“Hope you know how to sort.” I leer at her.
Laney pauses with the spoon by her lips, her mouth slightly open. “I’ll never do your laundry, Kam.”
“We better hire a housekeeper then.”
“Keep dreaming all-star.” She smiles and then continues eating. Cock-blocked in every direction.
After a small conversation reprieve, I ask, “So, the country is finally growing on you?”
Laney shrugs. “I guess. I can appreciate the open landscape and living by the lake.”
“The lake is definitely a bonus.”
“I also like that my dad is happy.”
“He wasn’t in New York?”
“No. Toward the end of my parents’ marriage things were really bad. I’m probably the only kid in the world who breathed a sigh of relief when they told me they were getting a divorce. I just didn’t know my father had plans of leaving the state once it was over.”
“Where’s your mom? Why didn’t you stay with her?”
“What’s today’s date?” she muses, “I think she’s in Bangkok. She travels a lot, like all the time. That’s why I’m with my dad. He has full custody. All those spaghetti dinners? It was just the two of us.”
“Do you get along with your mom? Even though you don’t see her?” I don’t know if I’m prying, and I’m sure Laney will let me know once I step over the line, but she seems comfortable enough talking about her mother, so I’m going to push it as far as she’ll let me go.
“Yeah, actually she’s great. We talk all the time. I wish I saw her more.”
“Damn. I couldn’t imagine not seeing my mom. I don’t know what I’d do.”
“I think we established you’d have to learn to do laundry.”
“Smart-ass.”
“Yup.” She twists the spoon in her mouth and drags it over her tongue. Damn. Her little gesture just made my dick twitch. “You ready to finish?”
“Finish?” I ask awkwardly. My pants now have a pulse.
“Yeah, with studying. You tell me the answers, and I’ll write.”
“How about you help me write?” How about you just touch me in general.
Laney cocks an eyebrow at me.
“Come on. What happened to practice makes perfect? You can teach me how to stir the sauce.”
“Oh, using my own words against me. Nice.”
“I’m a competitor. What I can I say? I’ll do anything to win.”
“I bet.” Laney comes and sits next to me. “No funny business. We’re studying.”
I make an X over my heart. “I solemnly swear I’m up to no good.”
“At least you’re honest.” She grabs my hand, and my senses charge like electromagnetic energy. Her touch feels like the sun brightening a whole new day.
Maybe recovering isn’t going to be so bad after all.
Chapter Five