A sudden burst of laughter outside her door reminded me where we were, and I frowned. I hadn’t intended to spend our first night together in her sorority house. I couldn’t exactly take care of her here, pamper her like she deserved.
But I’d been so desperate to see her and a little worried that my staying away would backfire and I’d lose her.
I buried my face in the crook of Katie’s neck and inhaled her scent. It soothed me in a way that I’d only ever felt when working with my hands.
“Why don’t you pack a bag and come spend the rest of the weekend at my apartment?” I murmured before placing a few soft kisses on the column of her neck, thankful as fuck that she didn’t have classes on Monday because it meant I’d get an extra day with her. “I have a big tub you can soak in to help with the pain.” Easing my head, I brought my lips to her ear. “We need to heal your sweet pussy because I’m already dying for another taste.”
Katie shivered, and her pulse sped up, making me grin. “That sounds amazing,” she sighed. “I am a little sore.”
I pulled back and looked at her face, unhappy with her tone. “Why do I hear a but in there?”
“Buuuut, I need to help clean up before I can go anywhere.” Her mouth turned down into a cute pout.
“No problem,” I said with a shrug. “How long will that take? I have some errands I need to run. When I’m done, I’ll pick you up, and we can head to my place for the weekend then.”
Rather than jumping at the chance as I’d expected, she was quiet and staring off in another direction.
“Baby?” I prompted as I took hold of her chin and forced her to face me.
“You live in the same building as my brother.”
“Yes,” I responded, not sure where she was going, but I suspected I wouldn’t like it.
I was right.
“What if he sees us together? If he does, since I’m not staying with him, he’ll know I’m staying with you. He’ll figure out that we’re together.”
After a few beats, I narrowed my eyes when she didn't continue. “I’m still waiting for you to tell me the problem.”
Katie chewed on her lip before finally admitting, “I’m not ready for him to know, Sawyer.”
My temper flared, but I stayed calm when I asked, “Why?”
She sighed. “Because Jesse can be a dick. He still sees me as a little girl and disapproves of any guy who’s ever shown the slightest interest in me”—I gave him a mental high five for that—“and he’s so stubborn, he’ll refuse to see how good you are for me. I just don’t want to deal with his crap yet. I want some time to enjoy us before we’re forced to fight him, or anyone else, about our relationship.”
I couldn’t argue with her logic, and my anger receded. A little insecurity remained, though. “Are you, Katie? Willing to fight for us?”
Katie glared at me indignantly, and it was so adorable I had to fight not to laugh. “Of course, I am!” she snapped. “I love my brother, but if he doesn’t approve of my life choices, that’s not my problem.” She smiled a little wickedly. “Besides, turnabout is fair play. Just wait until he finds a woman.”
I threw my head back and laughed until tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. Once I’d calmed down, I kissed her deeply. Things were heating up again when her alarm went off.
With a groan, I reluctantly let her out of bed to get ready. After admiring her naked body until she covered it with clothing, I got up and dressed as well.
I wasn’t happy about hiding our relationship from anyone, least of all my best friend, but there was one advantage that I could think of. If Katie was wearing my ring when we told him, he’d know how serious I was and that I wasn’t just fucking around with his sister.
Still…
When Katie was ready to go, I wrapped her up in my arms for another kiss. Then I grunted, “We can keep it to ourselves for now, baby. But I’m not going to wait long. And I won’t lie to him.”
Katie nodded and brushed her mouth across mine before responding. “That’s completely fair.”
“Good. You never said how long the cleanup will take.”
“I should only need a few hours.”
I turned her toward the door and patted her ass. “That’ll give me just enough time to get my shit done. Pack a bag. We’re going away for the weekend.”
She pestered me about where we were going all the way downstairs and outside until I hopped into my car and drove off. I headed to a jewelry store owned by a friend of mine. I’d ordered a ring for Katie a few weeks ago but hadn’t gone to pick it up yet. I wasn’t sure how quickly I would need the ring, but I wanted to be prepared. The store was near my apartment, which meant a two-hour round trip, but it would give Katie plenty of time to be ready when I returned.