A quick check of the time tells me JT is going to be here shortly. Risking bodily harm—an acute possibility with Kay—I move to play alarm clock, brushing hair off her face and kissing her temple. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty. Time to wake up.”
A disgruntled harrumph greets me as I avoid the arm swung back to bat me away. So adorable.
“Though your aversion to mornings is cute…” Safe from rogue limbs, I lean back over and place a string of kisses across her cheek. “I need you to get up and put some clothes on.”
“Since when do you try to get me to put clothes on?” she mumbles.
“Baby…” Man, what I wouldn’t give to be able to explore her naked body right now. “If your best friend wasn’t on his way over, I wouldn’t care if you stayed naked. In fact, I would insist.”
“JT’s coming here?” She finally rolls to her back, twisting to face me, hands balled to rub the sleep from her eyes.
“Yes.” I search the floor for last night’s discarded shirt, scooping it up when I find it and tossing it in her direction at the same time there’s a knock on the door.
Gray eyes go wide before she scrambles to pull the black cotton over her head. I need a moment to appreciate her. I don’t care that she’s all wild sex hair, leftover makeup smeared in the corners of her eyes, and beard burn across her neck; she’s never looked more beautiful to me.
Knock-knock.
Oh, that’s right. JT is here and we’ve got shit to handle.
Kay makes no move to get up, so I answer the door.
“I would have bet good money she wouldn’t be up before noon today,” JT says as I let him in.
“Yeah, well, my boyfriend is a pretty annoying alarm clock.” Brows scrunched, eyes closed, jaw to the floor, one arm bent to cover her mouth and the other raised above her head, Kay lets out a full-body yawn.
“You woke her up?” JT directs the question to me while sliding a cardboard carrier of coffees and a paper bag onto the low table in the small seating area in the room. When I nod, he reaches out a fist for me to bump.
Kay continues to shoot us both sleepy death glares from the bed. I know better than to say so out loud, but whenever she tries to act tough, I think it’s the cutest thing. She attempts to be fierce but only ever makes me think of those memes about Baby Groot when he is mad.
“I brought you a coffee.” JT hands Kay a paper cup, which she quickly cradles to her chest.
“You’re my favorite.” Her lips purse as she blows across the lid, my dick twitching inside my pants at the sight. Damn her for calling halftime. The three orgasms I had last night mean nothing when I’m trying to make up for weeks without her. Never mind that getting hard in front of her best friend isn’t appropriate. I find when it comes to Kay, the rest of the world can just fuck off.
Isn’t the rest of the world the reason you asked JT to come here?
I nod to myself at the reminder from my conscience. I don’t give a flying fuck what anyone else has to say about me, Kay, or our relationship. And while Kay doesn’t either, it still affects her. My job is to protect her and to learn the best methods to help her cope.
Which brings us back to JT…
“Do you wanna shower, baby?” I hook a hand under the strap of the duffle JT brought with him. I couldn’t convince her to shower with me, but maybe she will feel inclined to do so now that her own things are here. Plus, it’ll give me a few minutes alone with JT to discuss strategy without having to worry her unnecessarily.
“Sure.” She slips from the bed, my shirt falling to her knees as she stands, and my eyes automatically go to the bare expanse of leg on display. Again, my dick twitches as I remember how good those legs felt squeezing my ribs during our third bout of lovemaking.
Her fingertips brush across the back of my hand as she takes her bag from me, sparks shooting up my arm from the touch. It doesn’t matter how simple or innocent the contact; I will always react viscerally to Kay.
Neither JT nor I move until we hear the snick of the lock, each taking one of the wingback chairs bracketing the table. I keep my mouth shut, not quite sure how to begin this particular conversation. The last time I talked to JT at length, he was doing his best to encourage me to make things right with Kay, a fact that only makes me feel like more an asshole given that I suspected my girl was cheating on me with him when I jumped to conclusions.
“How bad is she going to freak when I show her this?” I hold out Kay’s phone with the text message displayed. “More importantly, is this Liam, and how do I help her deal with it?”
I loathe that I’m not, and don’t know how to be, what Kay needs during her times of crisis. I’ll be damned if I don’t learn.
“You mean…” JT leans back in the chair, crossing a foot over the opposite knee, draping his arm over his bent leg. My only clue he’s pissed is the vein pulsing at his temple. “Is she going to start back on her bullshit about how she can’t be with you and it’s for
