1214 Bad Boy Ave (Cherry Falls)

“I swear, it’s the entire truth.” I leaned back on the couch and shifted on the cushion so I could really stare at her. One of my legs was bent and resting on the cushion, my knee brushing against hers. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t purposefully sit like this so a part of me was touching her.

“You're telling me—” she finally said after composing herself, and the way her grin was spread across her face, her straight, white teeth flashing in pure happiness and amusement, had my heart beating a funny rhythm. “That you literally got into a fight over a loaf of bread?”

I couldn’t help my own smile from spreading. “Hey now. The asshole tried to overcharge me for some plain as hell white bread like it was imported. I barely had two nickels to rub together at the time, so I wasn’t gonna let him try and trick me into giving him any more when it was already day-old bread. So I said, ‘Give me the bread for what it’s worth, or I’ll give you a knuckle sandwich.’”

She tipped her head back and started laughing, and I was transfixed by the graceful arch of her neck. “Oh my God,” she wheezed out. “You did not say ‘knuckle sandwich.’”

I chuckled deeply. “I was fifteen and thought I was tough. What can I say?”

Her laugh had my cock twitching. The fucker had been hard this entire time, but I’d been able to hide it with strategically placed hands, an arm, even one of the throw pillows on the couch at one point.

We laughed for a few more minutes, and then we both started to sober slightly, not because the alcohol was fading, but because the atmosphere got a little bit more serious, the thickness between us accelerating. Or at least that’s how it felt to me the longer I stared at Dolly and the way I let my gaze shamelessly move along every single inch of her.

I knew the moment she realized I was staring at her a little too hard, a little too intensely; her shoulders went back slightly, and her spine straightened. I saw the prettiest blush tint her high cheekbones, watched as she lifted her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, her fingers shaking slightly.

“I’m sorry,” I found myself saying and blindly reached for one of the throw pillows that I’d kicked off the couch, placing it over my lap strategically, hoping she wouldn’t see the obvious reason why I needed to do that.

“What for?” she said softly as she looked at me with an almost shy expression on her face.

She started picking at the edge of her shirt, and I could tell she was nervous. I hated that I’d made her feel that way but hoped it was a reaction because she was feeling the same kind of intense arousal and chemistry for me as I felt for her.

“For blatantly staring.” She snapped her head up after I spoke those words, and our gazes locked.

“I didn’t notice,” she whispered.

I smirked and braced my arm over the back of the couch, leaning forward an inch, keeping my focus trained right on her. “Yes, you have,” I said so softly that I would’ve wondered if she’d even heard me if not for the fact her eyes flared slightly. “I haven’t made it a secret, Dolly. I’ve been staring at you so much tonight there’s no way you can’t feel it.” I blamed the alcohol for the way I ran my mouth, but the truth was I didn’t think I would’ve been able to wait very long to keep my feelings from her, not with her now living with me.

This moment was bound to happen sooner rather than later, and it seemed the alcohol accelerated the process. “You can feel it, can’t you?” I wasn’t only talking about my gaze constantly being on her tonight. I was talking about the electricity and intense chemistry that moved between us like a living entity.

And then I noticed the subtle changes in her. Her pupils dilating, her lips parting as she sucked in a shallow breath, her chest starting to rise and fall fast with her increased breathing.

I shouldn’t have let my gaze lower to her chest, but I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to see how much her body was affected by me like mine was by her. And as I saw her hard little nipples poking through her shirt, I nearly groaned at how good all of this felt.

“Yeah,” she whispered, and I lifted my gaze to her face. “I’ve noticed.” Her voice was soft… breathless. She started biting her bottom lip again, and I wondered if it was a nervous habit. Regardless, my cock jerked in response.

“Come here.” My voice was deep, husky, and those two words spilled from me before I could stop them.