16. David #3
I have been very fond of women before. I’ve even thought I was in love a couple of times. But everything with Mia feels different. New. Bigger and better.
And I am suddenly hit with the realization that now, as of tonight, now that I’ve had my hands and mouth on this body, now that I’ve made her come apart, and now that she’s been vulnerable like this, and we have shared this very intimate moment, I’m not getting over this.
I’m not getting over her .
If we actually have sex, I will be in very, very deep.
Too deep.
I probably already am.
With Scott Hansen’s daughter.
There are some things I need to come to terms with before I go any further and let Mia think this is more serious. Okay, before I let myself think this is more serious. It’s only fair to both of us that I make sure I can deal with everything that would come with a relationship between us.
Like not liking my would-be future father-in-law.
“So about taking your shirt off…” she says.
I shake my head.
“A lot of the fun of sex is the anticipation. The buildup. The foreplay. How about we take a rain check on me losing my clothes?” I ask.
I don’t want to not sleep with her. I just need to be fully honest about what this means. First with myself. Then with her.
But yeah…first with myself.
Do I want to do this?
With her lying here, sweet and amazing and post-orgasmic, yes. But I need to be sure. And maybe not pressed right up next to her near-naked body when I decide.
Her eyebrows arch. “I don’t even get to look at you naked?”
I chuckle. Yeah, slowing things down is a good idea for my common sense…and my heart…but it might be fun too. I nod. “Yeah, I think I’m gonna make you wait.”
She huffs out a frustrated breath. “This is bullshit.”
I laugh. “Well, this way, we’re both definitely going to want to see each other again soon, right? Considering how well tonight went?”
She looks up at me thoughtfully. “Does that mean that I don’t have to come up with ways of tricking you into being in the same place at the same time I’m there so we can pretend we’re just bumping into one another?”
I know what she’s asking. She wants to know if I’m done playing games.
It’s a fair question.
And the answer is yes.
“I want to see you every day. No matter where you are or what you’re doing,” I tell her honestly.
She hesitates for a moment, watching my face. Then asks. “No matter who I’m with?”
I take a second to answer, and I know she knows why. “With very few exceptions,” I say honestly. “And I’m going to work on that. Okay?”
She smiles, and there’s a touch of concern in her expression. She knows where I’m coming from, and I’m glad we shared everything we did from the very beginning.
“Okay.” She lifts and presses her lips to mine. “You’re a really good guy, David.”
I kiss her back, but then say playfully, “Don’t be fooled. I’m still the bad boy that you’re obsessed with, don’t worry.”
Her smile grows. “Big talker.”
I give her a little growl. “Just wait.”
“I will. For a while. But if you don’t step up, I might have to take things into my own hands.”
My cock reacts to that. He’s been there when I’ve read her fanfiction, after all.
She starts to sit up, reaching for her bra.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I guess getting ready to go?” But she puts a question mark at the end of her answer.
Right. We’re just on a date, and if we’re not going to mess around anymore, I guess that makes sense.
And I really do think I need to hold off on messing around with her more. For now. I need to be sure I can deal with her dad long-term before I make a bigger commitment to her. That’s the good guy thing to do. And bad boy in the bedroom or not, I am a good guy.
Dammit.
But I don’t want her to leave.
“Camping entails sleeping outside overnight,” I tell her. “You can go, of course. But you won’t be able to count this as camping.”
She seems surprised that I’m trying to prolong our date. But then she smiles. “That’s a good point.” She looks over my shoulder toward the movie screen. “Oh look, we didn’t even miss the end.”
I shift, rolling to my back and pulling her with me. She settles against my chest, and we both watch the screen.
It’s the end scene, where the hero chases after the heroine as she’s leaving.
My hand drifts down to rest on Mia’s ass as the thought hits me that I would definitely chase her.
Yeah, I’m in trouble here.
I’m falling for this woman. I’m halfway there. Maybe more. I want to see her every day, I want to know everything about her, and I definitely, definitely want more nights like this.
That’s complicated, considering intertwining our lives means intertwining my life with Scott’s.
“What!” Mia pushes herself up, staring at the screen. “They don’t even kiss?”
I chuckle. “Do they have to kiss? It’s pretty clear that they’re staying together.”
“Of course they have to kiss.”
I pull her back down, take her face between both of my hands, and look into her eyes. “I agree. They definitely should’ve kissed.”
The movie credits roll as I kiss her, but eventually I begrudgingly let her button her dress up.
But she settles down against me again, and I start Anyone But You .
“Do you think maybe Glen Powell has some clause in his contract where he doesn’t kiss in his movies?” I ask.
She laughs. “God, I hope not. If he doesn’t kiss the heroine in this movie, a rom-com , this is the last Glen movie I’m watching ever.”
She wants to stay. Even though I told her I think we should slow down, even though I told her we weren’t going to have sex, she wants to stay. That’s a good thing.
I want her to stay. That’s maybe not such a good thing.
Being involved with Mia will definitely mean seeing Scott regularly.
Spending time with him. Talking to him and being nice.
Not sarcastic or rude the way I am sometimes now.
There will be no walking off when he pisses me off.
God, I might even have to do something like cut down a Christmas tree with him or wish him a happy birthday.
Fuck, will I have to buy him a gift? For Christmas and his damned birthday?
Do I want that? Can I do that?
Those questions spin through my mind as I shift so Mia can be as comfortable as possible snuggled up against me.
With her warm weight against me, the scent of her hair drifting up and surrounding me, the curve of her ass under my palm, I realize that yeah, I can do that. I don’t really want it, but I can do it.
At least, I can try.
When she falls asleep, I pull a soft fleece blanket up over both of us, shut the movie off, and happily fall asleep with her.
I wake up early the next morning with a raging erection pressing against Mia’s sweet ass, but I ignore it. Mostly. I slip into the house to make breakfast burritos that we eat in the truck bed before I take her back to her car, kiss her goodbye, and tell her I can’t wait to see her again.
Which is true.
That truth, and the sweet smile she gives me along with the, “I had an amazing time last night,” is what has me pulling my phone out of my pocket before her car is even out of sight.
“I need some advice,” I tell Charlie when he answers.
“Just me or Jack too?”
“The more the merrier. Actually, probably really good to bring the guy who actually had a successful relationship with a woman.”
“Oh, have you already messed up?”
“Is falling in love with her already messing up?”
Charlie pauses as if surprised and then chuckles. “Maybe.”
I sigh. “You see why I need some help?”
“I can be there in thirty minutes. But I need to see what Jack’s up to.”
“I’ve got breakfast burritos,” I tell him.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
I drive back up to my house and walk into my backyard. I should definitely pull all of this down and put it away before my brothers see it.
Then again, maybe I need to let them see this, so they know exactly what we’re dealing with here.