Excerpt

In between cleaning the bar, wiping tables and letting the waitstaff go as the place got quieter, Casey nibbled away on a turkey club sandwich. Even the way she ate and chewed was sexy.

Man, he either had it bad for this girl, or he just really needed to get laid.

Or both.

She was back in front of him, putting more dirty glasses through the glass cleaner.

He needed to find something to talk to her about. “Want to hear a funny story?”

She merely looked up at him beneath her lashes, and fuck if that didn’t make his dick even thicker. “Sure.”

“Since moving into my Nan’s place this cat has been coming by. He meows at my door. I started feeding him treats, but I know he has a home and owner. We’ve started communicating by fastening notes to Trevor—the cat’s—collar. Never met in person, but it’s actually kind of fun. Certainly, getting me through the long days of construction. We’re mostly just trading recipe tips at the moment.”

She still hadn’t looked up at him, but he watched her lips twist ruefully. “Recipe tips like pureeing caramelized onions and adding it to soup for more flavor depth?”

His fry paused mid-air and a blob of ketchup fell off it and landed back on his plate. “Yeah.”

“Trevor’s my cat. You’ve been corresponding with me.”

Leo’s mouth hung open. “Seriously?”

She finally lifted her gaze, it glittered with amusement. “Yeah.”

“So it’s like we haven’t just met tonight. We’ve been getting to know each other for weeks, then?”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning asking you out doesn’t seem as forward as it could have been a second ago.”

“Would that have stopped you?”

“No.”

Her full lips twisted again. “I don’t have a lot of time to date. I work nearly seven days a week. College isn’t cheap. I’m lucky Simon and Jared let me live with them for free.”

“Sooo … then we keep it casual. When you get home from work at like what twelve-thirty, you text me and come over, or I come to you and we …”

“We what?”

He shrugged. “Hang out. Do whatever, until your eyes are too heavy and then you kick me out or I walk your groggy ass home. I’m flexible.”

“Do whatever?”

He swirled his final onion ring in the ketchup and popped it into his mouth. “Do you want me to be blunt? Some women want to be wooed. I can do that. I can take shit slow, be respectful, and court a woman until she’s swooning. But I also know some women just want the D and I also respect that. Feminism and sex-positivity. No such thing as the word slut in my vocabulary. You’re no less valuable of a person if you put out on the first date.”

“That was a lot of words to just say, ‘let’s be fuck-buddy neighbors,’” she said teasingly.

“We don’t have to just be fuck-buddies. But I also asked if you wanted me to be blunt.”

“Not sure I have time for anything else.”

“But you’re not turning me down or telling me to get the fuck out of here, either.”

“No … I’m not.”