Korbin said nothing this for a moment, raising the bottle of beer to his lips instead. I longed to kiss those lips, to feel them against my own, but kissing him felt like old news. I wanted him. I wanted all of him.
“Does that make you nervous?” he asked finally, reaching across the couch to take my hand in his. I started to say no but then stopped myself and nodded instead.
“I’m telling you, something is weird with that woman,” I told him. “I just can’t put my finger on it.”
“She’s kind of in her own little world,” he agreed. “But then again, so are we.”
“I’m serious, Korbin,” I said, and my tone was harsher than I’d intended. He sat up straighter, attention on me.
“This is really bothering you,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
“My mother thinks it’s jealously,” I said, cracking a smile to try to break the tension in the air. “And maybe it is. Maybe I’m being overly dramatic.”
“So, fire her,” he said, shrugging like any man would as he took another drink from his bottle. “Talk to the doctor and request a different nurse. You won’t have to see her as much then.”
“Am I really the kind of person who fires someone over jealousy?” I asked, and Korbin chuckled.
“It happens more than you know.”
I sighed and took a long drink of my beer, wishing it was tequila instead. “Mom likes her,” I said with a shrug. “That’s all that matters, right?”
“As long as you’re okay with it.”
“I guess it’s not up to me.”
“Maybe not,” he said, setting his beer bottle aside. “Maybe it’s just something you’re going to have to live with.”
“Fine,” I said, forcing a humorless chuckle. “I guess as long as I don’t find her snooping in my bedroom again she can stay. For my mother.”
Korbin laughed, reaching one hand out to touch my face. “Was she snooping, or making your bed?”
“Probably both.” I got up from the couch and went to the kitchen to help myself to another beer. Korbin followed suit, tossing the two empty ones in the trash. “You know I can’t stay here tonight,” I told him, popping the top off my second beer.
“And why is that?” Korbin leaned against the island, arms folded over his chest, watching me move.
“You know why,” I scolded him gently. “We’re not there yet, Korbin. I won’t do it to Jake. He’s been too good to me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know all about Jake.” Korbin pushed himself off the island counter and walked around it to take me into his arms, holding me captive against him. “I just have to say, I’m getting impatient with waiting.”
“Then be impatient,” I said. “You deserve to be impatient, sometimes.”
“Ouch,” he said with a small laugh. “You drive a hard bargain.”
I set my beer aside and rested my hands on each side of Korbin’s shoulders, looking into his face. “Let’s see how the wedding goes,” I said softly, bringing one hand up to caress the back of his neck. “I just want to focus on that, okay? Once that’s over with, we’ll reevaluate.”
“Fine,” he said, bringing my hand up to his lips to kiss it. “I’m okay with that. So, are you spending the night?”
“I can’t sleep with you, Korbin.”
“Sure you can,” he said. “I’ll even take the couch and you can have the bed.”
I chuckled. Count on Korbin to find any way around this possible. “I’ll stay the night,” I told him. “But no funny business. Promise?”
“I promise,” he said. “How about we just sit down here and talk? We can talk about life.”
“Korbin Butler, that’s the first smart thing you’ve said all day,” I said with a giggle, and that’s exactly what we ended up doing. All night long, deep into the blackness of the night, we just talked. We talked like we were kids again, college students back on campus, dreaming about the future, our lives, our goals.
It was perfect.
