He’d kissed me. Well, technically I’d kissed him first, but then he kissed me back. Part of me wanted to stay here to see if I could get him to open up to me more. But I also knew I needed to give him some time.
This wasn’t about forcing him to be with me. He’d told me he’d wanted me—that he was interested in me—but he just didn’t think himself worthy. I needed to show him that he was and that it was worth taking a chance on us.
There was just something about him that made me want to lay myself all out there. Lay myself bare—in more ways than one.
I knew I needed to talk with him about it, but I also needed to get ready for work, and so did he. But first…coffee. I needed one cup to get rid of my hangover, one cup to wake myself up, and probably one more cup to prepare myself for the intense conversation I would be having with my sister and co-workers today.
I set an alarm on my phone for twelve minutes. Long enough to brew a quick pot of coffee, enjoy the caffeine a little, and then get in the shower before Hector took me to get my car. It was a little chilly in Hector’s house—I’d learned he liked to keep his air conditioning set for just barely above freezing—especially since the only otherpajamas I’d brought were a pair of dark-gray cotton shorts and a lavender tank top with a built-in shelf bra. It was fine, though. This would be quick, and then I could take a nice hot shower.
I hadn’t heard Sarge or Hector, so I assumed they were both still asleep. Trying to be quiet, I grabbed my glasses off the nightstand and made my way quietly out to the kitchen. As I turned the corner coming around to the kitchen, Sarge’s cute face greeted me. He was sitting just outside the refrigerator. He seemed torn about whether to come to me or stay put, which meant Hector was awake and likely had food nearby that Sarge was hoping to benefit from.
Finally rounding the wall to the kitchen, I saw Hector leaning against the counter, eating one of the leftover pancakes with one hand and holding his coffee in the other.
There he was in that damn flannel again. This time it was a navy and green flannel shirt and some loose track shorts. The way his flannel shirt stretched around his arms like it was straining to break free made my ovaries swoon.
I smiled at him, even though that made my head hurt a little more, and made my way around the counter to get to some of that delicious-smelling coffee.
“Morning,” I called out.
“Morning,” his gravelly voice echoed through the space. “How’re you feeling?”
“Slight headache, but otherwise good.”
“I should have warned you that my dad makes the sangria strong.”
“It’s okay,” I told him. “It tasted great. I’ll be fine once I get some caffeine in me.”
“Here, I’ll get you a cup,” he said, reaching up into the cabinet and grabbing me a mug. “What time do you need to be at work? I can drop you off before I head in for the day.”
He worked at pouring the coffee while I grabbed the milk from the fridge.
“Actually, could you drop me off at my apartment? I need to get my car because my sister is in town today, and apparently in my semi-drunken state last night, I invited her to stay with me at my place,” I explained. “And I’ll need my car to drive us both home from work since she’s meeting me there.”
“Which sister is this?” he asked.
“Cora. She’s the state hydrologist. She’s based in Reno, but she does a bunch of work down here too, and she usually just bunks with me so she can save money.”
“Doesn’t the state pay for that?”
“They do,” I told him. “But if she can save money on a hotel, then she can use that money for other research projects.”
“Okay, give me ten minutes to shower and get dressed, and then I’ll drive you to get your car,” he said, taking another sip of his coffee. “I’d like to check your door anyway to see if your maintenance guy really did fix the locks.”
God, he was so sweet.
“For what it’s worth, Hector, I enjoyed staying here,” I told him, walking closer to him. “Especially making pancakes.”
I smiled at him, remembering what had happened while I made pancakes, and clearly, he did too, because he produced a large grin.
“You did, did you?” He set his coffee down on the counter and closed the gap even more between us. “What did you like about it?”
His hands went to my hips and pulled me closer as I tilted my head back to look right into his eyes.
“I liked how your beard felt against my face,” I told him, running my hands over his flannel shirt, hoping I could sneak my fingers up to the top buttons and undo them so I could steal a glance at his chest hair. “I think I liked the kiss too, although it’s been so long, I can’t really remember.”
I had no shame in flirting. If I were interested in a guy, I would go for it. Sometimes, it wasn’t reciprocated, and that was fine. But I wasn’t the type to sit back and wonder what-if about a scenario like this. Especially with Hector.
“Hmmm, then maybe I should kiss you again so you can see if you liked it,” he said, his voice low and rough as he leaned down to do just that.
