I tug the sheet down to her lap, exposing her breasts again. “I like you this way,” I tell her. “And don’t worry for a second about impressing my mom. She already loves you.”
“From some video calls?”
“Yes. From some video calls. And from everything I’ve told her about you. Plus, Eden raves about you to her.”
Bea glances at the sheet piled in her lap and frowns at it for a second. But she leaves it alone. “I think Eden’s awesome, too.”
“Everyone thinks you’re amazing,” I reply. “Not just Eden. Rafe, too. And Ace and Tyler and Webb. Plus, Yara keeps asking when you’re coming back for a visit.”
Bea’s smile gets bigger. “Soon? I’d really like to see Rainier Beach in the summer.”
“Of course.” I jog into the attached bathroom and quickly dampen a washcloth, then come back to the bed to clean Bea off. We recently switched from condoms to birth control, and I have to admit, having sex bare-skinned is even better than I thought it would be. “We could do a long weekend after my mom goes back to Florida. I’ve got a five-day job planned for the end of the month, but I can definitely fit in a trip to see Yara.”
“That would be awesome.” She gets out of bed and heads into the walk-in closet. Much to my disappointment, she reappears shortly afterwards wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
“What’s that look for?” Bea asks.
“What look?”
“That grumpy look.”
“You’re wearing clothes.”
Bea giggles. “Well, yes. People do that.”
“Maybe so.” I cross the room and pull her into my arms. “But I like you naked.”
Bea slides her hand up my shirt and traces the lines of my muscles, the featherlight touch sending tingles through my body. “I like you naked, too.”
She traces my abs again.
“Bea.”
She looks up at me, her eyes wide and innocent. “Yes?”
“Are you counting my abs again?”
Pink rises in her cheeks. “And if I am?”
“Nothing.” I kiss her forehead. “I don’t mind. But when you touch me like that, it makes me want to bring you back to bed.”
“I can’t help it,” Bea retorts. “You shouldn’t have so many muscles if you don’t want me touching them.”
I slide my arm around her, tucking her into my side. As we leave the bedroom, I say, “How about this. We’ll do breakfast.Then some quick cleaning. After that, to save time, we’ll shower together. And you can count all my muscles then. What do you think?”
Bea grins up at me. “I think that sounds like averygood idea.”
As we walk into the kitchen together, I’m struck all over again at the difference just two weeks has made. It’s not just a space to heat up microwave meals anymore. It’s a real kitchen, as Eden proclaimed the first time she saw it after Bea moved in. There are little potted herbs on the windowsill and a spider plant hanging above them. The counters are covered with cooking accessories—a green KitchenAid mixer and a fancy coffeemaker and a complicated toaster oven that looks like it could cook food on its own. Color pops amid the expanse of white counters and cabinets, with small vases of flowers and multi-colored mixing spoons and towels that match the mixer.
The room looks happy. Just like I am.
“Okay, since we don’t have a lot of time, I was thinking eggs and sausage with homemade biscuits,” Bea says. “I have leftover dough from yesterday, so that’ll make it quick.”
“I can cook,” I offer. “I’ve been practicing.”
She freezes mid-grab for the measuring cups. “Um.”
“Bea. I can make eggs. And how hard is it to cook up some sausage?”
