I raised my head to Drew’s flushed face and widened nostrils.
“Foolish. So foolish.” My hand drifted across the strong plane of his jaw. I always called him foolish, but this time, I meant the both of us.
“Do you want to walk away from me?” He grazed a finger down my cheek.
“No,” I admitted in a barely audible whisper.
“Good, because I’m not letting you. She’ll get used to it. And if she doesn’t . . .” He shrugged as he trailed off.
I smoothed my palms over my hair, wishing I had a mirror to fix my most likely smeared lipstick. “Do we look like we’ve been in here making out all this time?”
A smirk tickled the side of his mouth as he brushed my hair off my shoulder. “Maybe. Your lips are a little red and swollen.” He cupped my chin and feathered kisses over my raw bottom lip. I clutched his biceps to keep from pooling into a puddle. “Another thing I don’t care about. You’re mine. People should either accept it or get out of our way.”
“Yours?” I choked out. Heat flashed in Drew’s eyes as he nodded.
“Damn right,” he whispered. “Mine. Now get something to drink and make yourself comfortable.” His fingers twisted around my hair and pulled, forcing me to look up. “Because you aren’t going anywhere.”
Sara
AFTER A TEARFULgoodbye with Victoria, I headed back to school. Tearful because I already missed her, not that I was jealous of her new family or terrified I’d made the right decision as when I originally left her in Josh and Brianna’s care. I started my last semester lighter, dare I say even happier. The couple of weeks I had with Victoria made my end game even clearer. I’d get us a great apartment and enjoy our life without being preoccupied with the daily struggle of making ends meet by the skin of my teeth—paycheck to shitty paycheck.
I breezed into the diner, smiling at people I didn’t even know for fuck’s sake and made my way to our usual table. Drew and I had taken a turn this holiday, too. We couldn’t pretend to be friends now that I knew what he tasted like. I shivered thinking of the growl erupting from his throat whenever his tongue brushed mine. He said I was his, and I didn’t argue, but often wondered what the hell that all meant. After graduation, I was headed back to Middle Village in Queens to find a place close to Josh and Brianna. Drew was based here, and we weren’t—well, at least I wasn’t—in a place yet to be talking about what we expected for the future. I was playing a dangerous game, as every day in this wonderful man’s presence, I fell even harder for him. He saved me on Christmas Eve and saved me when I first arrived here. I’d gone from wanting him to needing him, and lately craving every single little thing about him. I painted myself in quite the corner, but I loved being with him too much to think beyond today. One day at a time was all I could handle.
“Hey, beautiful.” Drew slid into the booth next to me and planted a long kiss on my lips.
“Um, why are you sitting on this side?” I glanced at the empty seat across from us as I squinted back at Drew.
He shrugged as he opened his menu. “I get to touch you whenever I want now, so why would I sit all the way over there?” His hand drifted up my thigh under the table and squeezed.
“You sound whipped, Kostas.” My lips curled into a smirk. Drew pinched the sensitive skin on the inside of my leg, making me yelp and draw an odd look from our waitress.
“And I’m embracing the shit out of it, Caldwell. Don’t pretend you don’t love it.” He winked and draped his arm around my shoulder.
“That brings me to my next question.” Drew turned to face me. “The guys are out tonight, that stupid January kick-off party at Night Owls they forget sucks every year.”
I nodded. “Lisa’s been after me to go with her. I’m not feeling it. I’ll go to the bar once in a while, but parties—yeah . . . no. What’s your question?”
“Well . . .” A sheepish grin tilted his mouth. “I thought maybe you could come over to the apartment. We could order in, watch TV, maybe make out a little.”
I smiled and inched closer. “Sure, but one exception. I want to cook for you. Has the kitchen been used since I brought you soup?”
“Hell, no. Well, other than the toaster. You cook all day long. I don’t want you to have to cook just for me.”
I snaked my arms around his neck. “What if I want to cook just for you? It won’t be anything fancy on a morning’s notice, but . . .” I shrugged. “I want to.”
Drew cupped my cheek and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “You sound a little whipped, too.”
I elbowed his side and twisted my lips into a scowl. I was enjoying the shit out of it too, but wouldn’t admit it.
“That was the greatest dinner ever.” Drew rubbed his stomach with one hand while the other sifted through my hair in lazy strokes. I cuddled into his chest, my eyelids fluttering every time Drew’s fingers grazed my scalp.
“Homemade macaroni and cheese was your best dinner ever?” I scoffed as I held back a yawn. “I feel sorry for you, Kostas.” His laugh rumbled against my cheek. I was so relaxed and contented, I forgot for a moment that we were alone. Sure, we went a lot of places together, just us, but we’d never been anywhere—onlyus. Carlos and Brian were out, so it was Drew, me, and the flicker of the TV I wasn’t paying attention to.
“I’ve never had it that good. Honestly.” He rested his chin on the top of my head. “Having a chef for a girlfriend is awesome.”
I pushed off Drew’s chest and shook my head. “No, I’m not.”
He held my gaze with a smirk before sliding his hands under my arms and pulling me on top of him. “You’re not what? You’re not a chef or you’re not my girlfriend?”
