“I don’t have any yet.”
“You want to invite them to show up?”
“No.”
“Moisturize here and you’re ahead of the game. And it catches in the light and will also double as a highlighter.”
“Nice,” I murmur, turning my head.
“And sex, I mean six.” She winks at me, digging around and producing the magenta lipstick she gave me. “Lips lips lips. Make him look at these as often as you can. Your eyes are second.”
Laughing I argue, “I don’t know about that.”
“Trust me. Your man loves your eyes, but his cock loves your lips more. Wake it up for constant satisfaction.” I crack up, and she stares at my reflection with a smile. “There’s my girl. Good to see you back.” As she concentrates on applying my lipstick for me, she mutters, “Guess picking up that dog’s huge poop was good for something.”
CHAPTER 32
8:18 P.M.
N ICHOLAS
She opens the door wearing jeans and a snug t-shirt—just like what I’ve got on.
Movie-watching clothes.
Her face is fresh and bright, eyes sharp as she jokes, “You’re late.”
I pull her to me. “God it’s good to see you smile.” Her expression flickers, hesitantly pleased, and she tilts her head up. “Don’t mind if I do,” I murmur, leaning in to give her the kiss she wants. One of my hands slides up her back as our tongues touch, the other one firmly gripping her hip. She relaxes, leaning closer, breasts soft and pressed into my sore muscles. The workout I got in before running this morning was a rough one, and the ache feels good.
A sigh travels from her lips, and I smile while pulling away to greet her friend. “Hey Denise. You still here?”
She juts her hip out, throws a fist on it. “I’ll always be here.” Pointing two orange fingernails from her eyes to mine, she warns me, “I’ll be watching you. Forever.”
Chuckling, “Noted,” I take Madison’s hand.
“You staying here?” Maddie asks her.
Denise shrugs, “If I go home I’ll be doing the same thing. Might as well have Bucky as company. I have to work in the morning though, so I’ll stay at my place. Unless you want me to stick around and help you lick your wounds when this one…” she jogs her orange thumb my way, “…acts like a dumbass again.”
Maddie rolls her eyes up to me. “She’s joking.”
“Hell I am!”
Grinning I go to open the door. “Denise, you wanna come to Louisiana with us next weekend?”
Both women blink at me. Madison asks, “What, Louisiana? I don’t get it.”
“My cousin is getting married. I need a date.” Maddie’s eyes widen. Tossing back the same tone she gave me, I tell Denise, “And apparently my date needs a chaperone for such a long distance out of sight.” Chuckling at their combined confusion, I say, “Seriously, you’re both invited. It’ll be fun. Bucky can come. It’s a huge property though, so you’ll have to keep an eye on him.”
Denise dryly says, “Speaking of.”
Bucky is making a run for it, out into the hallway. “Whoa!” I rush out, catch him and bring him back, laughing, “A leash will be necessary!”
Madison is staring at me with this mystified, hopeful look on her face. So transparent, and right now, I’m thankful for that. I’m taking a leap here, and Mom’s right—it might be me who gets hurt.
Blocking the door so Bucky can’t try that slick move again, I say, “We should get going. He knows you’re leaving, and he doesn’t like it.”
She comes to me, rests her hand on the side of my face, and kisses my lips really softly. “Okay.”
There’s that word again.
Simple.
Powerful.
Music to my ears.
She grabs her purse from the coffee table, then her keys from where they slid between her sofa cushions, and nods to Denise with a happy smile. “See you later, D.”
Orange fingernails wave from behind a naughty smile. “Have fun, beautiful girl. Have way too much fun!”
CHAPTER 33
N ICHOLAS
I n my apartment, I close the door and watch Madison glance around with appreciation shining from her eyes.
“Nice place. You can tell a guy lives here. No frills. Not a lot of knick-knacks. I like it.”
I toss my keys in a bowl. “The only thing that was important to me when I furnished it was having a comfortable couch. My Uncle Jake and Aunt Drew have this overstuffed sectional I always loved sitting on. I found one just like it, same color and everything. My cousins called me out on it when they came here for my house-warming.” I do an impression of them, “That’s our couch! You stole our sofa, you thief!”
To test it out, she bounces a couple times and smiles at me. “Did you tell them you really did steal it?”
“Of course I did.”
“I would have.” At the changed look in my eyes, she pauses. “My breasts just bounced, didn’t they?”
My voice deepens. “They did.”
She tilts her chin toward the cushion, gesturing for me to join her. “What do you want to watch?”
Snatching the remote from an accent table, I stroll over and take a seat beside her. Fully committed to keeping my hands to myself, I ask, “You in the mood for a comedy?”
“Always.”
As we stare at my ‘invisible-screen’, movie choices zipping by, the scent of feminine shampoo drifts into my nose, just like it did in the car. Enjoying the freshness of her, the nearness and warmth of her, I breathe it in but keep my eyes on the screen.
“See anything you like, Slugger?”
I glance down as her hand slides up my thigh, over my crotch, and holds there. My eyebrows are up as I meet her gaze.
“I can’t see anything through these jeans, Nicholas. Why don’t you take them off?”
A short, surprised laugh bursts out, and questions are in my eyes. Madison answers them by dropping her
