I expected the door to open quickly, like Reed was expecting me, but I quickly reminded myself that he wasn’t. Hell, he might not even be home.
But only moments later, he put my mind at ease, pulling the door open with a surprised but edgy smile on his face. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him make that face before.
“Fancy some company?” I asked and held up the bag of takeout I’d grabbed on the way over.
The way his eyes melted into warm pools put me at ease. “I always fancy your company, Roller Skates.” He stepped back and held the door open, but he looked over his shoulder as he did. I stuttered to a stop at the unexpected sight of another man who looked to be about our age, swinging a toddler onto his hip and shoving a bag of Cheerios into a diaper bag.
“Oh,” I mumbled. “I didn’t know you had company.”
Reed shook his head and waved me off. “Don’t worry, Lo. I’m glad you get to meet Brandon, actually. We were friends in college.”
“Fake friends or real friends?” I questioned, and he laughed. So did Brandon, for that matter.
“She knows you well, huh?”
“That she does,” Reed confirmed before finishing the introductions. “And real. He was probably my only real friend in college.”
That was awesome, but honestly, I was still confused. I’d known Reed for going on a couple of months now, biblically for the last month or so, and I’d never encountered a situation where he was actually hanging out with one of his friends.
Quite frankly, if I hadn’t been so involved in being his very best friend, I might have questioned if he had any at all. Acquaintances that covered every square inch of the city? That was a guaranteed daily occurrence when I was with Reed. The man had connections in all sorts of places. But a close friend? Not so much.
Apparently—thankfully—Reed could tell by the look on my face, and I didn’t have to say anything.
“I ran into him today.”
“Literally,” Brandon added with a laugh. “Anyway, I’ll get out of your hair. I’ve gotta get home anyway.”
Reed walked Brandon to the door and reached out to shake his free hand. “If you need anything—”
“Thanks,” Brandon interrupted, his eyes jumping to mine and back again. “But I have a feeling it’ll all be okay. I just wish I’d taken my time like you.”
Reed’s face was conflicted, but he didn’t address it. Instead, he reached over to the table by his door and picked up his phone. “Still, let me get your number and give you mine. It’s been too long.”
Brandon looked at the phone like it was an alien. “Reed Luca with a cell phone?”
Embarrassed eyes—Reed’s embarrassed eyes—flashed to me for a heartbeat. I didn’t think I’d ever see the day, but he didn’t make me wonder about the reason for very long.
“I didn’t like not being able to get in touch with Lola.”
The deeply personal way he said it made me flush from the inside out. Brandon’s smile deepened, but it was wholeheartedly sad around the edges.
What in the hell had I just walked in on?
They exchanged numbers quickly enough, as I took the time to peruse Reed’s handsome face, his gorgeous eyes, and even let my gaze trail down to enjoy the view that was his tight and toned body. Clad in perfectly worn jeans and a T-shirt that read Reed laughed today, I was not disappointed. As much as the vibe was off, everything else was exactly spot-on.
Not wanting to intrude on their business any longer, I made myself at home in the kitchen, unloading two plastic containers filled with pasta and garlic bread from the best little mom-and-pop Italian shop in San Francisco.
I heard the door close with a click and then Reed’s soft footsteps as they made their way to me.
“That smells delicious.”
I glanced over my shoulder and waggled my brows. “I know.”
He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Is that Franchino’s?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Mmmmmmm.” He buried his face into my neck and bit the skin with a gentle tug. “You’re my favorite woman on the planet right now.”
“Just right now?”
He chuckled softly into my skin and stepped back, leaving me with a firm little tap to my ass courtesy of his hand. “Fishing for compliments?”
“Uh-huh.”
He gripped my waist with his fingers and turned me around until my butt rested against the counter. Down on one knee, Reed Luca stared up at me with playful eyes and my left hand held between his warm palms. “Lola Sexton, you are my favorite woman on the planet. Not just right now, but always.”
I grinned. “That’s a little better.”
“It’s only a little better? I’m down on my knees here, woman.”
I shrugged and bit back my smile.
Two seconds later, my ass was in his hands and my body was firmly tossed over his shoulder. “Holy hell! Reed!”
Like a man on a mission, he strode through the kitchen, into the living room, until he reached his bedroom—that’s the moment I stopped shouting and simply let him lead. Far be it for me to put the kibosh on any mission that ended in the bedroom.
I giggled when my back hit the mattress and Reed climbed over my body, holding my arms down with his hands. His teasing smile and shining blue eyes were playful but calculating, and instantly, I knew it spelled trouble.
Silently, I hoped and prayed the trouble included clothes removal.
And sex. Lots and lots of Reed and Lola sex.
I did my best impression of a wiggle worm, but it was of no use—and who was I kidding? I didn’t have any real complaints about our current position. But, eventually, no acting was needed, his fingers finding their way into the most ticklish spots near my neck, rib cage, and belly. My body cued up like a rocket waiting for launch.
“Stop it!” I shouted through a fit of giggles.
“Just a little better?” he questioned and continued his assault.
I wriggled and fought and even bit my teeth into his left bicep, but he didn’t flinch. “Oh. My. God. I’m going to pee all over your bed if you keep this up!”
He paused, smirking down at me, while my chest heaved up and down as I tried to catch my breath.
“I’ll ask one more time… Just a little better?”
A sarcastic response flirted with the seam of my lips, but as his fingers started to inch back to my ribs, all thoughts of lashing him with the edge of my tongue receded—I knew I couldn’t handle another second. “A lot better! A lot better! You’re amazing! Oh my God, you’re so amazing!” My voice echoed off the walls of his bedroom, and he smiled like the devil.
“Aw, thanks, LoLo. I think you’re pretty great, too.” He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth and released my arms.
Finally free from all physical and emotional restraint, I shouted, “You’re such a bastard,” and slapped him firmly on the chest.
He just laughed and hopped off the bed. “Get your ass out of bed, lazybones. Let’s eat before our food gets cold,” he called over his shoulder as he walked out toward the kitchen.
Disappointment pooled in the center of my pursed lips.
Who cared about cold food? That’s what a fucking microwave was for. All that foreplay in the form of horseplay had primed my appetite—and the hankering wasn’t for Italian. The menu in my mind featured a rare delicacy that was Reed, preferably naked and inside me.
As I lay there, sprawled out over his sheets alone, I turned onto my belly and buried my face into his pillow and inhaled. Hints of his body wash and a scent that was only him hit my nostrils and I moaned.
Good God, he made me crazy.
You totally love him.
I totally did, and more than that, I even smiled at the thought.
Somehow, Reed had inserted himself into my life, and I had fallen—hard. I was in love with his existential brilliance and the way he made me want to be a better version of me. I loved that while he challenged me, he also supported me and encouraged me. And I loved his surprises and his playfulness and the way he could always make me laugh.
I even loved his stupid lies and his beautiful truths and his kind soul.
But mostly, I loved him.
I was in love with Reed, and I was ready for him to be a constant in my life. My human version of Delilah. My person. My best friend and my lover. The only person I wanted to share everything with—my mind, my soul, and my heart.
I smiled, and like a lovesick weirdo, I took one last inhale from his pillow.
Yeah. I totally loved him.
Maybe you should tell him…
Jesus. My brain needed to slow its roll.
“Come on, LoLo!” His voice echoed down the hall and into his room. “Better hurry up before I start digging into your garlic bread.”
I hopped off the bed and, ironically, silently thanked Reed for the diversion.
Yeah, just focus on the garlic bread and worry about that whole telling Reed you love him thing later…
Belly full and after-meal sleepy eyes on display, I sighed in contentment and propped my legs on Reed’s lap.
I’d made myself comfortable sprawled out on his sectional while he flipped through the channels in search of something interesting to watch, and it felt like the napping portion of the evening was set to commence.
We had consumed—more like, inhaled—the Italian takeout while making random chitchat about inconsequential things like the weather, a new Mexican restaurant that had just opened downtown, and which parks gave the best view of the city, but there hadn’t been much else.