and before I could stop myself I grabbed her waist and hauled her to me, kissing her cheek, far too PG for my liking.
The breath whooshed out of her in the sexiest little huff as she braced her arms on my chest and laughed. A full-bellied laugh that pulled both sides of her mouth higher than I’d ever seen and made her hair fall forward to brush against me. Her scent surrounded me, all icing and candy, so I buried my face in her neck and breathed in before remembering myself and letting go.
“Hi, honey.”
“Hi, yourself. You’re going to spoil me with greetings like that, Simon.”
My smile faltered. She deserved to be kissed and licked and spoiled every day.
“Hmm. Consider this me making up for whatever happens tonight,” I said as she grabbed her purse from a small table inside the front door. “And don’t you need a cardigan or something?”
Not that I wanted her to cover an inch of the skin showing in the elegant blue dress she wore, but my parents’ attitudes alone would drop the temperature in a room fifteen degrees.
“Damn, you’re right. Come in. I’ll be right back.” She turned with a wink and disappeared toward the back of the condo as I stepped inside the tastefully decorated living room, noticing the minimal furniture, art, and lack of personal touches filling the space. Almost as if she went out of her way to make the area cold. No photos hung on the wall, or tacky magnet stuck to the fridge. Hell, there wasn’t a bowl for her keys or a hook for her jacket. This place could be one of her staged properties.
“All set,” she said, coming down the hallway wearing a black cardigan that hugged the bottom of her breasts, making me jealous of the material that clung to her curves.
“Sure, honey.”
Locking her door, she slipped her keys into her purse and her hand into mine as we walked down the steps, and when I didn’t get an eye roll when I opened the car door for her, I knew something was on her mind.
“You’re nervous,” I said, getting into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. I watched her pick the nail polish on her fingernails from the corner of my eye, wishing I could take her anxiety and pile it on my own.
“Yeah. I’m not great at meeting parents, and I want to make a good impression. But my reputation precedes me, so I’m sure I’ve already made a shitty one. Mostly, I don’t want to make things worse for you.”
She shrugged and opened her purse, taking out a gloss tube and swiping the color across her lips. The scent of candy filled the car, and I breathed in, taking a second to compose my thoughts. I knew what people said about her. It was no worse than the shit said about me, but listening to her vulnerability stirred something inside me.
“Don’t listen—”
“Simon,” she said, reaching over to put her palm on my thigh. I laid my hand over hers, enjoying how open she was with physical touches. It made me realize how much I craved her hands on me. Growing up, my parents were stingy with affection. Everything was always uptight and formal. I knew they loved me, but I truly felt love from my grandparents and Beth.
“I don’t date, and I enjoy sex. I’m not going to sit here and say that’s not the bed I made for myself, and I’m not going to be ashamed of it either,” Addison said, bringing me back to our connected hands.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I know that. Should we go over our back story or learn a little more about each other before we get there?”
“Yeah, good idea,” I said, turning onto the interstate. “How long ago did we meet?”
“A month ago at a mutual friend’s party. Any siblings?”
