Bet on It (47)

Afterwards, Aja scooted closer to him, her legs crossed at the ankle as she laid her head on his shoulder. Her braids smelled sweet as they pressed into the skin of his neck.

“Tired?” His voice was soft.

“No, just getting comfortable.”

He threw an arm around her shoulder, allowing her to cuddle up even closer.

“Feel free to use me as your human body pillow, then.” Insincere sarcasm dripped from his tongue.

“Stop being so damned comfortable and I will.”

“Nah, it’s all right. I happen to like your cuddles, Peaches.”

Aja groaned. “You and that damned nickname.”

“What? You don’t like it?”

“I like it a little too much, honestly.”

“No such thing.”

“Oh yes there is.” She moved back to look him in the eyes, and he immediately felt bereft. “Especially when it makes me feel all … tingly.”

“On the list of all of the sensations a human being can feel, I’d say tingly is near the top.”

Aja shook her head. “Not when it comes to you. I thought having sex Monday night would make things feel a little less intense but…”

“But it just made shit even harder to ignore?” He brushed his nose against hers, then bumped the tips together.

“Exactly. And that’s not a good thing. I don’t have a ton of experience with casual sex, but I think I have a limit. I’m too high-strung to really enjoy tons of it without overthinking things. And you’re leaving in a few weeks and—”

“And that’s not exactly optimal for exploring any kind of feelings we may or may not have.”

“Exactly.” It was her turn to bump their noses together. “Which is why our little pact should work so well. If we keep our encounters contained and treat them like rewards, we won’t have the chance to get so attached. It’ll be easier when they’re done.”

Their mouths were so close that all it would take was a slight movement for them to brush. Walker could smell the gum she’d started chewing after her food. Her breath was cool and minty against his face and made him want to press his lips to hers. He held back though. His wants couldn’t supersede their need to have this conversation.

“Maybe we should come up with some rules,” he said. “Make sure we’re as smart about this as possible.”

It was honestly the last thing he wanted to say. Almost everything in him wanted to run into this thing with her with as few limitations as possible. To feel the full force of whatever was about to happen and suffer the consequences later. But Aja was obviously concerned, and while he was willing to risk his own feelings, he wasn’t about to risk hers.

“Rules?” Her tone was thoughtful. “Like maybe we don’t do anything sexual outside of when we’re fulfilling the pact? Like not even kiss?”

He clenched his jaw. “Yeah, that sounds smart. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about sex too much either. Keep the temptation as low as possible.”

Aja nodded. “And we don’t tell anybody. Especially not your Gram. I don’t want her looking at me funny when you’re gone because she knows her grandson has been inside me.”

“Jesus, Aja.” His voice was strained with his attempt to hold back his laughter.

“I’m serious. I don’t want her to look at me weird.”

“She wouldn’t,” he argued, trying to soothe her. “If anything, she’d be wonderin’ what the hell you were doin’ with me.”

Her expression was dubious, but she didn’t say anything.

Walker moved away slightly. It was damn near impossible for him to get his bearings back when they were so close that he could almost taste her.

“I can’t think of anything else,” he said. “Which is weird because I feel like there should be a million rules for a situation like this.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of some.” She leaned back against the window and closed her eyes briefly. “Maybe I’ll make a list when I get home and send it to you.”

“I think we’ll be OK as long as we remember the most important rule.”

“No sex unless either of us wins a game.” Aja said the words softly.

“No exceptions.” He mirrored her position, needing to get his eyes off her so he could focus. “We can do this.” He was clearly trying to convince them both. “It’s just sex. It should be easy enough.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. “Easy.”



* * *



The ride home was almost silent except for the soft music playing from the truck’s radio. Walker spent the entire half hour trying to find ways to ask Aja what she was thinking as she stared out the window. Every time he came up with something halfway decent, he decided against it. He didn’t want to disturb the peaceful silence they’d created. Plus, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.

Neither of them made an immediate move to get out of the truck when he pulled into the parking lot of Aja’s apartment building. They sat there, perfectly still, listening to the crickets chirp like they couldn’t bear for their time together to end.

Aja turned to him after a few minutes. He could barely see her face in the darkness, but he caught the outline of her, the little glimpses of her eyes and lips and cheeks he could make out in the moonlight.