With a snort, Pearce passed me the shower gel and we cleaned ourselves down. We made quick work of it, keeping our hands to ourselves, and me giving him pointed looks in warning to keep himself in check. Much to his amusement.
By the time we fell into bed, it was past midnight. In the morning we had a lot to talk about. We’d been putting off the conversation for too long, both of us using “we’ll figure it out” all too readily.
After tonight and our agreement on a short engagement, we could no longer avoid the serious talk. Holding back my sigh and worry about what the reality of our future would look like, I held on to Pearce’s arms when he got in position and spooned me. For the next few hours, I’d embrace the ease of avoidance with a smile on my face and Pearce’s soft cock snug against my ass.
* * *
Our flight was bookedfor later in the afternoon. Despite Lottie’s sulking and trying to convince me she should just skip school, I put my foot down. We’d be making the flight, and Lottie would go to school come hell or high water.
It seemed like a long time since we’d had any semblance of normality, and with me heading out to Montview in a few weeks, I was beginning to forget what calm looked like.
We’d finished breakfast. While Lottie sprawled out on the couch, Pearce and I drank coffee outside on his back patio. It was a beautiful morning. The sun touched my skin, tugging a relaxed sigh out of me.
I couldn’t wait for a whole week of nothing but stillness and no injuries. No traveling.
“You need me to leave you alone with your coffee?”
I blinked one eye open, taking in Pearce’s teasing smile. “Fuck off.”
He chuckled. “Not sure if I should be jealous of the blissed-out look on your face or not.”
Fully opening my eyes, I stared at him, running my gaze over his shirtless body, appreciating every curve, divot, and sharp line.
A shit-eating grin broke out before he said, “It’s all good. You can carry on.”
“Huh?”
“You looking at me like that makes me know you think I’m more irresistible than coffee.”
“Only just.”
“I’ll take it.” He bounced his brows, continuing to eye me, his gaze losing some of its shine.
“What is it?”
“Just trying to figure things out in my head.”
I nodded. “I know.” A light sigh escaped. Just thinking about working out our future was exhausting. It didn’t stop excitement from buzzing around my body, though. Pearce was worth every sleepless night and possible dilemma. “We need to talk this shit out. Work out how to make this work together.”
When he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, I frowned. He was nervous and I didn’t know why. As he continued to study me, still gnawing away on the flesh of his lip, my heart stuttered. He’d already had a thought or gone ahead and done something.
After so long with this man as my best friend, I knew when he was battling something. And I figured he felt guilty.
“What is it?”
“Huh?”
I waved a hand in his general direction. “You can’t keep shit from me. What have you done or are thinking about doing?”
“You have ninja mind reading skills.”
That wasn’t awe in his voice. It was a piss-poor attempt at distracting me.
My arched brow called him on it.
“Okay, so don’t be mad… Hey, no frown, you don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
“Anytime anyone starts off a sentence with ‘don’t be mad,’ I think it’s safe to say a frown is right on cue.” With a smile, I shook my head. “The number of times I’ve heard that from Lottie…”
