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She wrinkled her nose. “Dirty gym socks mixed with dirt and boiled in water?”
Joe smiled the smile that Roxie loved best. It wasn’t that charming, smoldering, somewhat-obnoxious grin that had “player” written all over it. Rather, it was a warm smile that made his blue eyes dance. It only came out when he was genuinely happy, which made it the most dangerous of all. Knowing not many people ever saw this smile made her heart squeeze.
“Exactly,” he said, holding out the mug. “Hot cocoa. With milk, not water.” He held out his other hand. “Plus four Tylenols.”
Sitting up, she held her hands out for the loot. “My hero.”
She downed the medicine dry, then took a sip of the hot cocoa. The warm, rich chocolate soothed her soul. Closing her eyes, she waited for the combination to work its magic on her headache.
The couch cushion next to her dipped, and a second later, strong hands began massaging her temples.
“What’s going on with us?” Roxie asked before she could think better of it.
Joe’s hands stilled at her temples, then fell away.
She took another sip of her drink, set her mug on the coffee table, and turned to face him. Now that she’d kicked off this discussion, she might as well get the rest out. Unsure where to start, she blurted, “Sometimes I really hate being such a needy girly girl.”
His eyes scrunched in confusion.
A lock of hair fell into her face, and she impatiently tucked it behind her ear. “What I mean is that I’m not good at just screwing around with someone. If I’m sleeping with someone, I want it to be exclusive and—”
“Whoa, Rox. Time-out.” His hands formed aT. “First off, I, for one, am glad that you’re a girl. Also, by ‘girly girl’ you better be meaning kick-ass. Second, you are the polar opposite of needy. And third, we’re not just screwing around. At least, I haven’t seen it that way. You said I was groping you this morning, and that really pissed me off. Is that how you see it? That we’re just fucking?”
Did he really need to put it that way? She lifted her chin in challenge. “Aren’t we, though?”
His eyes darkened. “Are you trying to piss me off again? I thought we were done with the games.”
Somehow, she’d lost control of this conversation. “You don’t do relationships, Joe. I know this. You do casual. You do flings. Trust me when I say that I didn’t enter into this thinking I was going to be any different.”But a part of me sure as hell hoped I was.
He stared at her. His face was completely blank. Then, swallowing hard, he nodded. “I’ll give you that. I’ve never done serious. But you didn’t answer my question. Is screwing around howyousee what’s going on with us?”
She didn’t know how to answer that. Technically, yes, they were screwing around, but that made it sound cheap. Not as crass as “just fucking,” but cheap, nonetheless. In either case, that’s not what was going on with them. At least not to her.
Maybe it was their shared history, maybe it was their friendship... but what they had felt different. What if that was just her wishful thinking, though?
“Roxanne, answer me.”
“No. It’s not just screwing around to me.” She sighed and looked down at her hands. “I don’t know where I stand with you, Joe. That’s what’s making me crazy.”
He remained silent, and she wished she’d never started this conversation. The couch cushions shifted, then Joe was kneeling in front of her. Tenderly, he framed her face with his hands, giving her no choice but to meet his gaze. Her breath caught as she looked into his blazing blue eyes.
“You stand on a fucking pedestal with me, Rox. You always have. What’s going on with us isn’t just screwing around. To me, it’s not casual. It’s not a fling.” He paused, tracing her lower lip with his thumb. “Truth be told, I’m not exactly sure what you’d call our relationship.Boyfriendandgirlfrienddoesn’t quite do it justice, and I’ve always thoughtloverswas creepy.”
“Because it is,” she said with a soft chuckle.
“But, baby, whatever it is we choose to call it, know that it’s just me and you. No one else.”
Roxie’s heart swelled. She couldn’t put into words all that she felt for this man. Because she loved him. She’d always loved him. He’d been her best friend, an integral part of her life, through the good, the bad, the ups, and the downs... all of it. But now, there was so much more depth to her love. Maybe there had been for a while.
Until this moment, she’d been scared to feel what she did for him, petrified that she was alone in her emotions. That’s why the last few years had been so hard. It was also a big reason why her business had been such a success. Yes, she was driven and a damn fine businesswoman. But without Joe, there’d been a void in her life. His absence had hurt so much, she’d thrown herself into her work. She’d vowed to distance herself from others and to keep her personal emotions safely tucked away.
Because it had always been him, she realized.
“Me and you,” she murmured, bringing her lips to his, “I think we make a good team. We’ll argue from time to time—”
“Time to time?” He scoffed. “More like more often than not.”
She eyed him. “That’s because you’re so stubborn and bossy.”
