“Good.” He nodded. “Oh, and maybe you should bring a bag.”
“A bag?” Her brows rose up.
“To carry your pajamas and toothbrush in. I have shower gel, but you might want to bring your own. And you’ll probably need some clothes for tomorrow.”
She tipped her head to the side. “Are you inviting me for a sleepover?”
“I’m just thinking of all contingencies. I felt like an asshole leaving you last night. So if you want to stay, I’d be delighted to have you. And if you decide you don’t want to, you can always carry that bag back home with you. I’ll walk you back to make sure you’re safe.”
A slow smile pulled at the corner of her lips. “You just want to have more sex with me.” She knew the feeling. Her thighs felt tight at the thought of him between them.
He grinned back. “You got me.”
“Okay then. Send me a message with your address and what time you want me.” She took a sip of her coffee, her eyes meeting his. “And my bag and I will see you there.”
* * *
“Hey, Griff!” Lorne called out as Griff walked along the boardwalk toward the Fresh ‘N’ Easy later that afternoon to buy some groceries. “How’s it going?”
“Great.” Griff grinned. He was in the best of moods. That’s what an evening with a beautiful woman could do for you. “How are you?”
“Ah, I’m getting old. I just had a group of teenagers in, messing around with my boards. Lost my temper and told them to get the hell out.” Lorne wrinkled his nose. “I swear I’m getting grumpier than ever.”
Griff laughed. Lorne was the least grumpy guy he knew. Between the two of them, it was a close tie to who was the most laid back.
“Hey, I saw that your folks were over this way the other week. They doing okay?” Lorne asked him.
Griff blinked. “They haven’t visited for a couple of years.”
“They haven’t?” Lorne frowned, running his palm over his scruff of a beard. “That’s strange. Maybe it was an old photo I saw.”
“What photo?”
“I’m friends with your mom on Facebook. She posted a photo of them in Silver City. But maybe it was from a while ago.”
Silver City was just up the coast. His parents still had some friends there. Griff shrugged and pulled his phone out, bringing up his long-neglected Facebook account. Sure enough, there was the photo Lorne was telling him about. His parents posing with their friends, Gloria and Sam, in a restaurant they’d always loved.
Good friends and good wine. Good times, his mom had captioned it.
He could tell from his mom’s hair it was recent. She’d cut it all off a few months ago. It was one of the few photo messages she’d sent him.
Lorne leaned over and looked at the screen. “An old one?”
“Nah. I guess it was a flying visit.” Griff quickly closed the app and shoved the phone back in his pocket. “I gotta go. I need to pick up some food.”
“Sure. Of course.” Lorne gave him a sympathetic smile. “Maybe they’ll visit again soon, hey?”
“Maybe. Who knows?” Griff smiled back at him. “We’re all busy people around here.”
“Tell me about it.” Lorne seemed glad of the change in conversation. “I’m dreading the season ramping up. As I said, I’m getting too old for this game.”
“Aren’t we all?” Griff said, winking. “I’ll catch you later, my friend.”
* * *
“Dinner should be ready in a half hour.” Griff passed Autumn a glass of wine, and she walked over to the huge floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the Pacific, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder as she took in the view.
“Your apartment is beautiful,” she said, turning around to smile at him. “But the view is even better.”