Page 58 of Undeniable
“True.” I leaned forward, fluffing my hair.
I did love The Last Bookshop. It was my happy place. And I was impressed that Connor had chosen it. I’d never mentioned it to him, so he had to have researched it himself. This date was already off to a much better start than my last one. It was moreme.
“Are you listening to me?” She grabbed an eye shadow palette.
“I am. But…well, what do you think he’s expecting?” I toyed with the hem of my shirt while she dug in her makeup bag for supplies. “We haven’t talked about where he’s staying. Do you think he’s hoping to stay with me?”
“Hell yeah!” She grinned. “But no.” She sobered when she saw my panicked expression. “I’m sure he’s staying at a hotel. Didn’t you say that Igloo is putting up some of the guys?”
“For a night or two, not an entire week. He had some leave saved up.”
“Which means there’s time to figure it out. Why don’t you just go meet him and see what happens? You can figure out the rest later.” She dabbed at the eye shadow palette. “Close.”
Right. The rest… As in sex. The future.
I breathed through my nose, relaxing slightly as she gently brushed on my makeup. I trusted Alyssa to make me look good. She’d already done wonders with my hair.
“Do you think he’s expecting to have sex?” I finally asked.
“Expecting?I sure as hell hope not.” She shifted, as did her tone—her voice becoming softer. Gentler. “But it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s thinking about it. Aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I breathed, my heart racing. Especially after what we’d done the other night.
“Your cheeks just got really pink.” She grinned. “What are you thinking about?”
I rolled my lips between my teeth and shook my head. “Nothing.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “That face—” she used her finger to draw a circle in the air “—is not ‘nothing.’ Tell me.”
“We, um—” My cheeks heated even more if that was possible, and I probably looked like a tomato at this point. “Things may have gotten a little heated the other night on the phone.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, Olivia. Did you have phone sex?”
“Maaaybe,” I said, dragging out the word as I bit back a smile.
“Yas! You go, girl.” She lifted her hand for a high five, and we slapped palms. “How was it?”
“Hottest orgasm of my life,” I admitted.
“Damn.” She shook her head. “And he wasn’t even touching you. And you have no idea what he looks like.”
I nodded. “Exactly. So you can see why I’m freaking out even more about meeting him. I mean, this is crazy, right? Meeting someone from the internet. Inviting him into my home.”
“Close,” she said, then continued applying my eye shadow. “First of all, you don’t have to invite him to your house. And you shouldn’t unless you feel safe with him and you want to.”
I heard the click of the palette closing, and I opened one eye to watch her. She picked up a different palette and brush, her tongue sticking out from between her teeth. I closed my eyes again as she resumed her application.
“Besides, people meet online all the time and fall in love,” she said.
“Whoa. Whoa.” My eyes shot open. “I was talking about sex, not love.”
“Well, whatever it is, if you’re feeling it, I say go for it.” She grinned.
“Have sex with a stranger,” I said. Both a question and not.
“Well, he’s not a stranger, not really. You guys have been talking for months now. And it’s allowed your relationship to develop without the physical stuff getting in the way. For the most part.” She winked.
I nodded, accepting the eyelash curler from her. She was right. All the hours spent emailing and talking on the phone had established a strong foundation. Connor was easy to talk to, and I loved talking to him. But still…we’d never met.
