Soar

“That’s why I picked this place.”

“Do you own or rent?”

“Own.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

He laughed. “It’s an investment.”

“How long have you lived here? Just since January?” He mentioned that he’d finished one semester at Princeton, and I assumed he hadn’t commuted that far.

“I moved in right after the holidays.”

“Cool. If you’re ever looking for a roommate, look no further.” Had I really just said that out loud?

He grinned. “This from the girl so adamantly opposed to spending the night? If you move in here, it won’t be as my roommate.”

“It won’t?” I liked the teasing. There was something hot about it, and it made me want him more.

“How blatant do I have to make things? Did what happened in the kitchen not make it clear?”

I licked my lips. “It helped.”

“Does that mean you wouldn’t be surprised if I tried to kiss you again right now?” There was a twinkle in his eyes that made him seem younger, less serious than usual.

“Not surprised, but—”

My response was cut off when his lips brushed against mine softly. “What were you going to say?” He cradled my head in his hands and watching me intently.

“Nothing important.”

“Good.” He moved his lips against mine again, slow at first and then faster. I didn’t expect it to become anything more when he nipped my lip softly and slipped his tongue into my mouth. I gladly let him deepen the kiss, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck again. One of his hands slipped down to my back where he used it to pull me against him. I could have kissed him for hours, loving the frenzied way his mouth moved against mine and the way he tasted like a cross between mint and something earthy. I wanted more, but eventually he broke the kiss.

“I had no idea kissing you would be this good.” I rested my head against his chest.

“Yeah? It’s how I’ve been picturing it.”

I picked up my head so I could look at him. “You’ve been picturing it?”

“For a while now.” He half shrugged in a way that made him seem almost embarrassed. A guy that could kiss like that should never feel embarrassed.

“I’ve pictured it too.” I also pictured doing a whole lot more with him, but kissing repeatedly was a really good start.

“Good to know.”

The incessant beeping from the kitchen let us know the chicken was ready.

“I guess we need to check on the food.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” He walked toward the kitchen. “Maybe we can try out some more of that kissing later.”

“Maybe…” The maybe was a yes.

Chapter Fifteen

Toby

Casey was asleep in my guest room again. I’d have much preferred her in my bed, but that would have pushed things way too fast. She’d been the one to suggest staying over this time. She claimed it was the much more comfortable bed, but I sensed she also liked being at my place. I hoped I was right.

I got the feeling she was far more innocent than she pretended to be, but asking her more about it was out of the question. Until I found out for certain whether she was a virgin, I sure as hell wasn’t pushing her to do anything too fast, even if it meant waking up with such a hard-on nothing was going to fix it. Well, nothing but her.

I was fully prepared to take care of the situation myself when I heard her tentative knock.

“Come in.” I responded automatically, even if I was lying in bed in just a pair of boxers.

She pushed open the door and hesitated in the doorway. “Oh, did I wake you up?”

Not in the way she thought she did. “No, I’ve been up. Do you need anything?”

“I have to be at work in an hour, so I wanted to tell you I’m heading out.”

“If you can wait a second, I’ll walk you.” I got out of bed, throwing back the covers without thinking about what she was going to see.

Her eyes widened and she blushed. “I can walk myself.”

I quickly slipped into some gym shorts. “It’s really not a problem.”

She kept staring at the ground. “Okay. I’ll meet you at the front door.”

By her embarrassed response, I was pretty sure my original theory was right. Casey was a virgin, and I was just going to have to sit back and wait for her to be ready.

I finished getting dressed and met Casey. “Ready?”

“Yup.” She seemed pretty eager to leave, and I hoped it was because she wanted time to get ready rather than wanting to get out of my apartment.

We walked back to her cousin’s place quietly. I started to open my mouth a few times, but realized I had no idea what to say. All too quickly, we were standing outside her building.

I turned to look at her. “Are you working late tonight?”

“Yeah. I’m covering Remy’s shift. I close.”

“Oh, okay. If you want to hang out afterward let me know.”

“It’s going to be pretty late.” She pulled her keys out of her purse.

I smiled at her. I only needed to sleep an hour or two at night. “I don’t mind staying up.”

She bit her lip, and it made me want to kiss her again. “I’ll give you a call when I’m out.”

Nice. Maybe I could get used to the whole dating thing again. “Sounds good. Have a great day.”

“You too.” She leaned up like she was going to kiss me but then stopped and started unlocking the door.

“Casey?”

She turned, and I placed a feather light kiss on her lips. “See you tonight.”

She smiled. “See you tonight.”

I waited until she made it inside before heading back home to get changed for the day. Casey wasn’t the only one who needed to work.

***

“There’re two of you now?” I groaned, annoyed to see that in addition to Jared sitting behind my desk, Owen, Levi’s advisor, was also camped out in my office.

“Hey, man.” Owen nodded at me like we actually knew each other.

“Did Levi send you too?” How little did the king trust me that he had to send up two of his men to babysit?

“No. I’m just keeping Jared company.” He smirked at Jared who responded by tossing my globe at Owen’s head. Lucky for them, Owen caught it before it broke. That globe was one of the few things of my mom’s that I’d bothered to keep. I would have been beyond pissed if they smashed it.