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I was quiet for a minute, debating whether I should be honest. Nora was skittish when it came to me, almost like an abused dog adopted by a new family. She would let me near her when she felt like it, but God forbid I advance first. Yet I went with the truth.
“She doesn’t need help. But I want you to stay anyway.”
“Beck…”
“Can’t we be friends?”
“The last time we had an innocent few hours together, it ended with you getting me off in public, and me returning the favor on the ride home.”
I grinned. “It’s a fuckinggreatfriendship, isn’t it?”
Nora chuckled. “I thought we’d already decided we weren’t friends. I believe your exact words were ‘we don’t like each other enough.’”
“I changed my mind.”
She made a skeptical face. “I’m going to call bullshit.”
I started to feel a little panicky, like she wasn’t going to stay no matter what I said. So I was forced to pull out the big guns.
“One drink. Watching the videos and seeing all the comments strangers posted on your wall got to me. I don’t feel like being alone. Besides, I want to talk to you about something.”
Nora looked back and forth between my eyes like she was gauging my sincerity. Then she nodded. “Okay. But not one piece of clothing comes off.”
I could think of a thousand ways to please this woman while not technically removing an article of clothing. But I kept that to myself. Instead, I treated her like any other friend who’d come over. “How about we have cigars and whiskey out on the balcony?”
Nora’s face lit up. “I’ve never tried a cigar.”
It wasn’t my first choice of items for her to wrap her lips around, but it would have to do…for now.
CHAPTER 19
Nora
I BLEW OUTsix smoke rings in a row. “Did you see that?”
Beck’s eyes were locked on my lips. He groaned. “You’re fucking killing me, woman.”
“Maybe if you thought about somethingotherthan sex, you might be able to see that I have some true cigar-smoking talent.”
“You got talents alright…”
I laughed and looked around. “Your apartment is amazing. This balcony is bigger than my entire place.”
“Do you have a different layout than Gram has? Her place isn’t that small.”
“Oh. Yeah, she has a two bedroom, and I have a studio.”
He nodded.
“I bet the sunset is incredible from up here.”
“It is. You should stay and watch it.”
The whiskey had loosened my shoulders, and I was enjoying the breeze. I felt more relaxed than I had in days. I puffed on my cigar again and blew out more smoke rings. “Maybe I will.”
“Sunrise is even better. You should stay for both.”
I chuckled. “Smooth, Cross. Smooth.”
