You're the Only One

by E. M. Abel

  He took a big bite from his calzone, his lips still curling up on the ends. His eyes were full of mischief as they watched me from across the table, and a tingling sensation ignited between my legs.

  I want to reach across this table and kiss those luscious lips. I want to straddle his lap and…

  I took another bite of my pizza to make sure I didn’t say any of those things out loud.

  Dillon raised his eyebrow. “What are you thinking about?”

  I kept chewing and swallowed. “Pizza,” I muttered before taking another bite.

  Dillon chuckled but didn’t press me for the truth.

  “I was thinking I’d drive to Maryland on Sunday morning and stay down there for a while. You wanna come?”

  I wiped the grease from my lips with a napkin and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure I can figure something out. I’ll have to work while I’m there, but your mom has a sewing machine I can use.”

  “How are things going? Are you still on schedule? Matteo told me TJ is working with you now.”

  “Yeah, I can’t believe I forgot to tell you. TJ put her notice in at work. We’re going to be partners. Well, kind of. She’s going to invest twenty thousand dollars into SKY designs, and she’ll get thirty-three percent equity.”

  His eyes widened in surprise. “Wow. I didn’t know TJ had money like that.”

  “Me either! I mean, I knew she had been saving, but…it’s crazy. I don’t want to let her down, you know? That’s a lot of money to lose if things don’t work out.”

  “She must really believe in you.”

  I sucked in a breath and sighed. “I guess.”

  “Maybe it’s about time you believed, too.”

  I peered up into Dillon’s eyes as he said the same words I’d been telling him for years. He was right.

  “I’m getting there.”

  “I know, and I’m proud of you.”

  Those words meant more to me than he’d ever realize.

  Reaching across the table, Dillon put his palm up, and I slipped my hand on top of his. My fingers seemed so delicate inside his, but they’d never felt safer.

  “I love you.” Those words slipped out of my mouth without any effort or an ounce of regret.

  “I love you, too.”

  I walked into my apartment that evening, smiling so big that my cheeks hurt. Dillon and I had sat in Luigi’s for hours, holding hands and talking. Afterward, we’d taken Kuma out for a long walk. I’d thought I knew everything about Dillon, but now, I was seeing an entirely different side of him, and the more he showed me, the deeper I fell. I hadn’t wanted to leave him, but I still had a lot of work to do, especially if I’d be going to Maryland in a few days.

  Taking off my coat and boots, I dropped my purse on the dining room table and glanced around the apartment. “T!”

  When she didn’t answer, I looked down at the table again and noticed her briefcase had a neon-yellow Post-it on it. I picked it up and read the note written in TJ’s handwriting.

  WENT OUT ON A DATE! DON’T WAIT UP. ☺

  I grinned and put the paper on the table. Maybe love was in the air today.

  I woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon and smiled, despite my lack of sleep. Bacon reminded me of Dillon. Rolling onto my stomach, I checked my alarm clock. It was nine. I unplugged my phone from the charger and started to text Dillon, but he’d beaten me to it.

  Dillon: Good morning, beautiful. I rented a car for Sunday.

  My smile widened.

  Sky: Good morning! What time are we leaving?

  I got out of my warm blankets and shivered as I pulled on some yoga pants, a sweater, and some socks. Opening my blinds, I saw that the clouds were gray and heavy with impending snow. Normally, I would be annoyed but not today. Instead, I started humming to myself as I picked up my phone and began to follow the scent of bacon. Just as I reached my bedroom door, I got another text.

  Dillon: I want to leave early in the morning. Since I have a gig on Saturday night, I was thinking you should come home with me after the show.

  My eyebrows shot up, and I froze in the doorway. I read the text again.

  Go home with him?

  If Dillon had sent me that text two days ago, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it, but now…things were different. Butterflies were invading my stomach again. I thought about our first kiss and the way Dillon’s body felt against mine—the hard muscles of his back under my hands, the way his arms had flexed as they pulled me closer, the soft caress of his lips. I might be nervous, but there was no doubt what my answer would be.

  Sky: Okay.

  The sound of cabinets opening and closing snapped me out of my daze.

  “T! You aren’t going to believe this.”

  I stopped when I reached the kitchen doorway, and my eyebrows furrowed. “Matteo?”

  “Hey, Sky.”

  “What are you doing in my kitchen? And where’s your shirt?”

  Before he could respond, I figured out the answer on my own. My jaw dropped. “Holy shit.”

  Matteo chuckled as he flipped a pancake in one of our frying pans.

  “You and TJ. Holy shit. I feel like I’m in the twilight zone or something.”

  “Hey, where’s your syrup?”

  I blinked and pointed to the cabinet by the sink.

  “You want some? I made enough for all of us,” Matteo said, completely unfazed by my reaction.

  “Um…yes, I do. Excuse me for a minute.”

  I turned around and started walking back toward the bedrooms just as TJ stepped out of the bathroom, freshly showered. I pulled her into my room.

  “Dude! Matteo is in our kitchen, making pancakes. Spill.”

  TJ laughed.

  “I can’t believe you did the nasty with Matteo,” I whispered, shoving her shoulder.

  She whispered back, “It was good, too.”

  We both started giggling until we heard something fall in the kitchen.

  Matteo shouted, “Don’t worry! Everything is fine!”

  “I didn’t know he could cook,” I said.

  TJ peeked behind her. “Me either. I’d better go make sure he doesn’t need help.”

  I grabbed her arm to stop her. “Wait! I have to tell you something.”

  “What?”

  “Me and Dillon…he’s…we’re together now.”

  “What?” she shouted.

  She covered her mouth when I shushed her, but her eyes were still bugging out of her head.

  “What?” she whispered.

  “I went to his apartment to record that video, and he dropped this bomb on me. He told me how he missed me and…that he loves me.”

  “Oh my God, Sky!” She gave me a hug, and we giggled again. “I knew it. I fucking knew he wanted you, too.”

  “What? How?”

  “I don’t know. It’s the way his eyes always light up when you’re around. And, man, did he hate Logan. If looks could kill, that dude would’ve been dead a long time ago.”

  I shook my head and put my cold hands on my hot cheeks. “This is crazy, isn’t it?”

  TJ shook her head. “It’s not crazy. It’s fate.”

  DILLON

  I tried to focus on my music, but it was nearly impossible after reading Sky’s last text. One word had never turned me on so much. I had to see her again. I woke Kuma up and dragged her out into the cold with me, so I had an excuse to walk to Sky’s apartment.

  I knocked on her door and shoved my hand into my jacket pocket as I waited. A few seconds later, the door swung open, and Sky stood in front of me in tight black pants and a blue sweater that brightened her eyes. She looked like she’d just woken up. Her face lit up with a smile, and Kuma started sniffing her legs and the air behind her.

  “Hi. What are you doing here?” She leaned down to pet Kuma’s head.

  “We were on a walk, and I thought you could use a break.”

  My eyebrows furrowed when I heard people talking behind her, and the smell of bacon re
ached my nose. Sky didn’t cook.

  She took a step back to let me in and said, “You aren’t going to believe this.”

  “Believe what?” I leaned down to take Kuma’s leash off.

  I followed her inside and found Matteo and TJ sitting together on the couch.

  “Matteo? What are you—” I didn’t need to finish my question. I knew exactly why he was here.

  Sky shut the door behind me.

  “What’s up, Dillon?” Matteo said. “There’s some leftover food in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

  “You made breakfast?” I was surprised Matteo knew how to cook. I’d assumed his mom made all his meals.

  He got up from the couch and started walking past me and toward the kitchen. “Don’t sound so surprised. I’m a gentleman. I even bought the groceries.”

  Sky lifted her hands and shrugged, looking as confused as I was. I followed Matteo into the kitchen where he was putting leftover food onto a plate.

  “I’m impressed,” I said, glancing around the clean kitchen.

  “Oh, don’t worry about it, man. I’ll go put my shirt on. I know guys can get intimidated around all these muscles.”

  He glanced over his shoulder with a smirk, and I chuckled. Matteo was fit, but I had at least fifty pounds on him. He handed the plate of food and a fork to me, and I thanked him before picking up a piece of bacon and taking a bite.

  “So, you just happened to be walking your dog in Sky’s neighborhood, huh?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  I raised an eyebrow.

  What is he getting at?

  “She lives two blocks down from me.”

  “Mmhmm. I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with you wanting to see her.”

  I shrugged. “That, too.”

  “So? Why don’t you tell her already?”

  “I did.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. I told her yesterday.”

  Matteo smacked me on the shoulder. “That’s great, man. How’d she take it?”

  “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  He grinned and nodded, looking proud. “Hell yeah. I’m happy for you guys. It’s about fucking time. No wonder you were smiling so much in that video yesterday.”

  I chuckled and poured some syrup on my pancakes before we walked back into the living room. Sky was at the dining room table, petting Kuma, so I went to sit beside her while Matteo returned to his spot on the couch. Sky watched me as I cut into my pancakes and took a bite.

  “It’s good, isn’t it?”

  I nodded as I chewed.

  Leaning in closer, she whispered, “Yours are better though.”

  I turned toward her and winked, kissing her lips before she could move away. When I pulled back, her eyes were closed, and her lips were still puckered. I smiled as she slowly looked at me, and her mouth curved into a grin. Turning toward my plate, I took another bite of food.

  “Your lips taste like maple syrup.”

  I swallowed and smirked at her before licking them. She was right.

  Sky’s eyes moved to my mouth.

  I lifted my fork for more as she said, “I wonder what the rest of you tastes like.”

  My hand froze in front of my face, and I cut my eyes to her.

  Sky’s eyebrows shot up, she bit down on her lip, and her cheeks turned bright pink. “Did I just say that out loud?”

  “Yes, you did.”

  She dropped her forehead into her hand, and I chuckled. Sky was so cute when she was embarrassed even though she had no reason to be. I was more than willing to give her a taste.

  Tilting my head closer to her, I whispered, “When you’re ready for a sample, you let me know.”

  Sky groaned, “Oh God.”

  And I laughed before taking my next bite.

  About an hour later, Matteo went home, and TJ reluctantly went into work late. I could tell she was eager to finally be done with that place, so she could move forward with Sky’s business. She seemed as excited about it as Sky was, and I was happy my woman had someone like TJ in her corner. I knew she’d be in good hands.

  “Do you still want to go for a walk?” Sky asked from the seat in front of her sewing machine.

  I was sitting on her bed with a pen and paper, working on more lyrics. It was amazing what Sky’s presence did for my writing.

  “Sure.”

  “Cool. Can we stop by Renee’s? I need to buy more zippers.”

  “Yeah.” I stuck the pen behind my ear and folded the paper up before shoving it into the back pocket of my jeans.

  “Okay. Just give me a second to get dressed.”

  I stood up to give her some privacy, but Sky stopped me.

  “You don’t have to leave,” she said, giving me a coy smile.

  I sat back down and watched Sky as she went to her dresser and opened a drawer. She pulled out a pair of jeans, and my teeth sank into my bottom lip. Her hands went to her waist where she slipped her thumbs into the elastic band of her pants and slowly pushed them down. I realized she was watching me, but I didn’t care.

  Her hands slipped past her hips and over her thighs, revealing her black lace thong, and I nearly groaned from the sight. Blood instantly rushed to my dick, and it started throbbing in my pants. Sky straightened her back as she lifted her arms to pull the hair tie out of her hair and shake it loose. My hands were itching to touch her, to pull her hair back so that I could kiss her, to squeeze her ass and spank it.

  Fuck.

  I looked at Sky’s blue eyes again. She gave me a mischievous smile as she took the bottom of her sweater in her hands and lifted it up and over her head. Her bra matched her panties—black lace—and, when I saw her hard pink nipples through the material, it took nearly all my self-control not to pull her toward me and wrap my lips around one.

  “Goddamn, Sky,” I rasped, my hands moving to grip my thighs.

  My cock was so hard, I thought it might rip through my jeans, and I hadn’t even touched her. No woman had ever affected me like that. I had thought the chemistry I shared with Natasha was off the charts, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The attraction between Sky and me far surpassed anything Natasha and I ever had.

  My eyes hungrily perused Sky’s body, eager to memorize the sight before she took it away. Her figure reminded me of a pinup model’s—soft, feminine curves, perfect round breasts, a sexy ass I could grab on to. She was all woman, and I couldn’t wait to touch every inch of her.

  When I finally looked into her eyes again, I recognized the desire in them, and it almost broke what little self-restraint I had left.

  “If you’re going to get dressed, you’d better do it now because I don’t know how much longer I can control myself.”

  Sky grinned and glanced down at my crotch where I had an obvious boner. She licked her lips, and I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Sky was pulling her jeans on, and I breathed a sigh of relief. That woman had no idea how much power she had over me, and until this moment, neither had I.

  Going to her closet, she took out a long-sleeved shirt and pulled it on before putting her sweater over it. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  She walked toward her door and stopped when she realized I wasn’t following her.

  I held up my finger. “Give me a minute.”

  Sky laughed, and I glared at her.

  “Don’t laugh at me, woman. This is your fault. I’m gonna get blue balls if you keep this up.”

  She pouted. “Aw, poor Dillon…”

  She put her arms out and moved to give me a hug, but I stood up before she could.

  “If I touch you right now, things will get out of hand. We will be in bed for the rest of the day, and you have work to do, so just…stay there.”

  She bit her lip to hide her smile and took a step back. “How about I get Kuma ready?”

  “Good idea.”

  As soon as she walked out of the room, I closed my eyes and thought of every unsexy thing I could.

  Hairy backs, ugly feet,
my high school PE teacher.

  I shuddered and opened my eyes.

  Much better.

  I held Kuma’s leash as Sky and I made our way toward her favorite store, Renee’s Fabrics. It was a windy and cold day outside, and the sun was buried under a sea of thick clouds, but I didn’t mind at all. Sky’s arm was tucked under mine as she walked beside me, her hair covered in a bright green beanie.

  “What do you think your mom will say?” she asked out of the blue.

  “About us?”

  She nodded.

  “I don’t know. She might be surprised, but I think she’ll be happy for us. She loves you.”

  “I hope she doesn’t think it’s weird. She kind of looks at me like a daughter.”

  “Well then, it won’t be weird at all.”

  Sky was quiet for a minute before she told me, “My mom said she always thought we should be together.”

  “She did?” I peered down at Sky, surprised.

  Maybe we were the last two people in the world to know.

  “When did she tell you that?”

  “Over Thanksgiving.”

  Kuma stopped to pee, so I took the opportunity to wrap my arms around Sky and help warm her up.

  I rested my chin on her soft beanie when a thought occurred to me. “Hold on…so you’ve known this since Thanksgiving and didn’t tell me?”

  “What was I supposed to say? Oh, by the way, my mom said you should be my boyfriend?”

  I released her, chuckling, and we started walking again. “Is that why you came into my room with your shirt off? Were you trying to seduce me?” I teased.

  Sky smacked my arm. “No! You were in my room.”

  “What are you talking about? I always stay in that room.”

  “Yes, but you lost it to me in a bet, remember?”

  “Oh, shit. I forgot.”

  “Mmhmm.”

  The Thanksgiving before last, I’d made a bet with Sky that she couldn’t hit five three-pointers in a row at the basketball court, and she’d proven me wrong. Her prize was the bigger guest room.

  “Well, I can’t say I’m sorry because I’m not. I needed you that night.”

  I put my arm around Sky’s shoulders, and she put hers around my waist, hugging my side, as we walked.