EPILOGUE
Friday, September 6 th
Blake
I step out of the shower and dry off with one of the fluffy towels Lexi was adamant about buying and keeping at my place. Apparently, my flimsy towels weren’t cutting it.
I smile to myself as I think about the conversation that transpired on that topic.
I told her my towels were just fine, and she responded by diving into a ten-minute discussion about how our skin is the largest organ of our body and having good towels is imperative to the delicate nature of the human biome.
Hence, how I ended up with new, fancy-as-fuck towels in my apartment.
I can’t deny they feel a hell of a lot better on my skin, but no way in hell am I going to admit that to Lex. Even though she’s the smartest person I know, the smartest person in every room she steps into, I prefer to keep my girl on her toes every once in a while. If that means telling secret white lies about how I don’t notice a difference with the new towels—even though they are the epitome of luxury—so be it.
Once I’m dried off and dressed for the day, I brush my teeth and run a comb through my hair before heading into the kitchen.
Lexi is sitting at the small island across from the fridge, her laptop out and her fingers busy at work. The cutest little wrinkle mars the space between her eyebrows, and she’s so focused on whatever she’s doing that she doesn’t even notice my presence at first.
I gently press a kiss to her forehead as I pass her, but other than that, I let her be. I know Lexi well enough to know when an interruption is a good thing or a bad thing. Right now, it’d be a bad thing. But she’ll come around to me in due time.
By the time I have a cup of coffee poured and my preferred sugar and creamer mixed in, I feel two petite arms wrap around my waist. I turn around to find Lexi standing there, her blue eyes bright and her smile beautiful.
“Mornin’, Lex,” I say and set my cup of coffee back on the counter to wrap my arms around her for a suitable good-morning hug.
“Morning,” she says, resting her chin on my chest as I gently sway us back and forth.
We’ve only officially been together for a little over a week, and I still can’t get over how much things have changed. We aren’t living together, but we’ve resumed the routine of staying at each other’s places nearly every night. Last night, she stayed at my place. And the two nights before that, I was at hers.
“So…it’s decided, then,” I say, a big smile on my lips as I think about our quiet conversation in bed last night after I made Lexi come three times—two while she rode my face, and the big finale was when I got to witness her riding my cock like my favorite rodeo queen. It was fucking fantastic, but it pales in comparison to the conversation that occurred after.
“It’s decided.” Lexi’s smile matches mine. “We’re moving in together.”
“Are you sure you want to live with your football-playing boyfriend who comes home sweaty ninety-nine percent of the time and has horrible taste in towels?”
“I’ve already fixed the towel situation,” she says with a wink. “And I don’t mind the sweat.”
I reach down to squeeze her ass playfully. “Good.”
“But don’t jump the gun on this, okay?” she requests, standing on her tippy-toes to press a kiss to my lips. “I still have a few more buildings to scout, and the ideal location for our apartment provides easy commutes for both of us.”
Despite her numerous job offers all over the country—from incredible companies and organizations that pretty much everyone in the world knows—Lexi has decided she wants to stay in New York. She’s also decided that she doesn’t want to work for someone else. She wants to work for herself.
“I’m pretty sure your mind is already set on one specific location in Lower Manhattan, but I will wait patiently for the official go-ahead.”
“Perfect.” She steps out of my embrace when her phone starts ringing from the spot beside her laptop. She answers it on the second ring, even tapping the button so it’s on speaker while she sits back down to finish up whatever she is working on.
And I head over to the stove to start making us some eggs.
“Lexi!” her lawyer Caplin Hawkins greets jovially into the receiver. “I have some news.”
“Okay…”
“Do you want to hear the news?” he asks, a hint of teasing in his tone. Lexi rolls her eyes.
“If it’s about the contract you’re working on for me, clearly, I want to hear the news.”
“That’s great to hear because I have some news,” he says, but he doesn’t pussyfoot around. “Medivanta upped their offer. Thirty-two million.”
“And what about the provisions?”
“That is still being negotiated.”
“Negotiated?” Lexi retorts as I crack a few eggs into a pan. “There’s no negotiating, Cap. I refuse to sell this software to a medical company that will then sell it off to insurance companies so they can pinpoint patients who are at an increased risk for chronic disease and raise their premiums. If Medivanta can’t sign on the dotted line with those provisions, I’ll find someone else who will.”
Her lawyer laughs, which might seem odd for a lawyer to do, but this is Caplin Hawkins. He’s best friends with Lexi’s stepdad and Thatcher Kelly and almost never takes anything too seriously. Well, besides his client’s contracts.
“Love the spunk, Lex,” he eventually says. “And I hear you loud and clear. I have your back on this, okay? We’re on the same page. And I can’t guarantee Medivanta will agree, but if they don’t, I’ll help you finalize a contract with a company that will. Sound like a plan?”
“Yep.”
“Okay then, Lexi. We’ll talk later.”
The call ends shortly after that, and I shut off the burner as I fill two plates with eggs and a few slices of a banana. I slide one plate over to her, and she offers me a grateful smile.
“You’re the best.”
I waggle my brows. “You know, you told me that last night too, while I had my mouth on your pussy.”
“Blake!” she giggles around a mouthful of eggs.
“What? It’s true. You did. You said, You’re the best, Blake! Oh my God, you’re the best! ” I smile at her. “It was really sweet.”
She rolls her eyes. “I cannot be held accountable for anything I say in the heat of the moment.”
I just smile at her, my mind already going back to the conversation she just had with her lawyer and how fucking huge of a deal it all is. I mean, thirty-two million dollars for something she developed while she was in college? Holy fucking shit.
“You’re going to be the next Iron Man but better. Smarter. More successful.” I smile at my beautiful, intelligent girlfriend. “Damn, I can’t wait to watch you take on the world, Iron Woman.”
“Speak for yourself, Mr. Star Quarterback,” Lexi retorts with a knowing grin. “Your future is bright with endorsement deals and multimillion-dollar contracts.”
And while her vision for my future is certainly one I can get on board with, I realize I need to head out so I’m not late for class. I drop my plate into the sink and walk over to Lexi to pull her off the barstool and give her a big hug.
“What are your plans tonight, Iron Woman?”
“I have a very important cloak-and-dagger sort of ceremony thing.”
I grin. “Sounds very ‘If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.’”
“Oh, it is.”
“And when are you going to be done?”
“Probably in time for you to grab that awesome Chinese takeout and meet me back here to eat dinner together.”
“Okay, okay. I’m loving the sound of this so far…”
“So far?” she asks. “As in, you’re expecting more?”
“I don’t know.” I lift one shoulder. “I was kind of hoping your pussy was on the menu too.”
Lexi giggles, and I lean forward to kiss her lips.
“Love you,” I whisper against her lips. “Have a nice day at work, honey.”
“Have a nice day at school, sweetheart,” she teases.
“Damn, I love being with an older woman. It’s hot.” I tell her between playful kisses. “Oh, by the way, maybe you should see if Medivanta or, you know, another bigwig company is interested in your Polarize app too?” I purposefully overenunciate the word Polarize. “Surely that might be something they’re interested in…” I pause while Lexi pointedly leans back to meet my eyes.
“I never should’ve told you about that app.”
Three nights ago, Lexi revealed the truth of her secret little Blake Boden Experiment to me and the app she created with me in mind. By the timid way she delivered the details, I think there was a part of her that was worried I’d be upset about it. Quite the contrary, though. Pretty sure it made my love for Lexi—and my ego—grow a hundred times in size.
I mean, my dream girl created an app, and I was the inspiration? Hell fucking yes.
“You’re wrong, Lex.” I waggle my brows. “You should’ve told me about it. Though, I’m still waiting for you to let me play around with it.”
“You want to find out if you’re compatible with Blake Boden?” She quirks a teasing brow at me, and I just squeeze her cute little ass and lift her up into my arms.
“Fuck that Blake Boden guy,” I say, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “The only person I want to be compatible with is Lexi Lou Winslow. Always and forever, baby.”
And then, I press several more playful kisses to her lips and her nose and her forehead and each of her cheeks.
She giggles, and I spend another five minutes kissing her some more. Because that’s what you do when Lexi Lou Winslow is your girlfriend—you fucking kiss her.
Even if you end up having to sprint across campus to make it to class on time.