Full Package(15)

Morning wood.

Waking up with a hard-on is a fact of having a Y chromosome. Most of the time Josie’s gone before I even leave for work, so who cares? But, every now and then she’s not. Like on Saturday morning. Clad only in black boxer briefs, I pad out of my room, rubbing my eyes and yawning. There she is in the hallway wearing the most adorable little pair of pink boy shorts that do nothing to reduce the tent in my pants. In fact, the view of her soft thighs and the swell of her tits under that flimsy T-shirt material enhances the outline in my shorts to completely fucking obvious levels.

Because . . .

She’s. Not. Wearing. A. Bra.

I’m not a religious man, but I’m seriously considering taking up praying. To her chest. I think this is what heaven looks like. Those globes. God help me, I’m seeing an angel in front of me.

“Morning, Chase.”

“Morning, Josie,” I say, my voice gravelly from the hour and the view.

Her eyes drift down, and she blinks. My gaze follows hers, and my dick is pointing at her, like a happy billboard.

She doesn’t seem fazed.

I shrug. “I meant, it’s a very good morning indeed.”

Josie smirks, and I can’t help but notice she stares a little longer than one would expect. Can’t say that bothers me.

But that night isn’t so good at all when I learn the thing that sucks most about having a female roommate like Josie.

She’s going on a date.





9





I try to leave before she does.

I don’t want to know what she’s wearing. I don’t want to know how she does her hair. I don’t even want to know where she’s going.

Until she tells me. My hand is on the doorknob, ready to hightail it out of the apartment, since I can’t be the pathetic ass who’s home when his fuck-hot roommate heads out on a date.

Josie calls out to me from the hallway. “Hey!”

“Yeah?”

She walks into the living room. “I’m going to Bar Boisterous in the Fifties.”

I narrow my eyes. “Okay. Why are you telling me?”

“So you’ll know where my last-known location is.”

Annoyance threads through me. “Please don’t tell me you’re going out with someone you think is going to dismember you.”

She shudders and wags spooky fingers. “Yes. I’ll have him send my head to you in a box.”

“Not funny.”

“What if he puts a bow on top? Like a gift?” She steps closer and adopts a Vincent Price narrator style. “He’s going to cut me up in tiny pieces and feed me to the wolverines.”

“Seriously. Not funny. Are you really worried about this guy?” I ask, not giving in to her attempt at humor. Though, in all other circumstances, Josie wins major points for being not just a humor consumer, but a humor producer. And that’s rare. Humor producers are diamonds.

Just not this second.

She parks her hands on her hips. She wears a white top with a scoop neck and a pair of slim jeans. Her date doesn’t deserve her. I don’t know who he is, what he does, or a thing about him, but I don’t need to. He doesn’t fucking deserve this amazing humor-producing, big-hearted, glorious-chested, kitchen-talented woman. “You asked a ridiculous question, Chase.”

Sternly, I say, “You’re the one who wanted to tell me your last-known location.”

“I’m just being cautious. Not paranoid.”

I relent. “Sorry.”

“But, seriously. I have a favor to ask.” There’s no toying in her tone.

“Of course. Ask me anything.” And I’ll do it.

Her voice is innocent, hopeful even as she asks, “Can I call you if anything comes up?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” she says, fidgeting with a heart charm on her silver bracelet. “Just anything, I guess. I saw Henry once over the summer, and we had a nice time, then he had to leave town for an assignment. I don’t know much about him, and usually my friend Lily, who runs the flower shop down the street from me, is my backup. But she’s out with her boyfriend Rob tonight, so if anything happens, can you be my Bat-Signal?”

When she puts it like that, how can I harbor a ball of frustration over her dating? I might think she’s a babe, but first and foremost she’s my friend. One of my best friends. I stride across the hardwood floor, drape an arm around her, and pull her in close to reassure her.

Except . . . tactical error.

I draw a deep inhale of her hair. That ball of frustration doesn’t unwind. It coils, because . . . he’ll smell her tonight. He’ll know her cherry scent.

My fists clench. My chest pinches. My jaw tightens.

But then, I’m just being territorial, I tell myself. I’m a lion protecting my pride.

This isn’t personal. This isn’t a man looking out for his woman. This is just elemental. It’s basic male/female pack mentality, king-of-the-jungle shit. It’s a guy looking out for a girl he cares about. My job is to be her wingman on alert. To keep her safe. “You know I will, Josie, baby,” I say in her ear.

Baby?

What the fuck? I don’t use terms of endearment. I don’t utter sweet little nothings.

“Thank you,” she says as we separate. “It’s just this whole online dating thing is . . .” She draws a deep breath. “It’s fraught with challenges. I went out with someone a few months ago, and, well, let’s just say it didn’t work out.”