Changing Everything (Forgiving Lies #2.5)(37)

“Did you have a good day?” I asked breathlessly, in hopes to get us talking instead of going in the direction we were already headed.

“I’d rather know if you did,” he said against the spot behind my collarbone, then placed a deceptively soft kiss there.

“Of course I did. Thank you for everything. I loved everywhere we stopped, and—”

Eli cut off my rambling with a searing kiss that had my blood heating and my freaked-out mind clearing. The fingers that had been trailing up my arm began sliding down my body, caressing the swell of my breasts, and continuing their journey to my shorts.

No, no. No, no, no, no, no. I need to stop this. Now. Right now. Oh my God. This can’t happen.

“Um!” I said loudly, and struggled to think of something. “How about we watch a movie?”

Eli laughed huskily. “Maybe tomorrow.”

“Why not now? Don’t you want to? Actually, I’m kind of tired,” I lied, and swatted at the hand that was unzipping my shorts.

He abruptly stopped trying to undress me, and once again lifted his head to look at me. “Do you not want me to touch you?”

I would have shouted that I didn’t if he hadn’t looked absolutely terrified in that moment. I didn’t have to ask what he’d meant by that question, it was all over his face and in the tone of his voice. He thought seeing Brett last night—or his actions—had put a wall between us. “Of course I do! Just . . . maybe not tonight. Or tomorrow,” I added a few seconds after.

“Pay,” he whispered in the same worried and hurt tone. “I will never touch you if ask me not to and mean it, but I need you to tell me what’s happening right now.”

“I’m just tired,” I repeated, and immediately regretted the lie when Eli’s face went completely blank.

“You’re a bad liar, Paisley Morro, always have been.” He moved so he was sitting up and looking down at me. “What’s really happening in that mind of yours? Is it . . . Are you—”

“No, Eli, no! I’m— God, I’m sorry. Please stop thinking whatever it is you’re thinking; it has nothing to do with Brett.” I covered my face with my hands and groaned. “This is so embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing?” Eli echoed, his voice laced with confusion. A sharp laugh suddenly burst from his chest. “Are you . . . Is it that time of month for you, Pay?”

I dropped my hands and glared at him. “No, Eli, it’s not. I just—” I cut off and groaned again. I knew my cheeks must have been bright red. “I tried to do something for you and it went so so wrong.”

“Okay, now I’m really confused. Whatever it is, just tell me.”

“This is so embarrassing! And you’re going to laugh at me, and I just can’t.”

Eli lay back down beside me and brushed his fingers across my cheekbone. “If I promise not to laugh, will you tell me?”

I watched him for a few moments as I contemplated the outcome of this, and finally gave in with a sigh. “I thought it would have gone away by now.” I bit down on my bottom lip and scrunched up my face. “I went and got waxed on Wednesday night, and I had a really bad reaction to it,” I said in a rush and covered my face again so I wouldn’t have to look at his anymore.

A hard laugh burst from Eli’s chest after a few seconds of deafening silence. I felt the bed shift as he pushed himself up again and grabbed for my shorts. “I have to see this.”

“No!” My hands flew to my shorts to keep them on my body. I’d thought I was mortified just telling him what was wrong; this was taking it to a whole new level.

“Pay, I need to see this, baby.”

“You really don’t.”

“I’m pretty sure I do,” he argued.

As much as I tried to keep him from taking off my shorts, Eli was stronger. And soon I was lying there with my hands over my face for the third time in just a handful of minutes. Eli was shaking the bed from how hard he was laughing. He dropped his forehead against my stomach and placed a few soft kisses there, and lightly brushed a finger across my overly sensitive vaj.

“Don’t!” I yelled, and swatted at him.

“It’s not that bad, Pay. I was expecting something really bad.”

“Stop!” I said, and swatted once again. “It still hurts a little.”

“How much worse was it?” he asked with an amused grin.

“So much worse. I almost didn’t go into work on Thursday because of it.”

His grin widened, and he brushed a finger across it again. “And it still hurts?”

“Yes, Eli!” I punched his shoulder as hard as I could, but he just started laughing again. “It still hurts, stop touching!”

“Okay, okay,” he said on a laugh, and pulled my underwear back up, then my shorts. “I won’t touch you until you’re ready as long as you promise not to do this to yourself again.”

“Deal,” I agreed quickly.

Eli got up and walked over so he could grab my ankles and pull me off the bed. “Come on, let’s go pick out a movie.”





Chapter Eleven

October 2, 2013

Eli



“SWITCH,” I SAID that next Wednesday, and held my cup in front of Paisley.