“Like the city?”
“Like the other kind of lettuce. His parents own a farm.”
“That explains a lot.”
“I didn’t know Kale was coming to town until he was here. He’d only arrived moments before you did. Of all the people I left back in New York, Kale was the one I was closest to. He’s the kind of friend who won’t let you fall off the map. He’d hound me if it had been too long since we saw each other. He wouldn’t let up until I agreed to meet him for drinks. He can be a pain in the ass, and I’m sorry your introduction to him went so sideways.”
“That’s my fault. I should’ve let you explain.”
“You really should have.” I opened my eyes and finally gave into what I really wanted and put my hands on Reese’s hips. “If you’d listened to me, you’d have saved me three nights of dreams fueled by that shit your bar serves.”
“I can’t believe you willingly drank that, you whiskey snob.”
“It made me think of you.”
Reese shook his head, but he was smiling again, a real one this time. “That’s the most tragic thing I’ve ever heard.”
He showered off quickly, then killed the water and wrapped us both up in the big fluffy bath towels I’d bought.
“What happens now?” I asked him, still slightly terrified that he was going to leave me.
“Now,” Reese said, “it’s nap time.”
My fears eased only when he climbed into bed next to me and turned me into the little spoon.
“Reese, I?—”
“Shhh.” He kissed me behind my ear, then settled back down. “Sleep now. Talk later. And don’t think for a second that I’ve forgotten about the offer to punish you.”
Well. How on earth was I supposed to fall asleep after hearing that?
CHAPTER 2
Reese
Cory slept like the dead,falling into a slumber that had him heavy as a log in my arms. I kissed the back of his head and wondered if I’d been overtly cruel with my own actions, but I had needed time away from him to regroup. Walking into his office, ready to confront him about the living situation and finding himso closeto another man, touching him in the same ways he touched me…the sight of it had shaken me.
Cory and I had been together for almost a year, but almost a year with a whole continent between us. He’d moved—and I’d welcomed it—but the shock of our new life together was more than a small adjustment. Having him around was amazing. Being able to wake up with him every morning was something I didn’t even know I wanted until I had it. But then, in a flash, I’d watched the whole future we’d been working toward slip through my fingers.
In his sleep, Cory murmured my name.
How could I have ever doubted this man who’d given just as much to me as I’d given to him, even if the method of it was different. Cory had been so patient with me, so giving, so willingto break so that I could bend. And at the first sign of something wrong, I’d walked away and left him…
The picture of him sprawled on the couch clutching that whiskey like a lifeline was seared into my memory, and I knew going forward the only thing I could do to make it right with Cory was to be better.
Eventually, sleep also took me under.
When I woke up later, I was alone. At some point, Cory had gotten out of bed, which I supposed was a good sign because it meant he was sober and alive. Stretching my legs and groaning when my knee cracked, I kicked down the sheets and set off in search of my boyfriend. He was easy to find, trying to be quiet—and failing—in the kitchen, making sandwiches that looked like they could have come from a deli on Wilshire.
“Are you going to eat all of that?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
He looked up at me, shoulders weary like he was relieved to see me in the kitchen and not heading for the exit.
“Half of it,” he said, pushing the second plate toward the stool that had unofficially already become mine.
I shuffled around and climbed onto the stool, waiting for Cory to finish prepping the second sandwich and join me.
“You didn’t need to make us lunch,” I said when he finally sat down beside me.
