“Well, that made it quite memorable for me, I must say,” she admits with a light chuckle as she smooths down her hair. “But you’re right. We should take this slow. Not jump into bed together. No sex. For a while. Like a long time. A year.”
My eyes widen. “Okay, I didn’t say that.”
Sophie rewards me with one of her sweet laughs, and her head falling back before meeting my gaze again. “I’m totally messing with you. But I like the idea of not rushing. We did things backward, and I want us to give this a real shot. If that’s what you were thinking…”
I close the gap between us, cupping her jaw as I slowly bring our lips together. “Dear God, please give me the restraint.”
She chuckles against my mouth. “You know my father is a pastor, right? You might not want to be praying to God about having the willpower not to sleep with me.”
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter. “Go to bed, woman. Before I change my mind entirely.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “And you should probably lock your bedroom door. Just to be safe.”
Sophie blushes, then laughs as she walks around me while I hold in a groan. Fuck, my dick is hard, and if it could, I’m sure it’d be cursing at me too.
“Good night,” she singsongs, looking over her shoulder as she licks her lips.
I smirk, knowing damn well she felt how aroused I was. Catching her eyes on my groin, I purposely adjust myself while she watches. “Good night, sweet Sophie.”
The day after Sophie’s dinner party, I kissed her good morning for the first time. It was Sunday, and it was just us the whole day. At first, I worried things would be weird or awkward, but nothing is with her. We watched Liam’s show and then laughed when we knew he’d be pissed we were continuing it without him. I made coffee and added in her creamer like always. Later in the afternoon, she snuggled up on the couch and read her book while I rubbed her feet. Then that evening, she left for a grieving circle meeting, saying that it was her last one. She was ready to put the past behind her, and I wanted to support her in whatever decision she made.
That same morning, Liam left for a four-day trip, and I hadn’t bothered to tell him about Sophie’s and my newfound relationship. I hadn’t mentioned it to Hunter either, but he knew within a couple of days thanks to Sophie telling her sisters and of course, Lennon telling him. Not that I care, though. I’m ready to let the world know because after confessing my feelings to her and sharing my past, I’ve realized life is too short not to tell the important people in your life how much you care about them.
We spent the weekend and most of the week alone, meeting up for breakfast and coffee before work, then hunkering down together in the evenings. It’s complete bliss, being in our own little world just the two of us. It hardly feels real because Sophie was always within my reach when we’d watch Netflix and talk about books, but she was never mine to touch. There were moments when I held back even when the timing felt right, but I knew having secrets and not giving her my whole self wouldn’t be fair to her. I also tried to be considerate of her just being in a relationship, albeit a bad one, so I didn’t know if she’d even want to date again so soon. It wasn’t until she asked me to admit my true feelings that everything changed.
And every day I’m so damn thankful she did. It lit something inside me that made me realize I didn’t want to go back to just being friends with Sophie. I’ve waited long enough.
“Holy motherforker!”
Sophie nearly jumps out of her skin when we hear Liam’s booming voice from behind us. I’m leaning against the kitchen counter with my arms wrapped tightly around her while she stands between my legs. I had my face in her neck, kissing the soft spot below her ear when his loud ass came barreling in.
It’s Thursday morning, and I hadn’t anticipated seeing him until tonight.
“You two. Holy shit, finally!” He charges in, dropping his bag on the floor. He surprises us both when he wraps his long arms around us in a group hug. “I was getting blue balls from your lack of fucking.”
“Christ, Evans,” I mutter, pushing him away.
Sophie turns around as my arms fall to her waist. “Liam! We’re not jumping back into bed together, so calm the hell down.”
Liam chuckles as he helps himself to some coffee. “Good, Sophie. Make the fucker wait it out for being a pussy and putting you in the friend-zone the past few years.”