Chapter 12 #4
“Chad didn’t come right out and say Win had dumped him on his ass, but he referenced that he’d fallen on hard times while I came out smelling like roses. Chad pointed out that I was able to land this cushy job because I’m a nepo baby.”
“Come again?”
“My Aunt Ronni sits on Silver Maple’s board. She got me an interview for the interim activities coordinator but claims I earned the job on my own merit. And there’s nothing cushy about keeping up with these seniors.”
“I think I’ve met your aunt. She has Disney villain hair and a feisty personality, right?”
“That’s my gal. Unforgettable.” Atticus smiled impishly. “She thinks you’re pretty special too.”
“Aw, that’s nice to hear, but don’t distract me from my point.” When Atticus held up his palms in surrender, I continued. “Why the hell would you believe anything dipshit Chad thinks, especially when it contradicts what your aunt told you?”
Atticus averted his gaze until I tucked my fingers under his chin and turned his face toward me. “It’s so much easier to believe the bad stuff people say, especially when it matches your internal voices.”
“If Ronni told you that you earned your job on your own, then you did. Period.”
“I never in a million years would’ve imagined myself working here, but I freaking love my job, and I give it my all. It shouldn’t matter how I got hired.”
“Would it help you feel better if I told you that Vaughn’s grandmother sits on Silver Maple’s board too? She might’ve been the main reason we got the security contracts.”
“Aww. We’re all nepo babies.”
We shared a laugh and took a few bites before I circled back to the conversation. “As for your other self-doubts, I’ll battle those assholes one by one until they disappear.”
Smiling shyly, Atticus said, “That might take a lot of lunches.”
“Good thing there are tons of new recipes waiting for me to try.”
Atticus stared into my eyes with so much naked yearning that my heart physically ached from it. “I like you so much.”
“I like you more.” I pointed to his stash of Saratoga chips. “Now, try one of those. Archer nearly lost a fingertip on the mandoline.”
Atticus narrowed his eyes. “You made the chips sound easy to make.”
“Oh, they are when someone else risks their digits on the evil slicer.”
Shaking his head, Atticus said, “What am I going to do with you?”
And just like that, my mind was back in the gutter. The wicked smile on Atticus’s face said he was right there with me.
Atticus missed lunch with me on Thursday to attend a resident’s birthday party, and I was desperate to see him by the time Friday afternoon rolled around.
We didn’t explicitly restrict our interactions to our lunchtime chats, but we didn’t text often.
I wanted to hear Atticus’s thoughts through his words and see his expressions shift when he talked.
And we both knew our friendship was teetering on the edge of something more.
The slightest breeze would push us over the edge, and Atticus seemed content to follow my lead.
I had to be sure I was truly ready when I made my move, and I grew more certain with every lingering glance, volley of banter, and shared laugh.
“Street tacos and corn salsa from the cafeteria,” Atticus called out as he approached.
“Damn, that sounds good.” And damn, Atticus looked good. It took all I had not to reach for him. Hell, my hand even shook when I accepted a paper-wrapped taco from him.
“You look really serious right now,” Atticus said. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Just had a frustrating morning. I busted a resident smoking in a building.”
“Angus McNally?” Atticus asked.
“That’s the one. I had to march him into Caitlyn’s office. Sometimes I feel like a glorified hall monitor. Angus called me a traitor and said I should get court-martialed. Let’s just say I’m ready for the weekend. Do you have any plans?”
Atticus averted his gaze to the pond. “My parents are going out of town to visit my sister’s family.
It’s a spur-of-the-moment thing, which they rarely do.
Mom says she misses her grandbabies, but I think Dad just wants to get laid, and he’s sick of my interference.
I’ve been hell on their sex life since I moved back home. ”
It was a good damn thing I hadn’t taken a bite of food, or I might’ve choked to death. The little minx.
“Anyway, Emma invited me out for a drink and live music to make up for last week.”
“Are you going?” Please say no. Please say no. I had no right to think it, let alone say it out loud, especially when I wasn’t prepared to offer him an alternative night out.
Atticus averted his gaze to the pond and licked his lower lip.
“I told her it depended on how my day went. I’m slammed with activities this afternoon, so I promised to let her know later.
” Why wouldn’t Atticus look at me? “Wow, it got dark out suddenly. Looks like it might rain.” And why had he changed the subject?
I’d just opened my mouth to ask what was going on when the clouds opened and released a torrent of rain.
We leaped to our feet, but there was no shelter anywhere nearby except for the big oak tree.
I tugged Atticus behind me and abandoned our lunch to the elements.
Pressing my back to the rough bark, I folded my arms around Atticus and held him tightly against my chest. A spattering of raindrops cut through the dense treetop, but we were relatively dry compared to the deluge beyond the leafy canopy.
“This will do as long as it doesn’t start lightning,” I said.
“Mmhmm,” Atticus hummed against my chest. “This is a good place to be.”
His blissed-out voice jump-started my heart and my libido.
I slid my hand up to cup the back of his neck, and Atticus looked up at me.
Those gorgeous eyes shimmered with desire I couldn’t ignore.
Lowering my head, I rubbed my nose against his.
“I want to kiss you so damn much. I dream about your lips.”
Atticus rose on his tiptoes and pressed his mouth to mine, parting my lips with his tongue and boldly sweeping inside.
Groaning, I slid my hand into his hair and angled my head to deepen the kiss.
The world around us was soaking wet, but my body went up in flames.
That one brief kiss we shared in the closet felt like a lifetime ago instead of two weeks.
I needed more of Atticus—his kisses, his body pressed to mine, and the soft mewling sounds he made when he got horny.
Everything. I released his hair to skim my hand up and down his back, and Atticus slipped his hand under the hem of my shirt to stroke my stomach.
It was too much and yet not enough. I parted my legs, and Atticus nudged his thigh between mine.
His erection pressed against my leg, and his thigh rubbed the underside of my balls.
My dick throbbed like it was trying to escape my pants to get to him.
Atticus shifted his hips, riding my thigh and rubbing his stomach against my aching erection.
I wanted release; I needed it with him. But not here.
Not like this. Not rubbing one out against a tree at work and coming in our pants.
A wicked voice in the back of my brain reminded me I could suck him off and swallow the evidence.
As soon as the idea occurred, it became the only logical solution to our problem.
My fingers gripped his hair again, and Atticus arched his neck.
I broke the kiss to nibble the column of his throat.
Atticus slid his hands higher up my torso to tease and pinch my nipples.
The sharp bite of pleasure brought me back to reality.
I snapped my head up and met his hungry gaze. “We can’t do this here.”
“No, we can’t.” I could tell he wanted to ask when and where we could, but he didn’t. As if Atticus read my mind, he said, “I won’t ask for more than you can give.”
This was where I should make my move. Ask him to come home with me or volunteer to go home with him.
I didn’t. Maybe I would have, if the sound of an approaching golf cart hadn’t reached my ears.
Shit. Someone had come looking for us in the rain shower.
Likely one of my employees, and I didn’t want them to find me in this condition, but there was no way my erection would completely deflate by the time they arrived.
“We have company coming,” Atticus said.
“A savior we didn’t ask for,” I growled.
Atticus patted my chest. “Probably for the best since things got a bit out of control.”
“A bit?” I teased.
“Well, I dry-humped your magnificent thigh and was a thrust away from coming in my pants.”
I closed my eyes and tilted my head back against the tree. “You’re not helping the situation I’ve got in my underwear.”
“And I really, really want to help you out of your underwear and get that massive dick in my—”
“Hey, boss,” Miller called out as the golf cart came into view.
I narrowed my eyes in the steeliest glare I could manage, daring him to comment on how he’d found us. I also hoped it would prevent him from telling the others.
“Thought you guys might need a rescue,” he said less robustly when the cart pulled up under the tree. “Looks like you have it under control.”
“I could use a ride back,” Atticus said. “I need to get ready for bingo. It’ll be a bloodbath if I don’t put on a good show. And then I need to prepare for Silver Maple’s very first life drawing class.”
“You get on the cart, and I’ll clean our mess,” I told him.
“You’re not coming with us?”
“There’s only room for two,” I pointed out. “You go first so you can set up for bingo, then Miller can double back for me.”
“Absolutely,” Miller said.
Atticus held my gaze for a few seconds before nodding. He went to step back, but I held him in place, lowering my mouth to his ear.
“Have fun if you go out with Emma, but try not to give your heart to anyone else tonight.”
Atticus pulled back and met my gaze. “No chance that will happen.” He kissed my cheek and jumped onto the golf cart with Miller. “Let’s hit it. Bingo enthusiasts wait for no one and nothing.”
Miller hooted with laughter as he pressed down on the accelerator, and I watched them drive off, both chatting and laughing happily.
I’d reached the point of no return and could no longer straddle the fence.
I could continue to play it safe and guard my heart, as I’d done the past three years, or take a leap of faith and gamble my heart with Atticus.
I had two options but only one choice. Under the oak tree, with rain pouring down all around me, I closed my eyes and took that leap of faith. And there was no way in hell I’d wait until lunchtime on Monday to make my move.