Tease (Tease 1)

“Anything in particular bothering you?” she asked after a minute.

“Nothing…everything,” I admitted. “I don’t know. I thought I had things all figured out in my head, but then things change so quickly, without any notice, you know?”

“I know what you mean. No matter how well you plan your life out, things will inevitably change. Sometimes it’s bad, but sometimes change can be good.”

“Are you happy?” I blurted out.

She looked taken aback by my question.

“I’m sorry. I used to think I was happy, but maybe I was only happy because I didn’t realize what I was missing.”

She seemed to ponder over my words. “I had a cousin who was born deaf. She was the happiest person I knew. She saw the positive in everything. Then, when she was twenty, she had surgery to restore her hearing.” She paused and smiled. “I was there the first time she heard her fiancé tell her he loved her. I guess what I’m trying to say is you can make the best of your situation, and still appreciate that there may be better things out there to come.”

“That must have been amazing to share that moment with your cousin.”

“It was,” she said with a grin. “I will never forget the look on her face as he said those three little words that so many of us take for granted.”

“I needed this,” I said, turning to her. “Thanks. Considering it’s one in the morning, we should probably get some sleep, huh?” I got to my feet and put my hand out.

She smiled and took hold of it, letting me help her to her feet. “Anytime, Coop. Anytime you want to talk, about anything at all, I’m here,” she said earnestly, tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear.

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I said, my lips brushing past her cheek. I trudged off to bed, curling up into my blankets, her words playing over and over in my head as I fell asleep.

If only I could be sure you’d still be there for me after you listened to what I have to tell you.

Chapter Thirteen

It was one of those days where I wanted to do nothing, and I had achieved just that. It was eight in the evening as I stood in the bathroom, staring at my reflection. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, then I grabbed a couple of Tylenol—a preemptive attack on the fatigue headache I knew was coming.

Reaching for the clothes hamper, I took it into the laundry room and unloaded the contents into the washing machine. I stopped, staring at the object on top: a light pink, lacy G-string.

My heart began to hammer as I picked it up. Yes, I realized how creepy it was to be holding Mia’s underw

ear, but it could’ve been worse; at least I wasn’t sniffing them. I closed my eyes and imagined her wearing them, parading around in front of me in this little piece of fabric…

“Coop?”

I jumped and spun around. Mia stood there dressed in that sexy fucking cream blouse and a black skirt. I hadn’t even heard her get home. Bleary-eyed and looking confused, her eyes went from me, and back to my hand.

Shit! This was bad…

“Just putting in some laundry,” I mumbled, my face red.

She raised her eyebrows, letting me know she wasn’t buying it. “I was just checking to see if these could go in with the normal wash…?” I pretended to focus on the label, feeling pretty impressed with my quick thinking.

She stared at me for a good few minutes before her lips broke into a smile. “They’re fine in the normal wash. Thanks for taking such great care of my underwear,” she added lightly, her eyes twinkling. “I might watch some TV,” she added.

Hmm. That sounded an awful lot like an invitation.

I watched as she walked over to the sofa, my eyes on the curve of her ass. She sat down, placing one leg over the other, and stretched her arms out. I stared directly at where her hardened nipples were showing through her skimpy bra—until I realized that I was staring at her nipples and looked away, embarrassed.

“Why don’t we go for a run?” I suggested brightly.

She eyed me strangely. Maybe a touch too much enthusiasm.

“Um, because it’s dark? And cold? And I hate running?”

“Well maybe it’s time you changed that,” I said, raising my eyebrows.