Chapter 9
Houston
He was driving me crazy—I just wasn’t sure if he was doing it on purpose or not.
In the week since theinfamous panty incident, I’d learned a lot about my new roommate:
He drank too much coffee.
His last roommate was nuts.
His last serious relationship was with a woman.
He’d been single for long enough to be ready to date again.
And he worked crazy hours.
But there were also endless things I still didn’t know: his sexuality, his submission, why the hell Eli kept calling at crazy hours screaming aboutthat manand then something about blogs that made Reece run back to work so fast, and who the hell Lane was.
I was starting to think I should have made more progress, but he was either vague or busy, and pushing for more seemed rude…and weird.
Rude and weird were starting to feel like better options, though, just so I could focus on work, if nothing else. When he was gone, it was easier to get shit done, but once he was home, my brain started running in circles.
I’d even begun rearranging my day to make sure I wasn’t trying to get anything important done when he was home. I’d moved three meetings around already, and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to change.
Glancing over at the clock, I was surprised to see that it was already time to step away from everything for the day. When I’d first started working from home, I’d found myself spending an insane number of hours on the clock. It hadn’t taken long to realize I needed to set some boundaries.
At five on a Friday, I’d hit that line. Standing and stretching, I forced myself to walk out of the office. Heading toward the kitchen, I tried to remember what I’d been planning on grabbing for dinner. I was starting to get spoiled with Reece willing to cook most nights. That was, unless he got an emergency Eli call, then it was a fend-for-myself night.
I understood more than anyone that work was important, but when Eli had called just as Reece was starting to make lasagna from scratch, I might have had a few violent fantasies about where to shove that phone. But when Eli had started screaming that he’d crashed the site again and something aboutthat damned man, I’d felt bad for Reece.
And impressed by the number of variations he could come up with for the word fuck.
But I still hadn’t gotten my lasagna.
Digging in the fridge, I heard the door open and Reece’s voice call out. “Hey.”
Not quite a “honey, I’m home,” but it was close. I couldn’t decide if he realized he did those kinds of things or not. The Dom in me got a perverse kick when he would tell me his plans for the day or find me when he got home. The fact that he took to calling it home so easily pleased my inner Dom as well.
“In the kitchen.”
When his head popped in the door, he was grinning. “Still complaining that you haven’t gotten lasagna yet?”
“Of course not.” I shrugged casually, but I knew he could see I was lying. “But if you’d made it for me like you said you would, I’d be having leftovers right now.”
Reece laughed, and his head cocked to one side as he leaned against the doorframe. “How about I make it for you tomorrow? I already said I’d go out with some people from work tonight, but I don’t have any plans for the rest of the weekend.”
“I’ll believe it when I can actually smell it cooking.” Shutting the fridge, I propped one hip against the counter and tried to look curious but not stalkerish. “Where are you guys going?”
He shrugged. However, there seemed to be a faint blush climbing his cheeks. “Just dinner at Hannah’s place, then to a club downtown with a few people from work. I don’t think I’ll be out late.”
Nodding, I gave him a stern look. “Just be careful. Some of those areas get rough after dark.”
He grinned and shook his head, clearly thinking I worried too much. “No drinking and driving and we’ll park close to the club. Honest.”
“Just be careful.” I wanted to add…don’t have too much fun. However, I was smart enough to keep that part to myself.
Laughing, Reece started back out of the kitchen. “I’ll see you later. And I’ll make the lasagna tomorrow, promise.”
