I find myself a little disappointed that he’s not inviting himself into my apartment or trying to get me to go upstairs with him. He’s right, though. I need to recover from my trip to San Diego.
“Yeah,” I agree. “You probably need to go make a bunch of noise upstairs.”
He smiles. “I’ll try to keep it down for you.”
He leans down and gives me one more kiss on the lips. I open the door and head toward my apartment. I can hear him taking the stairs up to the fourth floor.
When Anne first dropped me off, I imagined that I would fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, but now my mind is too busy for sleep to come easily. I keep thinking about his eyes, his crooked smile, the way his hands caressed my waist. I replay our breakfast date in my mind, the things that he said, and I feel a smile creeping across my lips.
I close my eyes and try to quiet my brain, but the harder I try, the more I think about him. I focus on the sounds in my apartment – the buzzing of the refrigerator in the next room, the humming of the air conditioner. I can’t stop thinking about the way Jake’s lips felt against mine, and how I so badly wished that he had invited me up to his apartment, or that I had the courage to invite him in here.
It’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone, and I’m not used to being the one who has to ask for it. Somehow that makes me want him more. I slip my hand beneath my sheets, making my way into my shorts and between my legs. I take a deep breath, my eyes still closed, and I imagine that he’s in the room with me and he’s the one touching me like this.
I dip my fingertips in, feeling how wet I already am just from that kiss in the stairwell. I can still feel where his hands touched my waist, but now they’re moving lower, trailing down my hips and cupping my ass, his hand sliding between my legs and –ooh.
I spread my legs a little wider for him, imagining that his head is down there and he’s going down on me. I let out a little moan. I arch my back, increasing the pressure. I have this image of him sprawled out over the end of my bed, doing things to my body that would make me blush to admit out loud.
My heart rate picks up as I climb higher. I take a deep breath and close my eyes tighter, trying to hold onto this fantasy. I picture him sitting on the edge of my bed, and I’m on his lap, straddling him. I look down as I unzip his pants, and just as I’m about to slide him into me, I look back up at his face. He’s not Jake anymore, but Luca, or at least what I imagine he might look like. I try to change the image in my head, but it’s too late. My clit begins to pulsate and I release my breath, riding my climax all the way to the top and back down slowly.
I lie there, breathing heavily as I come back down. My whole body feels good even though my mind is conflicted.
It’s been a while since I’ve allowed Luca to slip into my thoughts like this. I’m not sure what to do about it. I stare up at my ceiling, feeling oddly guilty about the man I kissed in the stairwell not long ago.
I listen for any noises coming from upstairs. It’s quiet. He kept his promise.
ChapterTwelve
THE DELI MEAT DILEMMA
I’m working on my graphics when a cup of coffee appears next to me. I look up at Anne, then reach for the cup and take a sip. She grabs a chair and sits down.
“Careful,” I warn her. “Patty-boy doesn’t like seeing us mingle, remember?”
“Patty-boy?” She raises an eyebrow. “I saw him carry his phone into the bathroom, and I’m pretty sure he was playing a game on it. We should be good for at least ten minutes.”
“I have work to do.”
“I thought maybe we could plan our trip to Georgia. Did you talk to Husky Eyes about having your date Friday night so that we can go on Saturday?”
The mention of Jake brings a smile to my face as I think of our breakfast date yesterday morning. Then my face pinkens as I remember the way my thoughts wandered afterward.
“What?” Anne prods, watching my change in facial expression.
“Nothing. I’m busy. We can plan the trip later.”
“As soon as I mentioned Husky Eyes, you got this goofy smile on your face. You talked to him, didn’t you?”
I smile and turn back to my graphics. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Anne groans. “Don’t leave me hanging.” She drums her hands on the desk. “Spill.”
I shrug, taking another sip of my coffee. “It’s boring. You wouldn’t want to hear about it.”
Anne leans in closer to me, tightening her fists on top of the desk. “Don’t do this to me, Gnome. Tell me what happened.”
I let out a long sigh, fighting a smile while I roll my eyes. “He saw me when you dropped me off yesterday. We got breakfast.”
Anne’s eyes widen and she squeals. “I knew it!” Then she lowers her voice to a whisper. “Did you have sex with him?”
