She sighs with pleasure as she pulls back. "You've got me all distracted."
"Yeah?" The warmth of pride spreads over my chest. It's not like this is the first time I've distracted a woman with my body, but seeing the contentment on Bella's face… it does something to me.
She nods. "Oh, I remember." She leans in close enough to whisper. "You're not as 'on' with him. Maybe even not at all. You two are good friends?"
"Since we were kids. He lived next door."
Her expression gets serious. "In his bio, it said he went to rehab."
"Angel, you're going to get in trouble memorizing our Wikipedia pages."
"You said to ask if I wanted to know."
I did, but I don't feel right sharing any of Kit's secrets. Even if they're my secrets too. "We all used to party too much. He didn't know when to stop."
Bella's eyes fix on mine. She's studying me like she's deciding if she believes me. She must settle on not because she shakes her head. "That's not it."
How can she tell? It's not it. It's technically true, but it's only a tiny part of the story.
"It's okay. He's your friend. I won't ask you to betray his trust." Her eyes light up as she smiles. "Did you push him the way you're pushing me about school?"
"You could say that."
"He's lucky to have you as a friend." She slides her arm around me. "And, well, I'm glad you have someone who… who sees through your bullshit."
"Angel, you keep romancing me like this and I'm going to have to drag you to that utility closest."
"Is that a dare?"
"Yeah."
She smiles like she's thinking about taking it.
20
Bella
The next morning, I wake to Joel fixing tea and coffee in the kitchen. He's fresh from the gym, shirtless and dripping with sweat.
And tempting.
Very, very tempting.
His smile spreads to his ears as his gaze meets mine. There are no pretenses on his face. His expression is pure joy.
He's happy to see me.
Because he wants to fuck me again?
Because he's enjoying our one week fling?
Or because he wants me around forever?
Getting married puts a hell of a lot of strain on a relationship. If we'd met and fucked and decided to have fun in Vegas, we wouldn't have to worry so much about these questions.
We'd be able to step back and relax.
In theory.