Page 21 of Wait For You

“You choose. I’ll watch any of them.”

“Well, which streaming service do you have? Because they’re not all on the same one.”

“I have them all.”

“Of course you do. I take turns with them,” she said.

“I probably should too.”

“Let’s go with The Office. It’s been a minute since I saw that,” she finally said.

And so I found myself plunking on the couch with Tessa. Her gaze scanned the living room. “I don’t know where your bedroom is. Do you usually watch in here?”

“It’s probably not ideal, but usually in my bedroom. I work and stop when I’m sleepy.”

“You know that’s not great for your sleep,” she said pointedly.

“I know. I’ve never been a good sleeper, though.” I shrugged.

“Let’s go to your bedroom.” Her cheeks flushed pink again, and I loved it.

A few minutes later, we were propped up in my bed. Tessa had insisted on making popcorn. Surprisingly, I had some on hand because McKenna had given me a gift basket of various gourmet microwave popcorn for the holidays.

Tessa had recognized the selection immediately because she got the same thing. “We can tease McKenna for her lack of creativity,” she had said when she was putting the bag in the microwave before spinning around. “Wait, no! Don’t say anything about us!”

I held both hands up in surrender. “No worries. McKenna would never let me hear the end of it if she knew about us.”

Maybe an hour later, when Tessa dozed off curled up on the pillows beside me, I looked over at her. This can’t be serious. You have to keep this uncomplicated.

But you asked her to stay, my cynical mind lobbed back, pointing out the obvious.

I hadn’t spent the night with anyone since college.

I climbed out of bed, careful not to wake Tessa. I tossed the empty popcorn bag in the trash, turned out the lights in the kitchen, and returned to my bedroom. Tessa was sleeping soundly. After a quick stop in the bathroom, I slipped back into bed and lifted the lightweight down comforter up over her shoulders.

I turned off the light and lay in the darkness for a few minutes, my thoughts churning. When Tessa shifted and snuggled close to my shoulder, a familiar tightness in my chest eased. Moments later, I fell into a deep sleep.

Something woke me. As my mind pushed through the layers of sleep, I sensed something different. Usually, when I woke up, it was with a jolt.

I was deeply relaxed. When my brain started to flicker online and catalog the sensation of Tessa against me, I discovered I was deeply aroused.

I was spooned around her with her bottom nestled against my aching cock. Waking up this turned-on was new for me.

I took a slow breath, telling my body to stand down. But Tessa wiggled, pressing her luscious bottom against my arousal. I felt her breathing shift and knew she was awake.

“You can ignore that.” My voice was rough from sleep.

“What if I don’t want to?” she whispered.

I sucked in another breath and buried my face in the sweet curve of her neck, inhaling her scent. She was warm and smelled a little sweet and a little musky.

I let out a low groan, unable to keep my hips from rolling against her when she shimmied her bottom against me again.

“Tessa,” I rasped.

“What?” Her voice was velvety soft from sleep and a little husky. I could hear the hint of laughter in her tone.

Fuck me.