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Forcing myself to pull back, I take a deep breath with my eyes closed. “I had a wonderful time. Goodnight, Lacey.”
“Date’s not over. Come inside; I’ll dry your clothes.” It comes out as if it’s no big deal.
But my face goes into frozen shock.
“Do you know what you’re saying? Nothing good happens at this hour of the night at the end of a date.”
“I’ve been in total control of every decision that was made tonight. I don’t know about other dates, Landon. This one will end with only good things.”
I look deep in her eyes. This could be one of the greatest nights of my life. Doesn’t matter what happens—just being with her is a bonus. I’m going to follow her lead, but I need to make sure she’s okay with the smallest decisions made, starting here before I walk through her door. “You sure? I don’t want to wake Jacob or your mother.”
“He’s spending the night with Shay. My mother is picking him up tomorrow.”
“Are you sure you want me to come in, Lace?”
“Yes.” She nods.
“It’s late,” I remind her again.
She barks a laugh, exasperated with me. “I know. Come in.” She pulls me through the door, closing it behind me before I can ask again.
I’m not a nervous guy, but I classify this as being in the realm of nervous. We’ve known each other a long time. This is different. I locked her door, and she locks two more behind it.
“I haven’t noticed before how many locks you have.”
She sighs. “It’s a thing. I’m working on it.”
Then I notice a security alarm. If I didn’t know before, I knew then I had to tread lightly, and take this, her inviting me in, with the utmost seriousness. I don’t want to trigger a setback...I just don’t know. I need to know if tonight is going to turn into more than she’s ready for. She disappears into the bathroom, leaving me with my thoughts.
A few minutes later, she comes out of the bathroom in a lime green robe with pictures of pies all over it. I smile, seeing her in my mind, hard at work making those pies, with flour smeared on her nose. “It had to be pies.”
She shrugs, smiling. “Of course.”
I notice a bag in her hand. “What do you have there?”
She holds out her hand. “My wet clothes. I had to take a quick shower after taking these off.”
Great. Now I’m thinking about her naked and wet, and I need to shift things around down below. “Okay.”
“You can take a shower, if you want. When you’re done I’ll put your clothes in the dryer and I’ll go see if I can find you something that doesn’t make you look like the Incredible Hulk busting out.” She laughs.
“You do that.” I get in the bathroom, strip and stick my hand out the door, dangling my damp clothes. She takes takes them and replaces them with a towel. I take a quick shower, but spend most of my time drying my hair. I don’t hear Lace, so I wrap the towel around my waist and come out. “Lacey?” I call.
She comes toward me looking down at some stuff in her hand. “I tried but I think you’re out of luck.” Her eyes meet my chest when she stops. “Aw, shit. These won’t fit. Sorry.”
“It’s all right. I didn’t think anything would. You okay?” I ask a beat later, since she hasn’t looked up past my chest and the tattoo of her name.
“Yes. It’s just—you’re more than I remember. I mean, bigger. I…” Her eyes meet mine, a shade of pink tinting her cheeks, and we smile. “I sound like an idiot.” She rolls her eyes. “The superpower of pecs. They had that effect on me at seventeen, too.”
My brow arches up. “The power of pecs?”
“Don’t make fun of me.”
“I’m not.” I tilt her chin up. “I love your perusal of me. Makes me less nervous being nearly naked in front of you.”
Her eyes open a fraction. “You’re nervous too?”
“Of course. Not every day my dream comes true.”
