Even the Score(85)

“I would love to, but I really can’t. Not today. I’m barely going to make this meeting as it is.” I waved at him to shut the door as I pulled my pants down.

“Oooh, you wanna have sex? Sounds good to me,” he teased, stalking across the room toward me.

“Get out of here!” I slapped his chest playfully as he tossed me gently on the bed. “Andy, I don’t have time for this. I’m gonna be—” My eyes glassed over as he trailed kisses down my neck and dipped his fingers inside my panties. I tilted my head toward him and took a deep, shuddered breath as his fingers circled and tortured me. After ten seconds or so, he pulled away suddenly and stood up.

My eyes snapped open. “Wait. What?” I leaned up on my elbows and glared at him.

“You’re gonna be late. I just wanted to show you what you have to look forward to later tonight, except that will be my tongue instead of my fingers.” He winked at me and left the room quickly as I sat frozen on my bed, trying to form a coherent thought.

The thought of calling him back and having sex right then crossed my mind—twice—but I really was late. I grabbed the first pair of black pants I could find and threw them on, along with a light yellow button-down shirt. I slid my feet into my favorite strappy black heels, which were by my bedroom door, and made a mental note to treat myself to a pedicure on my lunch break.

“Okay, I’m off,” I said to the kitchen full of people.

My people.

“Already? I didn’t even get to see you today.” Becca pouted as I flung my purse over my shoulder.

I walked over and squatted down in front of her. “I know, sweetheart, but I have to get to work early today. But . . . how about I sneak out of work early tonight and stop at the bookstore and grab the new Judy Moody book we saw?”

Her eyes lit up, and she nodded excitedly as she threw her arms around my neck. I squeezed her tight and closed my eyes, sighing happily. Who knew you could be so crazy about a kid that wasn’t even yours?

When she finally let go, I stood up and bent down, kissing her on the top of the head. I snuck around behind the table and planted a kiss on the top of Logan’s head, too. “Good luck on your spelling test today.”

“Thanks.” He grinned up at me.

Logan hadn’t attached to me as strongly as Becca had, but we definitely had a friendship.

Once again, I hooked my arm through my purse and waved good-bye to Gloria. I gave Andy a tight-lipped smile as I walked past him. “Uh . . . I’ll walk you out,” he stammered, looking back at the kids as he followed me to the front door.

We stepped outside, and I was surprised by the crisp coolness of the morning air. It was mid-September, and it already smelled like fall. The leaves hadn’t started turning colors yet, but you could smell the change in the air. Soon everything would be red and orange, bonfires would be blazing every weekend, and s’mores would once again become my guilty pleasure.

“It’s chilly out here,” Andy said, as though he read my mind.

“I know, I should’ve grabbed a sweater.” I thought for a split second about running back in, but there was no time. I hurried to my car and opened the door, tossing my purse over onto the passenger seat.

“I’ll bring one for you when I come in,” he offered. Gently he grasped my shoulders and spun me around to face him. His blond hair was longer than normal and looked extra adorable all messed up from bed. Light stubble covered his jawline, just the way I liked it, but nothing compared to his outfit.

“Have I ever told you how much I love these?” I hooked my finger inside the waistband of his Superman pajama pants and pulled him in close. “They do things to me, Andy. Very, very good things.”

“Really?” His tongue ran along his bottom lip as he stared down at me, his gaze growing more intense. “Logan gave them to me for Christmas last year, but now that I know you like them so much, I’m going to buy ten more pairs.”

I laughed out loud as he lowered his head and trailed kisses down my neck. His hands slid from my shoulders to my waist and squeezed tighter as I moaned softly, closing my eyes. His warm breath sent shivers all the way down to my toes and back up again.

After a minute I pushed him away playfully. “You better get back in there.” My eyes fell back to his pajama pants, which now had a delicious-looking bulge in them. “Or you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.”

He looked down at himself and back up at me with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, please, Logan’s been getting them for years.”

My mouth fell open. “What?”

“Yep, his little boners started when he was like four . . . and he’s been holding on to them for dear life ever since.” His loud laugh bounced off the garage door and echoed through the cul-de-sac.