He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest.His body rubbed suggestively against mine.“We don’t live that far apart.Does she go to bed early?”
I was already feeling bad about the lie.The sex was good, I liked him, and I would have enjoyed nothing more than crawling back into the bed and picking up where we’d left off.But I couldn’t.
I shook my head.“When Pat gets away from her family, she wants quality girl time and serious girl talk.And boy, you wouldn’t believe how much and how long she can talk.”
Pressing my lips against his, I intended to give him a peck on the lips, but he caught me off-guard, tightening the embrace and giving me the hottest kiss we’d shared yet.I was questioning my decision to go when he broke it off and backed away.
That’s when I saw my phone in his hand.
“You picked my pocket.”
Reed grinned.“For a good cause.You don’t have my number.”
He held the phone in front of my face, expecting it to unlock.I was too smart to rely on security as antiquated as that.
“Give me yours.”
He handed me his phone, and I punched in my number and a second later, my phone buzzed with incoming.
“Happy?”
“For now.”
“Today was really fun,” I remarked, offering him a fleeting kiss, skillfully evading his grasp this time.“Can I give you a hand with these dishes?”
“No, I’m a domesticated male.”
“Yeah, okay.”I paused, actually feeling a little torn.“Well, I’ll see ya.”
Retreating into the living room, I began to peel off his sweatshirt when Reed called from the doorway to the porch.
“Hold onto it,” he instructed.“You saw my closet.There are plenty where that one came from.”
“Thank you,” I replied, grabbing my coat on the way out.I could feel his eyes on me, tracking my movements until I closed the door behind me.Descending the stairs to the street, I reminded myself that it was the right decision.Despite Reed’s looks, the sex, and the interesting conversation, I hadn’t come to San Clemente for a relationship.
This one time together was it.
Out on the street, I cast a glance up toward his balcony, but there was no sign of him.From this vantage point, I couldn’t see into the apartment.Instead of going up the hill to the dingy place I was renting, I directed my steps down the street toward the water.Since arriving in San Clemente, I had yet to put my feet in the sand or feel the clean, cold waters of the Pacific Ocean around my ankles.
A block away from Reed’s apartment, my phone buzzed with a text from Payam.
- You got anything on him?
- Oh, I got a lot on him
I stopped at a corner.
- Spill it
- The license is fake.Facial recognition was a no-go
- Come on.So who is he
- Let me put it this way, you slept with the enemy
ChapterThree
Reed
