I look on the counter for a clue at what she’s forgotten but then she’s got her mouth pressed to mine, smiling into our kiss. “Hi, beautiful. Missed you.”
Can you be here every day?Is what I want to say. “I love you being here,” is what I say instead as she gets back to work, measuring sugar.
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The cookies turned out even better than I remembered. I told Clara this, but I don’t think she believes me. She’s got so many hidden talents. She claims it’s from a lifetime of picking up hobbies, focusing on them until she’s had her fill, then dropping them for the next best thing. Baking is just one of those things for her.
I can’t wait to see each and every one of them. And watch her discover more hobbies too.
“Do you knit?” I ask. I quickly realise, based on Clara’s obvious confusion, that we’ve sat for nearly an hour in perfect silence on my bed. We hadn’t been talking outloud about Clara’s magnificent brain, I was just thinking about her still.
“Nope,” she says, shrugging. “Why? Did you want a blanket? A sweater?”
I chuckle, brushing my hand over her hip. “Maybe… Could be a cosy new hobby.”
“Oh, I see! You’re trying to use my neurodiversity to your advantage.” She teases, forcing her laugh to subside as she speaks.
“Something like that.” I smile, tilting her to look back up at me from where she’s splayed across my chest. God, she’s beautiful. “Can I kiss you?”
Her lips twitch into a smirk. “No matter how much we make out, I will not learn to knit. So don’t try it.”
“No, I’ve just been waiting for you to initiate and I can’t anymore.”
Clara bites her lip while shuffling up the bed to lay next to me. “I’d been waiting for you to start us off.”
“We’re so polite,” I whisper against her lips.
“Very conscientious.” She brushes her tongue over my mouth as I find her hair with my hands, tugging her closer.
We kiss forever. Not literally, obviously, we’d die. But for a very long time. And it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Even when my jaw starts to hurt, it’s easy to ignore.
“Ev?” Clara whispers.
“Yes?”
“Can I…” Her forehead presses into mine and she giggles softly. “Can I, please, touch you?”
I swallow a lump in my throat. “Yeah.”
“You’ll have to be patient with me… I’m new.” She kisses my neck and ifthat’sany indication of how this is going to work between us, I think she’ll do just fine.
“That’s okay.”
It’s a bit awkward, but mostly endearing, as Clara helps me out of my tights and underwear. She kisses my ankle and I buck in response.
“Sorry. Just… nottoogentle. Gentle touches feel a bit like an itch I can’t scratch.”
She nods, tightening her grip around my opposite knee. She looks across my body then climbs back next to me, falling with a bounce. “Can we kiss until my confidence comes back?”
I nod, meeting her mouth with mine. This, we’re bothreallygood at.
Minutes later she’s bunching the fabric of my dress at my hip, gathering it into her palm between panted, shared breaths. I feel my hips twisting towards her, seeking out her hand. Once she’s got my dress hiked up, she places her spread palm on the top of my thigh, then squeezes.
“God, I love these.”
“My legs?” I almost laugh at the sound of wonder in her voice. It’s like Clara doesn’t know how stunningsheis.
“This part.” She pinches the bulge around my hip. “So sexy,” she breathes into my mouth.
