Breaking Away Read online

  He smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. She could tell he still didn’t believe that, but she did. She knew it was true and hoped that one day he would too.

  “I hope you’re right,” he said before he leaned back down, kissing her long and slow as he framed her face in his hands. Parting slowly, he drew a few more kisses out of her before saying against her lips, “You are so fucking gorgeous.”

  She laughed, pushing him away. “Please, I’m fugly.”

  He rolled his eyes as he sat up, reaching for the bags. “Whatever, hush, I got you some presents to help make you feel better.”

  She perked up some, sitting up slowly and cringing from the pain. “I like presents.”

  “I figured you did,” he said, unloading a heating pad.

  She about screamed as he tore the package open and plugged it in before handing it to her. “Oh my god, I am going to give you the best blow job of your life once I feel better.”

  He chuckled, low and sexy as his eyes darken. “Again, I look forward to that very much.”

  She moved it onto her stomach and smiled up at him. She was about in tears when the heat from the heating pad hit her belly, soothing her angry uterus.

  “Thank you.”

  Grinning, he said, “Oh, I’m not done.”

  She watched with excitement as he pulled out a big chocolate cake from a bag and laid it down on the bed. She grinned up at him as she reached for it, but then she noticed it had writing on it.

  Hope your vagina and uterus get better, I miss it.

  She couldn’t help it and, despite the pain, she toppled over with laughter. Looking up at him, she giggled as she said, “How in the hell did you get the worker to write that on there?”

  “Audrey loves me; she’ll do anything for me.”

  Reese laughed and became more excited. Audrey may not like her, and she might not like Audrey, but that girl could bake some sweets. Placing the cake down, she watched as Phillip laid pads, tampons, Midol, two tubs of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, and a one-pound bag of Reese Pieces down. She looked up at him and couldn’t see him through the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

  “You bought me pads and tampons?”

  He shrugged shyly as he looked away. “I guessed really on what you needed. I wanted to surprise you, make you feel better.”

  “You did,” she said breathlessly as she laid the glorious heating pad down and got on her knees. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him long and hard as his arms came around her waist, hugging her softly. Dusting his lips, chin, and jaw with kisses, she smiled as she snuggled into his neck. “Thank you so much.”

  “Anytime.”

  “When do you need to leave?”

  He moved his hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head before kissing her temple. “I need to leave in about an hour. I gotta catch another flight back to Anaheim before flying out to Colorado.”

  She moved her fingers to the nape of his neck, kissing his jaw before looking into his bright blue eyes. She moved her nose along his, closing her eyes as his lips met hers, kissing her slowly, taking her breath away. Her heart was pounding, her throat tight with emotion. No one had ever done something so sweet for her, and she didn’t know how to handle the emotions that were coursing through her. Tightening her arms around his neck, she hugged him tightly and decided that she never wanted to let him go. Ever.

  “Lay with me till you gotta go?”

  He nodded. “Of course. Lay down, I’ll go put everything up.”

  Tears still stung her eyes as she squeezed him again before letting him go. She lay back in her bed, placing the heating pad on her belly as she watched him move around her apartment, putting things away before coming to her bed. Phillip then kicked off his shoes before undoing his belt, laying it on the back of the couch. Moving into the bed slowly, he cuddled up against her, moving her hair out of her face before pulling her close against his chest. He moved his lips along her temple and her forehead as she slowly closed her eyes.

  “So are we going to this dinner together?”

  She smiled as she snuggled closer into him. “No way, that would open up a can of worms that needs to stay closed.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, it probably would. I guess I need to figure out a way to tell Claire we are fooling around, huh? Just in case your family lets it slip.”

  She shrugged her shoulders, pulling back a little to look him in the eyes. “That is up to you. I can tell them that Claire doesn’t know, but I’m not sure that will keep them quiet.”

  “I need to tell her anyway, don’t you think? I feel like shit lying to her all the time.”

  Reese thought for a moment. “I don’t know, do you think so?”

  “It’s up to you. I want to tell her, but if you are uncomfortable with it, I won’t.”

  Reese looked away, moving her fingers up to play with his bow tie. “I mean, what would you tell her?”

  “That we are friends, but we like to have sex. She isn’t dumb; she knows I have sex.”

  Reese smacked his chest. “I know that, but I don’t like her thinking that’s all it is.”

  She froze when she said it, because that was exactly what it was.

  Right?

  Fuck. What the hell was wrong with her? Damn hormones! When she looked up, Phillip was looking down at her. His piercing blue eyes watched her as he asked, “What are you saying? That it is more?”

  She looked away and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Blah, forget I said that. I just feel like that would freak her out, and she’d probably get pissed off.”

  “Oh, she will be pissed. I’m preparing myself for that, and you should too. You’ll probably need to do damage control.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “So what do you want me to say?”

  Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath and said exactly what she was thinking. “I have no freaking clue.”

  He chuckled against her hair, his arms coming around her a little tighter as he buried his nose in her hair. “Fine, when you know, let me know cause I have no clue either.”

  “I will.”

  “Good, now get some rest.”

  She placed a small kiss against his jaw. She felt so safe in his arms, so complete. She was still in pain, but it didn’t matter because she was wrapped in his arms and he wanted to surprise her and make her feel better.

  And he had.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” she whispered, and she meant it. She had missed him terribly. It seemed like he was always there when she needed him, even when she didn’t ask him to be. It was new, and it was comforting. She couldn’t imagine not having him there. That terrified her, but what could she do about it? Leave him? Stop what they were doing? She couldn’t. She couldn’t even fathom the thought. She liked what they were doing. He made her happy, something she thought no man could do after Kevin. So why stop what she liked, what made her feel good, and what made her happy? She couldn’t, and she wouldn’t.

  Snuggling her nose in his neck, she took in a deep breath. His deep, woodsy smell intoxicated her senses as he said, “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

  He said it like a promise, and it gave her chills.

  Because she felt the exact same way.

  “I’M SO freaking nervous.”

  Reese looked over to where Claire stood with her arms crossed behind her back. Her hair was in a bun with a huge pink flower at the base. Her costume was a thing of beauty. Reese took great pride in her costume designer, and this detailed masterpiece was nothing less than perfect. The top was a white bra that was covered in glittery tulle that had flower detail all over it, with bright pink and white stonework. The bottom was a pair of white booty shorts covered with the same tulle and detail. It went perfect with Claire’s skin and brought out her ice blue eyes. Brian stood beside her in a pair of dark jeans and no shirt, his dark hair brushed to the side. Reese was going for a ‘rich girl—poor boy’ theme and to her, it worked. She just h