If she said yes though, it would make pushing through all that fear to ask worth it.

“Baby?” America called. The front door closed behind her words.

“In the bedroom,” I replied.

She opened the door and flipped on the light. “Why are you sitting in the dark?”

“Just got off the phone with Janice. She wasn’t super happy about the late notice, but she gave me Friday off.”

“Sweet!” she said, dropping her towel. “I’m going to take a shower. Want to join me? Or are you going to the gym?”

“I can go in the morning,” I said, scrambling to my feet.

America tugged on a string as she walked, and her bikini top fell to the ground. She paused a few steps later to shimmy the bottoms down her thighs, and then she let them fall the rest of the way.

I followed behind her, picking up pieces of clothing as I went. She reached beyond the curtain to turn the knob and frowned at me while I tossed her clothes into the hamper.

“Really? You’re cleaning up after me?”

I shrugged. “It’s just a habit, Mare. It’s compulsive. I can’t help myself.”

“How did you live with Travis?” she asked.

Thinking about Travis immediately made the beginnings of a hard-on disappear. “It was a lot of work.”

“Is living with me a lot of work?”

“You’re not that bad. It’s preferable. Trust me.”

She pulled back the curtain and then pinched my towel, pulling until the tucked portion was free. The fluffy cotton was on the ground, and then so was America.

With one hand, I gripped the edge of the Formica surrounding the sink, and with the other, I gently buried my fingers in her still wet hair. Her mouth was remarkable. She used one hand to grip my girth, and with just enough suction and a hint of teeth, she teased and sucked me until I began to worry that I was going to lift the Formica right off the cabinet.

Soon, I was coming, but she didn’t relent, her mouth working me until I was finished. I lifted her to stand and then ripped at the curtain, pushing her backward and then turning her around. With one hand between her legs and the other clutching the slick skin of her hip, I kissed her shoulder while I sank myself deep inside her. The sound she made was enough to make me come a second time, but I waited for her.

I worked my fingers in a circle on her soft skin, smiling when she began writhing against my hand, whispering for more. While I rocked against her, agonizingly slow, she continued whimpering and moaning.

The water cascaded over her back, pushing her hair to one side or another, and I ran my palm over her bronze skin, savoring every inch, hoping she would remember how good we were together when the time came to make a decision.

The pitch of her cries became higher, that adorable yelping she made when she climaxed. Unable to stop, I rammed myself into her, over and over, until I came again, slowing as she did, panting even though we’d been at it for no more than twenty minutes.