Fucking and fun are simple.
Feelings, especially feelings like this, plans and thoughts about the future, I realize now, are not.
“I paid for the next month,” she tells me. “I’ll barely be home though.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “You’re leaving? Going someplace?”
She nods and releases my chin. “I called my mom last night. She asked me to come home for a bit. She had some really good suggestions about the store, actually. I think I’m going to spend the next few weeks until I leave getting the shop redesigned. I’ll have a grand reopening on Black Friday and see if I can start to turn a profit. So, between being at the bookstore and my mom’s, I won’t be home much.”
That’s a really smart idea. Main Street does a booming business for the holidays. Even the tattoo shop rolls out specials and giveaways. Foot traffic increases, and a lot of residents buy local to support their neighbors, as opposed to buying gifts online or driving into Cleveland to shop at the big malls.
“Will you be here for Thanksgiving?”
“I get back a few days before,” she confirms, crawling over my legs. “But I’ll be getting the shop ready for Black Friday. I think it’s going to take more work than I even realize.”
I spread my legs wide, and she settles between them, leaning her back against my chest.
“So here’s what I think,” she says. “I think you should help me name my dog.” She lifts her face and looks at me over her shoulder. “I’m sure your mom will watch her while I go home for a few days. And since the shop will be closed the next few weeks, I’ll be able to move furniture and do some reorganizing with a furry little companion to keep me company. Assuming my landlord says yes.”
I like the sound of that. I like the sound of all of it. “If he doesn’t, we’ll sic my mother on him. Lucia doesn’t take no for an answer, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
She laughs, and the sound is happy again. Free. “Come on. Let’s think of dog names.”
“Something tells me you’ve already thought of one,” I say.
She nudges me in the ribs with her elbow. “What do you think I picked?”
I don’t have the faintest idea, but I’m going to have fun guessing. “Cliterature,” I say. “After two of your favorite things.”
She gasps in shock but then bursts into hysterical giggles. “Rude,” she says. “The clit should be one of your favorite things, not mine.”
“Oh,” I tell her, “it is.Yoursis.” I kiss the top of her hair and keep guessing. “Captain Saucy Pants McGoo?”
She lifts a brow at me and scowls. “Now you’re being ridiculous. Cliterature was better.”
I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my chin against the top of her hair. “So,” I say, “tell me. What are you thinking about naming Mama Dog?”
“Well.” She scoots her bottom even closer to my crotch, sending my dick a message it doesn’t want to ignore. “I was thinking Mia.”
“Feminine for mine in Italian?” I ask.
She nods slightly, my head bobbing with hers. “Kind of a perfect symbol for what I’m building here. Something that’s mine. My choices. My dog. My protection. My new life.”
I swallow against the sudden rush of emotion that clogs my throat worse than a plume of diesel exhaust to the face. It surprises me, but it shouldn’t. Everything about Chloe is thoughtful and sweet. I clear my throat and rub at my nose. “That’s beautiful. Perfect.”
“You’re beautiful,” she says. “And perfect in my eyes. Well, maybe not perfect. But I like you a whole lot.”
“Hey.” I lift my chin from the top of her head and angle my neck so I can nuzzle her ear. “I like you a whole lot too,” I whisper. “And I missed you last night.”
She turns on the couch to face me. “I missed you too,” she says. “Did we solve anything?”
“All of it,” I tell her, leaning forward to hold her face with a hand. I stroke the plush lower lip with my thumb and look into her clear green eyes. “Welcome to Star Falls, baby,” I say. “It looks like you’ve finally come home.”
She blinks fast and grins before physically throwing her body against mine. And God, when we kiss… The feeling is exactly like coming home.
Before I know what she’s doing, she’s unbuttoning my jeans and urging me to lift my hips. She helps me shake off the denim and my boxer briefs. Once I’m stripped of my clothes, she settles herself between my thighs and caresses my legs with her fingertips while blowing hot kisses against my bare, hard shaft.
I’m so hot for her, I’m nearly shaking with desire. No matter how complicated plans are, these feelings are simple, and I relish them.
