I’ll be there.
Rolling over, I shoved Lucy a few times in the shoulder, and when that didn’t work, I turned to alternative means. I placed a soft peck against her lips, the corner of her mouth, and all the way to her earlobe, where I whispered, “Lucy, it’s time to go home.”
“Okay,” she mumbled sleepily. “Can we have some breakfast first?”
I nodded, rolled off my side of the bed, and headed for the door when someone demanded my attention.
“I want another,” she cooed.
Another kiss?
A smile spread across my face, and I walked excitedly toward her and planted a kiss right on her lips. She didn’t know my bags were already packed last night. I wanted to get it over with so she had one less thing to stress about. “What would you like for breakfast?”
As she thought about it for a moment, tapping her finger against her chin in thought before answering, “Why not something quick and easy for the road? There’s still hummus left. Why don’t we do hummus toast?”
“If that’s what you want, I can go get it started. Why don’t you finish packing up your suitcase and double-check to make sure nothing is missing?”
With that, I pulled myself away to exit the room and head downstairs. Breakfast would be easy, and we had just enough ingredients to use up before we took off.
By the time breakfast was done, Lucy was already heaving the baggage downstairs, and I ran to her aid, taking the suitcase from her slowly.
“I’m going to throw this in the truck. Why don’t you keep an eye on the tomatoes while I do that?” I nodded to the stove where the spatula leaned against the frying pan, and started heading toward the door.
While she finished up, I threw the bags into the back seat and closed the door. When I rounded the back of the truck, I saw her on the porch, spatula in hand, and a small piece of tomato stuck to her nose.
I threw my arms up in the air and laughed. “I leave you for two minutes, and you are already making a mess.”
“Listen, I love to cook, but I never said I could cook.Remember when I put the Ramen in the microwave and forgot the water when we were kids?”
A grin spread across my face at the memory as I made my way to her. I slipped while jogging up the stairs, staggering to try and catch my balance, and followed Lucy as she stepped through the doorway.
Maybe I will just do the cooking.
She hadn’t done too badly; the charred taste would give the dish some personality. We ate in peace, no sound but that squirrel chattering on the windowsill, and our chewing. Lucy had curled her hair today, forming little ringlets that sat against her shoulders. My heart swelled as I thought about the future and all of the possibilities.
“I made you wait so long. You may have forgiven me, but it won’t feel like you mean it until I forgive myself.” She looked at me from under her eyelashes, sliding her hand across the table to rest over mine lovingly, and I never wanted her to let go. “This weekend with you has been the most alive I’ve felt in so long. Don’t get me wrong, the sex was amazing, but the little things were even better. Thank you,” I admitted, giving her hand another squeeze before I stood, grabbed the empty plates, and dropped them in the sink.
Her chair scraped against the floor as she got up from the table and joined me at the sink, a sly smile written across her face. I knew she had something brewing in that mischievous head of hers once the water started running and her laughter filled the room while she washed.
“What’s so funny?”
She giggled, but there was something there that I couldn’t get a grasp on. She placed the last clean dish in the strainer before bracing against the edge of the sink.
“I think I’m falling for you again, and it’s a scary feeling.”
Close enough to wrap my arms around her waist, I pulled her into me and kept her like that, safe in my hold, until she lightly tapped my chest.
“I was also wondering when I would get to see the mask again.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Why would she want to see my mask?
Oh.
OH.
“What? Like you want me to chase you again? That didn’t go exactly as planned, but if it’s something you liked, I can try to make it happen.”
My chest rumbled, trying to hold in the laugh as I released her.
