“Oh my god. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. They’re mistaken a lot, though I have to say, this is a first.” She mustn’t have seen him kiss me back, or she’d be madder than this. I wonder how often they get confused and Eli goes along with it. “Harlow, I assume?” Even in the midst of my mortification, I warm at the fact he’s mentioned me to them already. “So, you and Ezra?”
“Erm, no—not really. I’m not—maybe we just don’t mention this again?” I hope, and they both laugh but don’t actually agree. “I’m so sorry. Again. I’m just gonna go...” I gesture with my thumb behind me to my apartment, where I walk backward before slipping inside and headbutting the door as I close it.Stupid, stupid, stupid.What is wrong with me? I eat guys for breakfast. I don’t get embarrassed or tongue-tied or anything else that’s happened recently. I blame Ezra. And Sawyer. And Nico.Eurgh.I’m so screwed. I wonder if the nunnery would take me with my past encounters? Surely celibacy is my only way out of this.
***
I only get an hour out of the hope that Eli and Liv would keep it between us.
There’s a knock at the door, and when I answer, Ezra is there with the biggest grin on his face. I groan and try to shut it again, but he holds it open and chuckles, so I go back to the sofa, throwing myself down dramatically and covering my face with my hands. I want to die all over again, the embarrassment coming straight back to the surface. The sofa dips next to me, and then Ezra’s warm hands are around my wrists, bringing mine away from my face.
“You’re so smug I could hit you,” I tell him.
“I’m not smug, I’m happy,” he corrects, but the grin doesn’t go anywhere, and he even looks a bit flushed himself.
“It looks a lot like smug to me,” I say.
“Well, maybe a little.”
I huff and go to shove him, but he grabs my wrists again and pins them above me against the sofa cushions before leaning over and kissing me. I should’ve known the second I put my lips on Eli and felt nothing that there’s no way he could’ve been Ezra.This kiss.This kiss is something else. What those smoldering looks had been promising. I feel it from where he’s gripping me at my wrists all the way down to my curling toes as his mouth moves against mine with the perfect amount of force behind his soft lips. His tongue tangles with mine, and when he breaks away we’re both out of breath. I’m sure my hooded eyes mirror his.
“I’m taking you on a date,” he whispers against my lips.
“You really don’t like asking, huh?”
“You have no idea.” My stomach clenches at the unspoken meaning behind his words. “Tomorrow night.”
It’s kind of weird to think of an actual date and not just picking someone up at a bar for casual sex. Would it end the same way?
“I’m going now, because I’m trying to be a gentleman, but the way you’re looking at me makes me not want to wait.” I bite my lip against a moan, and he zeros in on it before letting one wrist go to drag my lip out gently. He leans in and slowly licks the small cut still lingering there with the tip of his tongue, and I clencheverywhere.This time I do moan, and he stands up instantly, rearranging himself. “Nope. I’m going. I’ll see you tonight for the housewarming party. Try not to kiss any more of my relatives between now and then.”
I throw a sofa cushion at his retreating back, but I’m laughing when he leaves.