Текст книги "Four Week Fiance"

Автор книги: J. S. Cooper

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

Chapter Three

Mila

My feet were starting to hurt in my heels. I’d known that four-inch-heels were too high to be comfortable, but Sally had talked me into buying them because they made my calves look “killer.” I was now regretting following my vanity—especially seeing as TJ had barely glanced at me or talked to me since we’d arrived at the party. And even though other men were giving me appreciative looks, it didn’t really matter to me.

The only one I wanted thinking I looked hot was TJ. And boy, did he look hot tonight with his crisp white shirt and black tuxedo. His short black hair was slicked back and his green eyes were illuminated on his tan face. His shoulders were strong and muscular and I couldn’t stop myself from staring at his shapely, muscular legs and strong butt as he walked. I’d never experienced such lust from just looking at a man before, but TJ was driving me crazy. Maybe it was because I knew exactly what his strong, athletic body could do to me and I was missing the attention. He could at least give me some sort of sexy “I want to fuck you right now” smile. But no, nothing. I sipped on my wine and tried to stifle a sigh. I had issues. I didn’t want our relationship to be all about sex, but all I could think about right now was being with TJ in a strictly carnal way. The hairs on my neck started to stand on end and I looked to the right to see that TJ was staring at me with narrowed eyes.

“What?” I asked after almost a minute of him just staring at me.

“What?” he asked and blinked, his eyes not leaving mine but a smile not reaching his face either.

“Nothing,” I said and looked away, feeling flushed and hot. Why was he just staring at me and not saying anything? My stomach churned as I thought about the look that had been in his eyes. What did it mean? I was going to drive myself crazy by over-analyzing every look he gave me.

“See that door over there?” TJ moved closer to me, so that his body was right next to mine. I could feel his body heat right next to me, even though we weren’t touching. I looked over at him and he nodded to a door on the other side of the room.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Why?”

“I want you to go into that room and wait for me.”

“Why?” I looked up and stared into his eyes.

“You’ll see. I want it to be a surprise.” He winked at me and his hand slid down to my ass.

“TJ, there are people standing right outside that door.” My eyes widened as his hand rested on the small of my back. “I’m not going in there to wait for you to do whatever you want to do to me.” Though, I desperately wanted to just run to the room so that I could wait for him to take me.

“You know what I want to do to you.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek and moved his mouth to my ear, his tongue licking me lightly before he whispered, “I want to pull that sexy, slinky dress off of you, but I won’t. Instead I’ll just pull it up as high as it can go. Then I’ll reach down and I’ll move your panties to the side. Actually, no, maybe I’ll just rip them off, keep them in my pocket as a party souvenir.” His voice was husky and I shivered at his words. “Then I’ll bend you over so your ass is in the air and I’ll touch you lightly, delicately, and caress you before I give you what we both want.”

“I think you’ll find that to be a difficult task,” I said softly, batting my eyelashes up at him, though I was finding it hard to talk because I was so turned on. My body was on fire and I found myself wanting to play along with him and his sexy talk. I wanted to show him that I wasn’t scared of his sexual side. In fact I craved it. It turned me on. Even though I loved him and was scared that this was all about sex for him, I wanted him to know that I could give as good as I got.

“Why is that?” He leaned back and his eyes bore into mine intensely as if we were the only two people in the room.

“Because I don’t have any panties on,” I said, leaning over and whispering in his ear before smiling sweetly. I heard his sharp intake of breath and then walked away from him quickly and headed over to talk to a small group of women who were standing next to us. “Hi, I’m Mila,” I said as I approached the group. They looked towards me curiously, with surprised expressions. “I’m TJ Walker’s fiancée,” I said, feeling slightly out of place like some sort of intruder.

“We know who you are,” the oldest-looking lady answered with a tight smile. “Glad you could join us tonight.”

“Oh, it’s my pleas—”

“Excuse us, ladies.” TJ grabbed my arm as he interrupted me and pulled me away from the circle of women. “I need to talk to my fiancée.”

“TJ,” I gasped as he pulled me. “What are you doing? People are looking.”

“They can look. They can listen. I don’t care,” he said as we headed towards the door. “I have an investigation to take care of.”

“What investigation?” I asked, confused, my heart thudding.

“I want to know if, one, you really have no underwear on and, two, if you are as wet as I think you are right now?”

“TJ Walker,” I squeaked as we made our way past his father and the group of board of directors. “No way.”

“Oh, I think way.” He stopped abruptly and I crashed into him. His hands reached out to steady me and he held me close to his side. He looked down into my face and smiled a sweet yet devious smile as his fingers caressed my lips. “If I haven’t told you yet, that dress is very sexy,” he said smoothly and his eyes fell to my partially exposed chest. “Very, very sexy.”

“You’ve told me,” I said as I gazed back at him in his black tuxedo. He looked disturbingly handsome, with his dark silky hair that was slightly too long and wild, his green eyes that glittered into mine like emeralds, haughty and superior, and his pink luscious lips that were turned up and waiting to do all sorts of naughty things to me. I bit down on his finger as it invaded my mouth and he pulled it back quickly with a look of surprise on his face.

“Feisty tonight,” he said huskily. “I like it.”

“You’ll be liking it in the privacy of our bedroom, though, not here,” I told him smartly, licking the taste of him off of my lips.

“Yes, I’ll be enjoying it there as well.” He grinned as he leaned closer to me. He bent down and kissed my lips and then pulled away slightly. “And I’ll be enjoying it here as well.”

“No, you won’t,” I said, grinning back at him as I leaned forward and kissed him. “Sorry about your luck, TJ.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry,” he said, his teeth grabbing onto my lower lip so he could suck it. “My luck is quite fine.”

“TJ.” I grabbed onto his shoulders and pushed him back. “We can’t do this here.”

“I think we can,” he said, but he let go of my lips and rubbed his own with his fingers. He grabbed my hands and winked. “Now, come with me.”

“TJ, no, this is not an appropriate venue.” I squeezed his hands and hissed. “We’re not going—”

“I know about Operation Condor,” he said lightly and looked back at me, his eyes looking amused as he stared at me.

“Oh, my gosh.” My heart stopped for a second as I stood there, feeling embarrassed as he brought up the code name for the “seduce TJ” plan I’d invented with Sally when I was younger. “How do you know?”

“I think you’d better come with me and find out,” he said and turned back around and starting walking again. I followed alongside him, my entire body feeling hot like I was lying on a beach in the Caribbean; only I wasn’t in a relaxed state. TJ stopped outside the door, turned to look at me and then grinned. “Go outside and meet me by my car,” he said softly and I frowned.

“What?” I looked at him and then the door behind him. “I thought we were going in there?”

“I changed my mind.” He shrugged. “We’re not going in there any more.”

“TJ? What’s going on?” I asked him, feeling confused.

“You’re about to find out.” He licked his lips, grabbed my hand and before I knew what was happening, he’d pulled me behind the door into what appeared to be a bathroom.

“TJ?” I gasped as I felt his fingers sliding up under my dress.

“Just checking,” he growled as his fingers found my wetness. “I just wanted to make sure I was right.”

“TJ,” I moaned as his fingers slid back and forth and then stopped to rub on my throbbing bud. “TJ, we can’t do this here.” I moaned as he slipped a finger inside of me.

“We’re not going to do it here,” he said huskily.

“Oh?” I looked at him in confusion, lust having taken over my faculties. “Are we going home already?”

“We’re not going home,” he said and shook his head, his teeth grinning at me. “Go and wait by the car for me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.” He laughed. “Now go.”

“Okay,” I said, feeling dazed as I straightened my dress out and walked away from him back towards the door.

“That dress really does look sexy on you.” He growled from behind me and pulled me back into his arms so that he could nuzzle my neck. “And those heels as well. Worth every penny I spent.”

I stiffened in his arms as he mentioned the fact that he’d paid for the dress and shoes. It still made me feel slightly uncomfortable. Like I was some sort of paid woman or something.

“I like to spoil you, Mila,” he whispered into my ear. “I want to spoil you. Please let me do that without you freezing up.”

“Fine,” I whispered as I turned my head to look at him. He gave me a quick kiss on the side of the face and then let me go.

“See you outside,” he said as he lightly tapped my bottom.

“I’ll be waiting,” I said sassily back to him and then left the room.

***

I stood by TJ’s car, wondering what the plan was. I was excited and slightly embarrassed at how exhilarated I felt while waiting in eager anticipation. I hadn’t known that sex would make me feel like this. I hadn’t known that the pull of the body could be even more intense than the pull of the heart. It made me start to understand why so many people slept around, but it did make me wonder if it was as intense and good if there wasn’t also love. I thought back to the guys I’d dated in high school and college and wondered if I would have felt the same way about them. I doubted it. I never had super intense feelings for them and I couldn’t imagine that they were as skilled as TJ.

TJ made lovemaking exciting, even slightly dangerous. I knew that he was most probably a more intense, slightly psychotic lover than most, but that made him even more intoxicating to me. Nothing about TJ was routine. Nothing about him was normal. And I loved that about him. I loved getting to know his hidden layers. It made me feel like I was getting to know him better.

“What are you thinking about?” TJ’s voice was caressing as he walked towards me with a confident strut and a sly smile on his face.

“I was thinking about my ex-boyfriends,” I said honestly, watching as he frowned.

“What?” He looked annoyed as he stopped in front of me.

“I was just wondering what it would have been like if we’d had sex,” I said sheepishly. “If they would have wowed me in bed like you have.”

TJ just stared at me then. I don’t think he got the compliment I’d given him, based on the angry look on his face. My stomach sank as I realized I’d said the wrong thing.

“I mean, not that I want them to come and wow me in bed now . . . ” My voice trailed off and he continued to just stare at me. “I was just thinking about the past.” I made a face at him. “Say something.”

“What do you want me to say?” TJ growled at me. “I think I’d rather show you than tell you.”

“Show me what?”

“How I’m thinking and feeling.” His eyes glittered at me. “I’ll make you forget all those exes once and for all.”

“It’s not like I want to be with them.” I sighed. “I was just telling you what was going through my mind the moment you came up to me.”

“Mila,” he said with a shake of his head, “enough.”

“Enough what?” I gawked at him. “I haven’t even really said anything. It’s not like we were in bed and I screamed out one of their names or had fantasies of you being one of them.”

“Mila.” He came closer to me and his nostrils were flaring. “You are completely ridiculous.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I frowned at him. “I’m not ridiculous.”

“If I weren’t a gentleman, I would bend you over right here and now and show you what’s what,” TJ said, his voice throaty as he leaned down to look into my eyes.

“Yeah, I guess if you weren’t a gentleman, you would do that,” I said, my breath coming quickly as I looked up into his eyes, my lips a mere inch from him.

“Are you doubting the fact that I’m a gentleman?” he said, his lips moving against mine but not kissing me.

“Would that be a surprise?” I said as my lips touched his gently.

“No.” He chuckled and pressed his lips against mine harder, this time actually kissing me.

“You know you’re a dirty rotten scoundrel inside.” I kissed him back and then tugged on his lower lip with my teeth.

“And you love it,” he said, his eyes staring into mine as his hands crept around my waist. “You want me to be a dirty bastard,” he said, pushing himself into me. I could feel his hardness against my lower belly and I felt a stirring inside my soul.

“I don’t want you to be anything you don’t want to be,” I said, swallowing hard as he pulled me closer towards him.

“Aren’t you considerate?” He almost purred as his hands crept up and cupped my breasts.

“Yes.” I smiled innocently back at him and reached down and grabbed his package. “I’m very considerate.” I squeezed gently and he groaned as he grew in my hands.

“Yes, you are.” He groaned and moved his mouth to my ear and blew sensually. “I want to fuck you, Mila. I want to bend you over my car and take you from behind. It won’t be romantic and it won’t be slow.”

“Okay,” I squeaked out as I blushed.

“Are you okay with that?” He leaned back and looked at me. “Or will you consider me an asshole?”

“I don’t think you’re an asshole.”

“I just want to make sure. I remember in your Operation Condor handbook, you had something about sex in a car. I wasn’t sure if sex over a car was the same.”

“Oh, my God.” My face grew redder. “That’s how you knew? You saw my notebook?”

“Maybe.” He laughed and then nodded. “I read it once.” He grinned. “I was waiting to see if you were ever going to make a move on me in the back seat of a car. I was disappointed that you never did.”

“Oh, my God, I could die,” I squealed as I desperately tried to remember exactly what I’d written in the notebook. I know I had several seduction techniques in there that I’d never used, but I couldn’t remember what else I might have written about.

“It’s not that bad.” He laughed and then winked. “Now I can help you live out some of your fantasies.”

“Those weren’t my fantasies,” I protested as I continued to squeeze his hardness.

“What were they, then? He grunted and thrust himself into my hands.

“They were what I thought would be your fantasies,” I admitted, slightly embarrassed.

“You wanted to make my fantasies come true?”

“Yes.” I nodded and cried out as he spun me around and pushed me over the hood of his car. “TJ?”

“Shh, we’re making one of my fantasies come true,” he said and I felt him sliding his zipper down behind me, before pulling my dress up and to the side.

“TJ?” I gasped as I felt the cool air hit my behind. “Should we be doing this here? What if someone sees us?”

“That’s why we have to be quick.” He grunted and I felt him thrust inside of me deep and hard.

“Ooh,” I cried out as he filled me up. I fell forward and I moaned as he thrust in and out of me quickly. The car metal was cold against my collarbone, but TJ was warming me up from inside.

“Oh, Mila, you’re so wet for me. You were so wet and ready for this, weren’t you?”

“TJ.” I moaned out his name, unable to say anything else as I felt an orgasm building up. I couldn’t believe I was letting him fuck me in the parking lot, where anyone could see us, but that was part of being with TJ– the excitement, the danger, it was all an added plus. He lived life on the edge, every single day, and I was starting to enjoy that as well.

“Mila.” He grabbed my hips and slammed into me, over and over again, so that I could barely breathe. His cock felt so deep inside of me that I thought I was going to pass out from the pleasure. “I’m going to come.” He groaned and I allowed myself to let go completely in the last few thrusts. He collapsed on top of me after we came, and we just lay there on the car for a few seconds before he stepped back, pulled me up and straightened my dress back down.

“I want you to move in with me tomorrow,” TJ said as he held me close to him. “I need to have you around all the time.”

“I know, you already said that before.” I panted, not wanting to think too much into it, as my body was still riding high on my orgasm. I didn’t want to grow hope that he wanted me close because he was falling for me. “But I can’t move in tomorrow. I still need to pack and get my stuff together.”

“The day after?” He frowned.

“A few days.” I laughed and touched the side of his face lightly as he pouted. “I’ll move in, in a few days.”

“Good,” he said and then kissed me on the forehead. “That’s settled then.”

“Then you can have your wicked way with me whenever you want,” I said teasingly, though I wasn’t really joking.

“Yup.” He winked and leaned over and bit down on my lip. “Whenever I want,” he said as he looked into my eyes. “Just as long as you’re willing.”

I’m always willing crossed my mind, but instead I stayed silent and just smiled at him. Confusion and lust were invading my mind and I was starting to get caught up in the fog of emotions that TJ had always brought to my life.

“Let’s go back inside.” He smiled and held my hand and we walked back into the party with huge grins on our faces.

Chapter Four

TJ

One Year Ago

“I need you to go to Paris tomorrow, sign the contract for the Hatcher deal.” My dad looked up at me, a small frown on his face. “And see if you can get them to include the patents from their glamour manufacturers.”

“Tomorrow?” I frowned at him. “I can’t go tomorrow.”

“You have to fly out tomorrow, so you can sign the contract the following day.”

“I can’t go tomorrow.” I shook my head, not wanting to tell him why.

“TJ, this isn’t a discussion. You’re going tomorrow.” My dad was looking at me with narrowed eyes.

“I have something to do on Friday,” I said. “You’ll have to go.”

I watched as my dad pursed his lips. He didn’t like being disobeyed.

“Why can’t you go?” he asked me, his lips thin.

“Mila’s graduating,” I said, noticing the dismissive look on his face.

“From high school?” He sneered.

“College,” I said my voice tinged with anger. “She asked me to come watch her walk.”

“Is that really important?” He stared at me, his eyes cold.

“It’s important to Mila.”

“Her family is going, yes?” He sighed. “Why do they need you to go? You can still give her a graduation present if you don’t go.”

“She asked me to go,” I said, starting to get angry. “I’m not flying to Paris.”

“Travis James Walker, a graduation is not more important than a fifty-million-dollar deal.”

“It is to me,” I said, trying to explain to him and myself why it was so important to me that I attend. “She’s my best friend’s sister. She’s been in my life for years. This is important to her. It’s important to me. I’m going.”

“So you’re going because you feel like it’s your sister that’s graduating?” My dad sneered. “Are you telling me that you wish I’d given you siblings?”

“I’m not saying anything like that,” I said, my fists clenching. He didn’t understand that I had deep feelings for the whole Brookstone family. He didn’t understand that I considered them to be closer family than he was. He didn’t understand that Mila was special and when she’d called me months ago telling me she was graduating and asked if I’d come to the ceremony, something in me had lit up. I wasn’t going to miss it if I could help it.

“Fine.” My dad pursed his lips. “I’m not happy and this shows me that I don’t think you’re anywhere near to being able to take over the company. I’m going to have to do some serious thinking.”

“May I go now?” I asked, not interested in my dad’s emotional and mental blackmail. If he wanted to pass on his company to someone else, he could do so.

“Yes,” he said, and as I walked out of his office, I could feel his eyes boring into my back. I opened the door, closed it and continued on out of the building. I was done for the day. My heart was racing and I wasn’t quite sure why I’d refused my dad on such an important deal for a college graduation. I was pretty sure that Mila wouldn’t care that much if I’d missed it. But I wanted to be there. I wanted to be a part of her special occasion. I wanted to hug her and congratulate her on finally becoming a full-grown adult. I wanted to welcome her to the world. A world she didn’t know yet. I wanted to be there for her. In more ways than one.

Current Day

“Soooo . . .” Mila looked at me awkwardly, her three large suitcases set in front of her waiting to be carried to my bedroom. I had to admit that I was slightly taken aback at how much stuff she’d brought with her. I’d been expecting a duffel bag of clothes or something, not what appeared to be her entire wardrobe. I wondered what the taxi driver must have thought when he’d dropped her off. If he was anything like me, he probably thought that she was thinking that she was moving in forever. I tried not to panic at the thought, though a part of me kind of liked the idea that she’d be here with me forever.

“So?” I said with a small smile. I wasn’t going to make this easy for her.

“Where should I put my suitcases?”

“Where do you want them to go?”

“In my room.” She shrugged, her face turning red. I thought it was cute that she could still be embarrassed in front of me, after everything we’d done together.

“You mean our room?” I asked softly as I walked towards her. “The room with the whips and chains?”

“I guess so.” She licked her lips nervously, her eyes widening slightly at my words. I knew she was wondering if I was joking or not. Actually, I take that back. I knew that she knew that I wasn’t joking.

“Do you want to see my secret dungeon?” I touched her shoulder lightly and gazed into her warm brown eyes, a secret thrill running through me as I saw the curiosity in her eyes.

“Would it be a secret if I saw it?” she replied smartly and I laughed. She was still my snappy Mila, no matter what we’d done together. I’d been slightly worried that she’d be a little overwhelmed and scared of me. I did have a voracious sexual appetite and I knew that some women didn’t enjoy the risks and adventures I liked to take. It made me appreciate the woman she’d grown into even more.

“Well, you’ll see it eventually.” I winked. “But I suppose that will be when you’re naked and begging me to—”

“Ha.” She rolled her eyes as she interrupted me. “I won’t be begging you to do anything.”

“Oh how foolish and young you are.” I laughed, my fingers running along her trembling lips. “How many times do you have to be reminded otherwise?”

“Reminded of what?”

“Reminded of how good it feels to beg me. And how good it feels when I give in to your pleas.”

“I don’t beg and plea and you don’t give in. It’s not giving in if you want it as well, TJ.”

“Shall I tell you what I want right now?” I said, leaning down and kissing her lips softly. She kissed me back, her tongue licking my lips before she gently sucked on my lower lip and bit down with her small, sharp teeth. I felt a stirring in my loins as my hands moved down to her waist, pulling her closer to me, so that she could feel what she was doing to me. I felt her sharp intake of breath as my hardness pressed against her stomach and I deepened our kiss, my hands falling to her ass.

“TJ,” she moaned, her hands pushing me back.

“Yes,” I groaned, not wanting to stop.

“My room?” she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes up at me. “I’ve got some unpacking to do.”

“I don’t know why you brought all these clothes with you,” I said as I picked up two of her suitcases. I grunted at how heavy they were. What exactly had she packed? “It’s not like you’re going to be wearing clothes much.”

“Oh?” She tossed her long blond hair to the side and gave me a cute little smile, her nose crinkling as she gazed at me. “Is that what you think?”

“That’s what I know,” I growled as she poked me in the chest with her index finger. I noticed that she’d recently painted her nails a hot-pink color and I wondered if she had painted her toenails the same color as well.

“Keep fooling yourself, Mila.” I laughed as I walked towards my bedroom and she followed behind. It felt strangely exciting to be welcoming Mila to my home. I’d never lived with a woman before and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I know what I was hoping to expect, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

“I brought some sheets with me, if you don’t mind,” she said softly as we walked into the bedroom. “I thought they would soften up the room.” She gave me an impish smile as I put her cases down and turned to her. “Seeing as I live here now as well.” She walked over to the bed and pulled the duvet off and handed it to me. “I might as well change the sheets now, seeing as I have you here with me.”

I stood there in silence as she proceeded to pull the dark gray sheets off of my bed. To say I felt stunned was an understatement. This was all of a sudden seeming real. Realer than I’d expected. And my worry grew. What if Mila’s expectations were different from mine? What if we weren’t on the same page that I thought we were on? My heart skipped a beat as I stared at the back of her body while she hummed to herself happily. I was lying to myself and to her. I knew that her expectations were different. I knew that I was playing with fire. I knew that one or both of us was going to get burned, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care because in that moment all I could think about were my needs. And her needs. And to hell with the rest. To hell with the secrets and lies. To hell with feelings. To hell with all of it. I was going to show Mila that all the things she thought I’d been joking about were real. I was going to show her my secret dungeon. The dungeon she didn’t believe was real. And I was going to have her begging me. Begging me to give her more pleasure than she’d ever known in her life. And then I was going to make her wait. And while the wait would almost kill both of us, it would only make things so much better. And then, then she would know that her dreams and fantasies about who I was and who we were together were just that—figments of her imagination. And when she realized that, I knew that life as I knew it would be over.

“TJ, don’t freak out.” She turned away from changing the sheets and looked at me, her expression one I didn’t truly understand. “I’m not looking to change who you are, just your sheets,” she said, eyes gazing into mine knowingly. Though, I wasn’t sure exactly what she thought she knew.

“I’m not freaking out,” I said, though that was only partially true.

“Seven, ten, twenty,” she said softly and I froze as I gazed at her in shock. “That’s the combination to your secret room.”

“How did you know that?” I swallowed hard as I took a step towards her, the shock evident in my voice and on my face. “How did you know?” I asked again as I stepped in front of her.

“You’re not the only one with secrets, TJ.” She looked up at me with clear eyes, a small smile on her face. “You might realize one day that you can’t underestimate me. Anywho, you found out about Operation Condor. I found out about the code.”

“You might realize one day that I never did underestimate you,” I said and she looked away then, something in her eyes changing, making me think that she had something to hide.

“So do I get a closet?” She changed the subject, and as much as I wanted to stop her and tell her that I would like to go back to how she knew the combination number, I didn’t.

“A closet?” I grinned at her. “You want a whole closet?”

“Well, I guess a drawer could do.” She rolled her eyes at me. “And I’ll just live out of my suitcases for the next four weeks.”

“What did you bring with you?” I asked her, wondering what on earth she had thought to pack for four weeks.

“Clothes, toiletries, books, my laptop, makeup, bubble bath—”

“Bubble bath?” I interrupted her, surprised. “You know I have bubble bath, right? Or that I can buy more if I run out.”

“I like the bubble bath I buy. It’s a cantaloupe melon scent and it leaves the skin really soft.”

“Okay, so that’s definitely for you, then.” I laughed. “I don’t want to smell of melon.”

“It’s amazing.” She pouted. “Don’t knock it until you try it.”

“That’s fine. I’ll just smell you.”

“That sounds so creepy.” She giggled and I watched as she pulled out two throw pillows from one of her bags and placed them on the bed. “They match the sheets.” She grinned impishly at me as she saw me looking at the pillows.

“Uh huh,” I said and then teased her. “No teddy bears as well?”

“Nah,” she giggled. “Maybe I’ll move them in next week, once I see how everything works out.”

“Uh huh.” I shook my head and laughed. “I’m hungry. Wanna grab a bite?”

“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “What’re you making?”

“Oh.” I paused. “I thought you would make something, now that you’re here.”

“What am I? A housewife?” She looked at me with wide eyes. “Here to cook your meals and service you?”

“I wouldn’t say no.” I winked at her and her jaw dropped. “But no, that’s not why you’re here.” I shook my head. “And I was joking about the food. I actually have stuff.”

“Oh?”

“I bought some tomato soup at the deli last night and I have stuff for grilled cheese sandwiches. I remember you always loved soup and grilled cheese.”

“Good memory.” She smiled happily. “Sounds yummy. Let’s go make ’em. I can help.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll heat the soup up.” She laughed as we walked to the kitchen. “You can impress me with your grilled-cheese-making skills.”

“Well, you know I have so many skills. I don’t want to be showing off all of them.”

“I think it’s okay.” She patted me on the arm. “I think you won’t get a big head.”

“I’m not going to say what I was going to say because you’re a lady.” I winked at her and she punched me in the arm.

“You’re a pervert.”

“And you love that about me.”