Overruled

by Lana Ferguson

“Did you come all the way over here just to yell at me, or did you actually miss me?” “Hardly.” “Too bad,” he murmurs. My nose wrinkles. “Why?” “Because I’ve missed you.”

can’t even slap a friends-with-benefits label on it, since I’m pretty sure I’m the furthest thing from what Dani considers a friend. I just…can’t seem to stop wanting to touch her. If she’s in the room, my hands itch. If she’s nearby, my eyes gravitate to her. Even when she’s tearing into me, I can’t bring myself to be annoyed. I just enjoy her talking to me at all.

“Because I just…” He huffs out a breath, frowning as he looks away from me. “I don’t know, okay? I just know I want to text you every fucking day, and I don’t, because you don’t want me to, and I just…fuck. How stupid is it that I miss you busting my balls as often as you possibly can?”

I want you to know it’s me doing this to you.” I suck in a breath when he starts to move again, slowly. “I don’t want you lying to yourself for one more fucking second about how badly you want this.”

She’s incredibly smart and probably the only person on the planet who takes as much joy as she does in putting me in my place. Honestly, she’s the only person I don’t mind losing to, as weird as that is. I kind of like it when she’s smug.”

Amazingly, despite the shit show I just suffered…all I can think about right now is how much I want to hear her voice.

“Dani,” he laughs, actually laughs. “I walked away from that woman whose face I can’t even remember because from the second I saw you, for every fucking moment since—there hasn’t been anyone in my head but you.” He laughs again. “You might as well live there now.”

Purrgood comes trotting out from the other side of the couch when he hears us, and Dani smiles immediately—stooping to scratch behind his ears as she murmurs soft praise to my husky little house cat, who leans into her touch like it’s the best thing in the world. Me too, buddy.

god i love a cat dad trope

“If he couldn’t stay for you, then he didn’t fucking deserve you. Understand? Because you’re worth staying for, Dani.”

“You still haven’t actually answered me.” “Sounds like I don’t have much choice.” His lips curl. “Well, you can always object.” “Something tells me I’d be overruled.”