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Not that Barrett is my boyfriend.
Apparently, this, us, is nothing serious.
“It’s just great sex.” I say those four words out loud without realizing it until Barrett leans over me to kiss my lips. With a satisfied smile, he says, “Exactly. And, um, it’s up to you, but I’m okay if you don’t ever tell Laurel. I mean, I just want you to know sleeping with you isn’t about payback or trying to make her jealous.”
“I know,” I agree. “If she finds out, she finds out, though. I don’t really care.”
“Same. She shouldn’t care either since she’s married now. Again.”
“Right. She’s got a new husband, so why would she mind if I’m having amazing sex with her ex-husband?”
“You think it’s been amazing?”
“No, it’s better than amazing,” I tell him honestly. “It’s impossible to describe with words.”
“That’s what it’s like for me too. Mind-blowing. Especially aftergoing so long without any interest at all in women, sex, porn. It wasn’t the best time of my life, especially when I first came home.”
“I’m thankful for your service in the army, and thankful to be of service to you now,” I tell him with a smile.
It sucks to have to pretend I’m not head over heels in love with the man, but at least he called our sex “mind-blowing.” I should box up all his compliments and save them for when this ends between us. Which will probably be way too soon for me.
Then again, anything less than forever is too soon.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Barrett
“Ugh, I feel like I should be doing something for Thane,” Lyla complains when we get home from the hospital with our takeout – three-meat pizza for me and vegetarian for her.
“The surgeon said he’s doing great and just needs to rest for now,” I remind her as I get us two plates from the cabinets.
“I know, but I hate doing nothing.”
“You want to stay busy?” I ask as I join her at the round dining room table.
“Yes, but I don’t have any classes anymore or job prospects…”
“Were you serious about helping me with the nonprofit?”
“Yes, of course. Whatever you need, assuming I learned about it before I dropped out.”
“I still can’t see you dropping out of college. You’re so damn smart and determined.”
“Guess I’m just not determined enough to keep taking classesonly to flunk out and have my dad be furious that I wasted his money on tuition. I mean, I guess I have wasted money on taking classes without finishing my degree, but I completed them. I got decent grades.”
“I think you should go back.”
“What? Are you trying to get rid of me?” she asks with a chuckle.
“You want this. I can tell, despite your hesitation and doubt. Finish your degree. I bet you could even take classes online so you could stay here and help me run a nonprofit. That would have to be like extra credit, right?”
She smiles and says, “I’ll think about it. First, let’s just focus on your project. If we’re lucky, you could have your Form 1023-EZ approved within a month or so.”
“That fast, huh?”
“It’s possible.”
“But I don’t even have a location or a name. Don’t I need to get that figured out first?”
