“Changing your mind about sleeping with me already?”

He shakes his head. “Nope. Exploring your body would give me just about as much pleasure as f**king you, Friday. I want to know everything.”

“There are some things I’ll never tell you.” I know this about me. He should know it, too. That way, he won’t have any unmet expectations. “I don’t think I can go that deeply. Not with anybody. I’m sorry.” I start to fidget because I don’t know what to do with my hands. “So after my little medical issue is over, I still won’t bare my soul to you.” I lean forward and take his face in my hands. I swipe my fingers beneath his eyes, back and forth in gentle sweeps. “I’ll sleep with you, though. On my terms.”

“I don’t like to share,” he says.

“Neither do I.”

“I won’t share,” he clarifies.

“Neither will I.”

He smiles. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

I shake my head. “Probably not.”

“I have a feeling we could be really good together.”

“You always keep your promises, right?”

He nods. “I try to.”

“Promise me that you won’t break my heart.”

He heaves a sigh. “Friday,” he says.

“Paul,” I say, mocking his tone.

“You’d have to hand me your heart before I could break it.”

I nod. That’s true. “Okay.”

“But if you ever do trust me enough to give it to me, I promise not to harm it. Is that what you want to hear?” He shakes his head. “I don’t even know why this is an issue when you just plan to use me for sex.” He chuckles then raises a hand. “I volunteer as tribute!” he cries quietly.

I laugh. The bad thing is that if anyone could get me to hand my heart over, it’s him. Because I’ve had him in my head for so long that I don’t even know where to compartmentalize him anymore.

“Want to be my girlfriend?” he teases.

I shake my head. “Let’s just start with roommates.”

He nods. “I’ll take whatever you’ll give me.”

He gets up and holds out a hand. I take it, and he gently tugs me to my feet. He walks with me to my doorway, where his fingers pull from where they’re wrapped up in mine and fall away. “Lock your door,” he says.

“Why?”

“So Hayley won’t wake you up in the morning. She’s nosy. And she gets up at the ass crack of dawn.”

I laugh. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“Lock it so I won’t come to you in the middle of the night. I’m nosy, too.”

“I’ll take my chances,” I whisper as I close my door. I hear his footsteps creak across the floor as he walks away. I fall back against the door and finally allow myself to breathe. God, what have I gotten myself into?

Paul

I know Friday is pregnant before even she does. She’s been here for just over a week, and she’s woken up sick for the past two days. Is it bad that I kind of wish she had a virus? I crack the door to the bathroom and ask her if she needs anything.

She grunts and heaves. “Go away,” she growls.

I don’t open the door because we haven’t established that kind of intimacy yet. So, I just talk through the crack. “Want a wet cloth?” I ask.

“Yes,” she says quietly.

I open the door and find her leaning against the wall with one knee raised, her elbow resting on it. She’s wearing a T-shirt and panties, and I can see the elastic of the leg. I look away and get a washcloth from the cabinet, get it wet, and wring it out. I pass it to her, and she slaps it onto her forehead.

“Thanks,” she says.

“Want me to help you up?” I hold out my hand to her.

She burps into her closed fist. “Not yet,” she says, then she’s suddenly bent over the toilet again, heaving her guts up.

I just woke up so I get out my toothbrush and brush my teeth. I don’t want to leave her like this, but I can’t stand here and do nothing, either.

“When do you go to the doctor?” I ask.

“Tomorrow.”

“They’re going to be two happy motherfuckers,” I say. That part makes me grin. Garrett and Cody are going to be over the moon.

I reach down, and this time she takes my hand and lets me pull her up. She reaches for her toothbrush and sticks it in her mouth, but even brushing her teeth makes her gag. I rub her back gently, and she glares at me in the mirror.

“Go away,” she says around her toothbrush.

“Nope.” I cross my arms and lean my rear end against the counter. “I kind of like watching you get ready for the day.”

She pulls the shower curtain back and turns on the water. “You sure you don’t want to leave?” she asks, her eyes glinting in challenge.

“Not if you need me.”

She shrugs and then pulls her T-shirt over her head. She tosses it into the hamper, and suddenly she’s wearing nothing but a pair of pink panties. I can see the expanse of her naked back, and she has a large phoenix tattoo that I would have never guessed she had, along with a few others that are smaller.

“That is so not fair,” I say. She’s facing away from me toward the shower.

“I did warn you,” she taunts over her shoulder.

She hooks her thumbs in the hips of her panties and drags them down her bottom. She has these two adorable little dimples at the small of her back. And her ass, it’s just as round and perfect as I imagined in my wet dreams.