Page 51 of Heat Transfer
I chewed my lower lip and fired off a quick message back.
Want to come over?
The response was instantaneous.
Yes.
Dad and Ollie were still staring at me like a pair of weirdos.
“Tonight. I’ll tell him tonight.”
Chapter eighteen
Felix
I’d been feeling off all day.
My boss had called me in and told me there was a delay on the position opening up, which sounded a whole like office speak for “this isn’t happening.” And honestly, I went over the events of the weekend, how I wanted to be with Cor so badly and needed to get over myself and tell him how I felt.
So heading to his house for the night would be perfection.
Granted, my weird-as-fuck headspace wasn’t the best for summoning up nerves, but the fact that the only person I wanted to see was Cormac Brannon was telling in and of itself. Normally, when I was in a shitty mood, I holed up by myself, preferring it that way.
Traffic on 95 was horrendous, but at least I wasn’t on the Schuylkill Expressway. I got off the exit, my pulse still thumping hard from a few assholes who decided turn signals were forlosers. The rest of the drive slipped into easier territory, just stoplights and suburbia. I’d already been acquainted with the ride to Kennett because Marco and the rents lived there, but now that I was heading to Cor’s multiple times a week, yeah, familiar put it lightly.
My brain had fantasized without permission, of how if things continued between Cor and me, whether I wanted to stay in the city. Truth be told, I liked this area. I liked the folks I knew here too. The main reason I’d stayed away was that I wanted to prove to my family that I could live on my own.
Except Cor built me up so much, made me feel so damn confident, that none of that mattered anymore. Not if he was mine.
A slight headache nagged at me, and the sooner I was off the road, the better. I always got nervous about headaches due to past experiences, and I couldn’t wait to crash on Cor’s couch and watch the documentary we’d both been waiting for. Medieval torture devices were a subject not many would be excited to dive into, but I loved that we shared so many interests.
I pulled up in front of Cor’s house, which was as charming and adorable as he was. While I didn’t have the space for plants in my Philly apartment, apart from a succulent named Norbert, the sight of all the ample land around his house brought the gardening itch back. As a kid, I’d always liked planting things with Mama in the springtime.
Great, now I was mentally moving into his place too, and we still hadn’t even talked about the elephant in the room—about what the fuck this continued fake-lationship meant. I killed the ignition and hopped out of the car, the brisk air only amplifying that subtle, annoying headache.
When I stepped up to the door, it opened.
The sight of Cor in his threadbare gray tee and jeans struck me square in the chest. His eyes crinkled with his genuine smile,and my heart careened all over the place. I’d never met anyone who looked at me like they saw the sunrise, but that was the only way I could describe his expression. And my heart ached with a fierceness that almost brought me to my knees.
“Hey, come on in.” Cor gestured.
I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips to his. We might be in front of his house in the middle of the street, but I didn’t give a damn. I needed the taste of him on my lips, to bask in the comfort his presence delivered. Plus, Kennett could use a little livening up. His mouth on mine was pure electricity, and I savored the way he lit me up. How I’d gone from sulking over a breakup to this incandescently happy was a mystery. However, one thing was becoming perfectly clear.
I couldn’t let this slip through my fingers.
The bristles of his beard brushed against my chin, and I nipped at his lower lip, then slid my tongue in again for a deeper kiss. As if we could somehow merge and become one.
When I drew back, he watched me with those soft eyes, the ones I’d been catching more often from him that just kicked me straight in the sternum.
“As much as I’m happy to keep kissing you, maybe we shouldn’t give the neighbors a show,” Cor said, stepping away. He tilted his head toward the door.
“Maybe we should.” I waggled my brows, which earned me a grin and flared nostrils. Yeah, the idea appealed to me too. I didn’t know what it was about this man, but the desire to bend him over any available surface rose to the surface constantly. If there was a little risk or an audience, all the better.
“Get your ass in here,” Cor said. “I swear, I never pulled this kind of shit before.”
“So what you’re saying is I make your life endlessly more interesting.” I closed the door behind me.
“Yeah, you do.” He looked back at me, pure tenderness shining in his gaze, and fuck, bad day gone. Butterflies exploded in my chest, and adrenaline coasted through me, excising anything that had been weighing me down. “But I’m not useless. I know you had a rough day, so I picked up dinner and snacks. I figured we could wind down and play some games.”