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“I’ve been taking notes,” he promised.
She laughed, but she also removed her hand. Like ripping a bone out of a dog’s mouth, the absence of her hand immediately bombarded him with disappointment. Clenching his jaw, he suffered it as silently as he could.
“Two more things. Firstly, just because Tess will eventually want to give you climax after climax if you can get into her bedroom, don’t you be one of those pricks who doesn’t think of her. If you do, I’ll fuck you up—and not in the way you want from me right now.” Flicking him on the side, she stole her third and final fry from his plate. “Secondly, don’t hide that she turns you on, and definitely don’t be ashamed if she realizes it. Yeah, it might end up being awkward at first, but it might also help her realize that you see her as more than just a kindly neighbor. And that’s the goal, ain’t it?”
That was indeed the goal. After they finished eating, Avril stole the tablet sitting on their table and paid for both of their meals.
“I’m accruing favors you owe me,” she said with a wink.
They parted ways a little after, though not before Avril obtained a promise from him that he’d let her know all about how tonight’s “main event” turned out. Even outfitted with her guidance, anxiety gnawed at him incessantly. It lasted well into the afternoon, coiling his stomach into knots as the evening drew nearer.
There was a marked difference between talking about something ridiculous and actuallydoingit. Yes, he wanted Tess. Yes, Avril’s advice had soothed him somewhat. And yes, a better opportunity might never arrive.
Yet, yet, yet. Possible mistakes or missteps that might bring his hopes crumbling down harried him viciously, rebuffing every attempt he made to calm his rampaging pessimism. He nearly decided to abort the whole thing and stay safely cocooned inside his home, even if he knew Avril would scoff at whatever feeble excuse he cobbled together once he revealed his cowardice to her.
Trapped in his own head, he didn’t hear his phone go off. Sitting on the couch beside him while he idly flipped through his suite of streaming services for something that might distract him from his troubles, he only noticed the light in his peripherals. Scooping it up, he should have known who the message would be from.
Your ass better be on Tess’s couch right now, or I’m going to saw you in half with a chainsaw.
Wincing but also mildly marveling at her awareness, Liam finally put up a fight against his timorous thoughts. He shoved his phone into his pocket, then seized a gulp of air. He didn’t let it out until his lungs burned. Afterward, clenching his fists and his jaw, he left his couch. After grabbing his phone and throwing on some shoes, he left his house. Trudging along in the diminishing daylight, battling to take each step, he reached Tess’s door.
He felt drained, as if his short walk had wrung out all the energy in his body. Lightheadedness leaped onto him, savage and cruel. This was such a bad idea. There were so many ways this could go wrong. So many ways that ended in disaster. He didn’t want abhorrence and disgust to replace the tenderness and warmth she showered upon him whenever they interacted. There wereso manyways this could go wrong.
But there had to be at least one single way this could go right. All his hopes gathered around him, banishing the fear paralyzing him on Tess William’s doorstep.
He rang her doorbell, then didn’t breathe again until the door opened.
Chapter Fifteen
Tenderness
Liam had spent so much time fretting over all that could go wrong that the radiant smile Tess granted him when she saw who it was who’d come to her doorstep so late in the afternoon caused him to shiver. Fortunately, the cold allowed it to blend in with the rest of his cold-induced quakes, and Tess remained none the wiser to how potently she affected him with just a smile. So far as he was aware, anyhow.
“Liam, good evening!” she beamed. “What brings you over?”
What indeed. He’d fretted over this part most of all. Avril had seemed to think that simplicity was the best way to make his approach. After all his mental turmoil while he’d searched for a clever reason to visit her, he’d ended up holding a whole lot of nothing in his hands. So, he’d given in. The direct approach it was. Avril’s way.
“Uh, I was just wondering if maybe I could come over for dinner. Your cooking is way better than the frozen foods I’m all stocked up on.”
With bated breath, resisting an urge to wince as if he were staring into an overpoweringly luminous lamp, he awaited her reply. He hoped Avril knew what she was talking about.
“Absolutely, you can,” Tess said, stepping back and beckoning him inside. “You’re welcome to come over anytime.”
He could practically hear Avril’s cackling in his mind, and he promptly decided to keep this part of his later report conveniently underdeveloped.
“I haven’t started cooking just yet, so do you have any preferences for tonight?” Tess asked after he’d come inside.
“No, anything is great,” he replied, tagging along with her to her kitchen. “Thanks, by the way.”
The oceanic depths of her eyes gleamed as she looked over her shoulder. “Think nothing of it. Are you hungry right now? I normally eat a little later into the day.”
“No, I’m okay; I’m not too hungry yet, either.”
As Tess arched an eyebrow, he realized his slip-up. His excuse for visiting revolved around his hunger, yet here he was, admitting that he wasn’t actually hungry. He searched for an appropriate response, but Tess bailed him out with a new idea.
“I know it’s not my cooking, but what if I order us a pizza in a little bit?” She smiled sheepishly. “Truth be told, I’ve been craving pizza recently, but the place I like just loses all its flavor after it’s been refrigerated, so I kept putting it off until I had an excuse to share. Tonight seems like the perfect opportunity if you’re alright with that.”
“I’m down for that,” he said with a quick nod, relieved she hadn’t called him out on his misstep. “What’ll we do until then?”
