He’s already in bed when I open the door, laying back against his pillows with his eyes focused on his phone, which is very rude when there’s a girl in his bedroom only wearing his shirt and a really cute pair of underwear. I sigh loudly and when I know I have his attention, I pull an elastic from my wrist and reach up to fasten my hair into a bun, the shirt rising just enough for him to catch a glimpse of my Grinchy panties.

“It’s rude to stare, Asher.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t try to put on a show in my bedroom.”

“Trust me, if I was putting on a show, you would know,” I say as I pull down the blanket. “And you would be begging me for more.”

Asher lifts a brow. “I don’t beg, Olivia.”

“Perhaps you haven’t had the right reason to.” I’m crawling over the blankets and sheets to get closer to him. “I’m feeling very generous. How would you like to spend the last few hours of your birthday?”

Our lips are practically touching and I want to kiss him more than I’ve ever wanted to do anything in my life. I know it’s killing him. I can see it in his eyes. It’s killing him not to touch me. He’s white-knuckling his snowman sheets, his sad attempt at resisting the urge to put his hands all over me. I’m not sure why he’s so intent on making the both of us miserable.

“Go to sleep, Olivia.”

I let out this annoyed gurgling sound that I didn’t know I was capable of making as I flop back against my pillow.

“You’re such a buzzkill.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“We’re both adults.”

“I’m aware.”

“And we’re both attracted to each other.”

His silence is deafening.

I have visions of wrapping my hands around his neck.

Not in a kinky way.

“Don’t give me that look,” he says. “You know I’m attracted to you.”

“So we’re two adults who are attracted to each other and yet…”

“And yet…”

Asher kills the lights and the room drowns in darkness. I’m too exhausted to puzzle all of his mixed signals back together. I’ll save it for the subway ride to work tomorrow and I’ll probably still be trying to sort it out on the ride back home. Men suck. We should send them to another planet.

“Olivia?”

“You had your chance, buddy. Give yourself a birthday present.”

“Goodnight.”

I don’t say it back.

Mostly because I’m in shock when his arm snakes around my waist and he pulls me against him.

He does a fantastic job of confusing me.

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