“I’m going, I’m going. By the way, Riker is awake, and he definitely shit. We drew straws and you lost, Drew.”
“If I wasn’t there to draw, how did I lose?” she asks, peeking around me.
“Exactly,” he explains. “But, anyway, yeah. He’s awake.”
“Ugh,” I groan. “Kids ruin everything. We’ll be out in a sec.”
Foster nods. “Roger that.”
He backs out of the room, shutting the door and leaving us alone again.
“Aren’t you glad you turned the dryer on?” Drew repeats my words back to me, grinning.
“Don’t make me laugh right now. I’m trying to talk my boner down.” Even so, I feel my lips pull into a grin.
“We should probably get back out there before anyone else gets curious.”
I nod. “Good call.”
I help her down from the dryer, my eyes falling to her chest.
“You might want to change your shirt.”
She glances down at the two very wet spots I created. “Another good call.”
Popping the dryer open, she bends to grab a shirt, and I have to force myself to look away because is it just me or does her ass look extra good in those jeans today?
She stands, ripping off her shirt and putting a new one on in its place.
“Were you checking me out?” she accuses.
“Yes, but I did just have my fingers in your pussy, so I think it’s safe to say I’m allowed to do that.”
She closes her eyes at my words, taking a deep breath.
“Not another word, Winston. Don’t tell a soul.”
“Don’t tell a soul what? That you just came all over my hand?”
“Yes,” she mutters through gritted teeth. “Keep your trap shut.”
“Don’t worry, Drew, I like to keep my conquests to myself.”
“Good.” She clears her throat, pushing her shoulders back. “And just so we’re extra clear, this doesn’t mean anything.”
It does. “Whatever you say.”
“Good,” she repeats. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, duty calls.”
She brushes by me.
When her hand is on the doorknob, I grab her wrist.
“What?” she asks, looking down at where I’m touching her.
I like the way we look together, my suntanned skin against her own.
We’re alike, yet so different.
I rub my fingers over her palm, loving how soft it feels.
“I, uh…”
She sighs. “Winston, I have to go. Whatever it is, we can talk about it later.”
“Right. Later.”
And I let her walk away.
Again.
I wait at least a minute before exiting the laundry room myself, surprised when I run into Foster, who’s standing there waiting.
“What’s up, man?” I ask casually.
“Look, it’s not my business, but I just wanted to say…please don’t hurt her. She’s Wren’s best friend. I don’t want to have to choose sides if this all goes south.”
My stomach feels like it’s been punched.
Foster’s my best friend. He knows me better than anyone.
Does he really think so little of me? Think I’d hurt Drew on purpose?
I grind my teeth, my jaw throbbing from how hard I have my molars pressed together.
“I don’t mean it in a bad way, Win. I just know you. You aren’t exactly known for being a commitment kind of guy. You’re just…well, you, and Drew is in a tough spot right now with Riker and everything else going on in her life. Don’t—”
“What?” I seethe. “Take advantage of her emotional state? Is that what you think of me?”
He shakes his head, holding his hands up, trying to soothe me. “No, no, I don’t. You know I don’t. I’m just saying make sure you’re both on the same page about what you’re doing. I’m just trying to look out for everyone involved.”
“Mostly your own balls,” I say.
He laughs. “Well, kind of. But also everyone.” He hooks his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m gonna go help Wren finish getting everything ready. Might wanna, uh, wash your hands. Dinner’s done.”
Foster gives me one last long look before turning and leaving me in the hallway alone.
He’s wrong.
This isn’t some one-off for me. It’s not a fling, not something I’m just randomly acting on.
I like Drew—a lot more than I’m willing to admit to her or anyone else.
Sure, she drives me insane, but that’s nothing new. Everyone drives me insane.
But she also calls me on my shit. She doesn’t want me to waste away into nothing. She pushes me. Annoys me, yes, but pushes me. To be better. To be something more.
I hate it, and I love it.
I hate her, and I think I could love her.
If she’d let me.
* * *
“Shhh.” I pat the back of a screaming Riker. This seems to be a new thing with us, me getting up in the middle of the night to care for him.
I’m not complaining by any means, because it’s not like I sleep that well anyway.
I wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but I enjoy our time together. Even with all his wailing and waking me up in the middle of the night, Riker is a pretty cool little dude.
“Go back to sleep, buddy. It was just a bad dream is all.”
I walk him around the room for several minutes in an attempt to settle him down. My shoulder is aching with his weight, but I push through it like I always do for him.
“That’s right, close those tired little peepers. Get some shut-eye for all our sakes.”
After what feels like ages, he starts to quiet, and I make my way to the crib he loves so much.
It makes me happy that something as simple as my poorly crafted mobile can bring such a smile to his face.
“I thought you didn’t like babies.”
I turn toward the bed. Drew’s lying on her side, watching us.
“I don’t.”
“It seems to me you like Riker.”
I place him gently into his bed, patting his belly as he fights with all his might to keep his sleepy eyes open.
“He’s an exception.”
“It’s the ginger hair and bright eyes, isn’t it? Makes him irresistible.”
“How the fuck did he end up with red hair?”
She chuckles. “Beats me. Nobody in my family has it as far as I know. Must be from Chadwick’s side somewhere.”
“That asshole wasn’t a ginger, right?” She shakes her head. “That’s how I thought I remembered him.”
“Remembered him?” Drew sits up. “I never brought him into Slice…”
Oh fuck.
“You sure about that? I—”
“I’m positive, Winston.” She crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her tits up, my attention falling to her rack. “Don’t play games with me.”
I push away from the crib, squaring my shoulders and readying myself for this fight, because it’s going to be a long one.
“It’s the middle of the night. Do we really want to do this now?”
“Yes. I want to do this now,” she insists.
“Fine, then we should probably move this somewhere else so we don’t wake Riker.”
She doesn’t say anything, just shoves up from the bed and stomps into the living room.
Well, this is going to be fun.
I don’t trudge her way immediately, dragging my feet at the dresser, delaying this knockdown drag-out as much as I can.
When I finally make it into the living room, she’s fuming.
I can see it in her eyes. They look almost black at this point.
“What did you mean by that’s how you remembered him?” she says right away. “When did you meet Chadwick? Did you—”
She pauses, angry eyes raking over me.
“Winston, did you just change your outfit?”
“Yes.”
“What? Why?”
&nb
sp; “I read online that girls can’t resist a guy when he’s wearing gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt.” I shrug. “If we’re gonna fight, might as well shoot for some mind-blowing makeup sex afterward.”
She’s furious, standing there arms crossed, foot a-tappin’ away, not even caring about my brilliant stroke of genius.
Oh, boy. I’m in for it now.
“Tell me how you know him.”
“We talked.”
“What does that mean? Elaborate for me. Talk to me like I’m really dumb and spell it out.”
“It means I”—I stab at my chest—“did what you didn’t have the fucking balls to do, okay? I told that sad sack of shit to walk out of your life and Riker’s if he wasn’t going to fully be in it. I told him to fuck off for you.”
Her mouth drops open.
Closed.
Open.
Closed.
“Are you fucking serious?” she explodes, storming toward me. She beats at my chest with her tiny fists. “Why, Winston? Why would you do that? How could you? I—”
“Because!” I scream back, grabbing her shoulders and holding her still. She stares up at me with wide, frightened eyes. “Because,” I repeat softer. “Do you have any idea how excruciating it was to watch you come into work day after fucking day, your belly growing bigger and your tears lasting longer? Do you have any clue how much it killed me to watch you break apart over that tool?” I grab her chin. “How much I wanted to rescue you?”
She pushes out of my hold. “I don’t need rescuing, Winston. It wasn’t your place to say anything to him. What happened between us was my business. You had no right.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I say. “Maybe it wasn’t my place, but I did you a favor and we both know it.”
“Riker is going to grow up without a dad because of you.”
“Bullshit. You don’t have to be a kid’s biological father to be a dad to them. That’s not how it works. And because of what I did, he’s going to grow up with the dad he deserves. You and I both know it.”
She glances away, because she knows I’m right.
I saved her the grief of having to do it herself. She should be thanking me, not bitching at me.
“You still had no right.”
“I didn’t, but I’m not going to apologize for helping you, Drew, just like I won’t apologize for getting you out of that shitty apartment or paying for your car. It’s just not going to happen. Get over it.”
“I don’t need your help,” she says forcefully. “Stop trying to save me.”
“You can’t expect me to stop doing that.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because I care, okay?” I shout. “I fucking care about you!”
She stumbles back, mouth dropped open in shock.
“Why is that such a surprise to you?” I push.
“Because you don’t care about anything.”
“That’s not true. I care about a lot.”
“Not anything that matters.”
“I care about you.”
“Stop saying that,” she urges.
“Why? It’s the truth.”
“It’s not. You’re just saying it.”
“Why would I just say it? What motivations do I have?”
She waves her hand up and down. “You literally just changed your entire outfit in hopes of getting me to sleep with you. Your intentions are very clear right now, so I don’t believe a word coming out of your mouth.”
“Are you serious?” I ask.
“Yes! This is what blows my mind when it comes to you, Winston. You think so far ahead that you change your outfit in hopes of getting me in the sack, but you can’t be bothered to do something about your future to make sure you’re always covered and not just working in your father’s pizzeria the rest of your life.”
“What’s so wrong with that plan? That’s what you want to do.”
“Yes, but that’s entirely different. I love cooking, love creating new, weird dishes, and I just happen to love pizza. Working my way into the kitchen at Slice is the perfect job for me to start with, but you have zero interest in any of it. Why are you still there?”
“That’s not true,” I dispute. “I love pizza.”
She growls, clearly irritated with me right now. “You know what I mean, Winston.”
“I do.” I nod. “I do know what you mean, but what I don’t get is why it’s so fucking important to you for me to do something with my life. You got a heart-on for me too?”
“No, I don’t have a hard-on for you. I—”
“I didn’t say hard-on. We both already know I make you horny as fuck, Drew. I said heart-on. Do you care about me too?”
Her eyes flit away when I say this, and I know the next words to leave her mouth are going to be complete and utter bullshit.
“No.”
“Liar,” I say, calling her on it. “You’re lying.”
“I am not,” she avers. “I don’t have a heart-on for you.”
“You do.” I stalk toward her, grasping her chin in my hand, pulling her attention to me because I want her to see the look in my eyes. “You care. You don’t want to because I drive you crazy because I don’t have my shit together, but you still fucking care.”
“Shut up, Winston,” she grumbles, trying to twist out of my hold, but I don’t let her move. “I don’t care.”
Instead, I yank her toward me, wrapping my arm around her waist and trapping her there. “Yes, you do. Admit it.”
“No.”
“Admit it. Say it and I’ll let you go.”
“N-No.” She tries to hold firm, but her voice waivers.
“Unless you don’t want me to let you go.” I pull her chin up, closer to my lips. “What do you want? Do you want me to let you go…let this go? Or do you want me?”
She knows I’m referring to our first kiss.
There’s no doubt in my mind that if I hadn’t stopped us, Drew would have let me lay her down and have my way with her.
But I knew things would be different if we crossed that line.
Just like now.
She wants me to touch her again. She’s craving it.
She’s just not sure she’s ready for the impact it’ll have if we give in.
“I-I…I don’t know,” she whispers.
“Yes, you do. You’re just afraid to say it. But you need to say it.”
She gulps, and I lean closer, our lips almost touching now.
“Do you want me, Drew? Or do you want this?”
She closes her eyes. “Y-You.”
“Open your eyes and look at me.”
Her brown gaze collides with my blues.
“Say it again.”
“You.” She sighs in relief, and her body sags against mine. “I want you.”
Slice Thirteen
Drew
“I want you.”
The second the words leave my lips, his mouth is on mine.
The kiss is hard and soft and slow and fast all at once.
I could kiss him forever.
If he weren’t so stupid.
Of course I care about him. How could I not? He’s wormed his way into my head, and somehow my heart too. It scares me how much I think about him now.
How much I think I could want him. Need him.
I pull away.
“I’m not done being mad at you,” I warn. “This doesn’t change that fact.”
“When are you not mad at me?”
He tries to pull me back to him, but I don’t let him.
“I still hate you.”
Meaning this is just sex. No strings.
“I still hate you too,” he says in understanding, and then he’s taking my mouth once more.
His tongue traces along my lips and I open for him, our mouths dancing together like they’re old friends.
I trace my hands up his chest, loving the way he feels under my palms. His chest is so defined, muscles taut as he holds me tightly against his bod
y. His cock rubs against my belly, and it feels so hard. So heavy.
I need to know how he tastes.
I don’t think, just drop to my knees, pulling those stupid sexy sweats down along the way.
“What the…uhhhh…”
His words turn into a moan as I run my tongue over his skin.
Up and down, over and over, using my spit to coat his length.
To tease him.
His hands crash into my hair and he lifts it into a pile on my head, pulling it to get my attention.
I glance up at him.
“I wish I were one of those dudes who had the ability to be all chill about it, saying you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, but fuck. You on your knees? Looking up at me like you are?” He hisses. “Please, for the love of all things holy, suck my cock already, Drew. You’re killing me.”
I heed his instructions, pulling his hard length into my mouth, loving having him at my mercy.
But more than that, I love the feel of him on my tongue.
Inch by inch, I take him until I can feel myself starting to gag and back off.
“Do that again.”
I do, only this time he holds me there, not letting me move. I can feel his cock sitting there, pulsing. My mouth feels like it’s stretched beyond capacity and I can’t breathe.
He trails one hand down the side of my face to my jaw, rubbing it.
“Relax for me,” he coaches. “Relax and breathe through your nose.”
I do as he says and feel him push deeper.
“That’s it,” he approves. “Fucking hell.”
With no warning, he wrenches himself from my mouth, pulling me up.
He strips my camisole from my body, and my first reaction is to wrap my arms around my waist.
Pregnancy wasn’t kind to my skin, and I was left with what seems like hundreds of tiny little stretch marks all across my stomach.
“What are you doing?” He tugs my makeshift shield away. “Don’t hide yourself from me.”
“I have stretch marks.”
He scowls. “Big fucking deal. We all have scars.” He runs his fingertips over my imperfections. “Some of them are just more beautiful than others.”
He skates his fingers up my body and flicks the button on my front-clasping bra, my tits falling free.
His blue eyes darken as he watches them bounce, his lip captured between his teeth.
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