Seriously, Sophia, I know. Address please?
Let me think about it.
Not gonna ask you again…
Yes you wil . You want to see Simon in that hot tub. Don’t lie.
I hate you…
Text between Simon and Caroline:
You done with work?
Yep, at home waiting for you.
Now that’s a nice visual…
Prepare yourself, I’m taking bread out of the oven.
Don’t tease me, woman…zucchini?
Cranberry orange. Mmmm…
No woman has ever done breakfast bread foreplay
the way you do.
Ha! When are you coming?
Can’t. Drive. Straight.
Can we have one conversation where you’re not twelve?
Sorry, I’l be there in 30
Perfect, that will give me time to frost my buns.
Pardon me?
Oh, I didn’t tell you? I also made cinnamon rolls.
Be there in 25.
“I’m not listening to this.”
“Like hel . It’s my car. Driver picks music.”
“Actual y, you’re wrong about that. The passenger always picks music. It’s what you get when you give up driving privileges.”
“Caroline, you don’t even own a car, so how could you ever have driving privileges?”
“Exactly, so we listen to what I pick,” I chided, sitting back after changing the radio station for the hundredth time. I hit the iPod and scrol ed until
I found something that I thought would please us both.
“Good song,” he admitted, and we hummed along.
The trip had been great so far. When I first met him— heard him—I never would have predicted it, but Simon was quickly turning into one of my
favorite people. I’d been wrong about him.
I glanced at him: humming along to the song, drumming his thumbs along the steering wheel. As he was concentrating on the road, I took the
opportunity to catalogue some of his more swoon-worthy features.
Jaw? Strong.
Hair? Dark and messy.
Stubble? About two days’ worth and nice.
Lips? Lickable, but lonely looking. Maybe I could check them out, do my own little tongue inspection…
I sat on my hands to stop myself from launching over the console. He continued to hum and drum.
“What’s going on over there, Nightie Girl? You look a little flushed. Need some more air?” He started for the air conditioner.
“Nope, I’m good,” I answered, my voice sounding ridiculous.
He looked at me strangely, but resumed his hum drum. “I think it’s time we broke out that cranberry-orange bread. Hit me,” he said a moment
later as I was indulging in a fantasy about how exactly I could maneuver myself into his lap while stil maintaining a good highway speed.
“I’m on it!” I hol ered, diving into the backseat and surprising us both. I had my legs in the air and my bottom on display as I clasped my upside-
down face in my hands behind the seat. I could feel how red my cheeks were, and I gave myself a little slap to snap me back into this world.
“That is one sweet ass, my friend.” He sighed, leaning his head on it as though it were a pil ow.
“Hey. Ass Man. Pay attention to the road and not my heiney, or no bread for you.” I gave his head a bump with my bum and sent myself flailing
as he took a turn.
“Caroline, you need to control yourself back there, or I’m pul ing over.”
“Oh, zip it. Here’s your damn bread,” I snapped, crawling back into my chair in a graceless way and throwing the bread at him.
“What the hel ? Don’t throw this. What if you’d bruised it?” he cried, gently stroking the foil-wrapped loaf.
“I worry about you, Simon. I real y do.” I laughed, watching him struggle to open the end of the wrapper. “You want me to cut you a piece—okay,
or you could just do that.” I frowned as he took a giant bite out of the end.
“Thif if mine, righ?” he asked, spraying crumbs.
“How do you function in normal society?” I asked, shaking my head as he took another monster bite. He just smiled and continued, eating the
entire loaf in less than five minutes.
“You’re gonna be so sick tonight. That’s meant to be eaten piece by piece, not ingested whole,” I said. His only response was to burp loudly
and pat his tummy.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re one twisted man, Simon.” I chuckled.
“You’re stil intrigued though, aren’t you?” He grinned, turning the blue eyes loose on me.
My panties actual y disintegrated. “Oddly, yes,” I admitted, feeling my face flame again.
“I know.” He smirked, and we drove on.
“Okay, the turn should be coming up just around this corner—I remember that house!” I cried, bouncing in my seat. It had been a while since I