“A cult classic,” she corrects, bending to unbuckle and remove her shoes. Abby places them next to the door and sinks down into my mattress on the other side of the bed, next to my nightstand. She looks over at me with those baby blues that I swear get brighter as she watches me, and her pupils dilate.
I let my head fall back all the way to the mattress and rest my hands behind my head. I watch as she stands again, walks around the bed, and sits back down, falling back onto the comforter to lie in the spot next to me.
Our feet hang off the end of the bed, mine touching the floor, and for a while we lie, just staring at the ceiling in silence.
Mostly because I have no idea how to proceed.
Yeah, I’ve had sex before. Not like my teammates, but enough that I shouldn’t be lying here like an awkward erotophobic, which is someone with an irrational fear of sexual acts. And yeah, that’s a real thing. Google that shit if you don’t believe me.
Not knowing how to make a move on Abby is actually somewhat emasculating, and I wonder what she’s thinking on her side of the bed.
Shit.
Say something, Caleb. Anything.
“Thanks for coming today and meeting my parents. They liked you.”
Abby turns her head toward me and warmly grins, the gesture lighting up her entire face. “Yeah?”
Unable to resist the smile tugging at my mouth, I grin back, and her clear blue eyes immediately flicker down to my mouth. “Yeah.”
She stares at my mouth, her gaze narrowing in on my gap for a few torturous heartbeats before she rolls onto her stomach—closer—and timidly reaches her hand over. I suck in a deep breath and hold it in as her fingertip lightly traces my lips and she whispers, “I’ve been wanting to do this forever.”
My lips involuntarily part, and the tip of my tongue flicks the delicate finger now skimming the gap between my front teeth.
“Yeah?” My voice, barely audible, comes out low and husky.
“Yeah,” she whispers again.
“Forever? That sounds serious.”
My teeth nip her fingertip, and she pulls her hand back, surprised. Grinning, I tighten my abs and lift myself off the bed, tucking my large hands under her armpits and drawing her closer still, until she’s leaning over me.
With her blue eyes shining, Abby leans down until our noses touch, and she brushes the tip of her nose feather light, back and forth, across mine. Her chin dips, and she pauses before placing a small kiss in the crevasse of my lips, first in one corner then the other.
“It seems I’ve acquired a taste for gaps in teeth. And other… things.”
My eyebrows shoot up, interested. “Things? What other… things?”
“You, mostly.”
As a shiver runs up the length of my torso, starting with the twitch in my groin, my palms find their way to Abby’s back, running themselves leisurely up and down her spine of their own volition.
My back muscles flex as I raise my head, pressing my lips against her neck. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.” I speak into that smooth space behind her ear, giving it a nuzzle.
She emits a breathy sigh before pulling away and spreading out beside me, grasping for my hand. I capture it and thread my fingers through, giving it a tender squeeze.
Confession: if you would have told me two weeks ago that I’d be lying here, holding the hand of a girl I’d caught climbing out a second story window, on the day I let her meet my parents… well, I would have laughed my ass off in your face then shoved you the hell out of my way.
“This is crazy,” Abby says faintly, as if reading my mind.
“What is?” I ask, though I already know the answer.
“This. Us. It’s nuts. What is happening to my life?” She gives a small laugh and I give her hand another squeeze. “I hardly recognize myself.”
“I feel like I’ve entered a parallel universe,” I tease, turning my head to face her. “I don’t even like girls, and now I have one in my room.”
“You seduced me with your awkwardness,” she laughs.
Can’t argue with that.
I nod. “Yeah, that sounds accurate.”
Abby looks at me expectantly.
I oblige. “You seduced me by falling out of a window?”
She narrows her eyes.
“By spilling beer all over your shirt at that party and pretending to need my bathroom?”
“Stop it!”
Yeah, no. This is too much fun. “You seduced me by crawling around my yard on your hands and knees?”
She sputters indignantly before shrugging my hand off, sitting up and giving me a playful shove. “You…” She takes a deep breath, her cheeks tinged in the most adorable bright pink.
“You… what? Say it.”
“Smart-ass.” Abby’s face turns bright red when I laugh—a loud, booming laugh that has me rolling over on the bed and her attempting to give my solid body another shove. Too bad I’m built like a fortress of steel.