You’re ridiculous. You’re spending too much time with me and Scottie. We’re corrupting you.
Yes, but you love me anyway. You did say I was amazing, after all.
Vi
I have work to do, you crazy person lol. Go check on your sexy, tortured, hungover neighbor.
*GIF of soldier saluting*
Ok. Going in. Wish me luck.
Vi
You don’t need luck. You’ve got boobs. Works better than luck.
I click out of the text thread, shaking my head. Standing at the kitchen sink, I take another long drink of my coffee. Dalton and Penny are off to school, so it’s just Bea and I this morning. She was up way too early so she’s already zonked out for her morning nap in her crib.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I pour out a second cup of coffee and then clip the baby monitor onto the back pocket of my cutoff jean shorts. My t-shirt is oversized and the V neckline dips low over my cleavage. I step out the front door and around to Xander’s, sucking in another deep breath, and then I raise my hand and knock lightly.
Thirty seconds later, I’m beginning to second guess my decision while waiting for him to open the door, when it opens.
My jaw drops and I fully realize that I am staring but unable to stop myself.
A towel is slung around his hips, his torso and upper body blessedly, wonderfully naked. Water runs down the broad expanse of his chest and down the valley between his abs. His hair is wet and strands stick to the side of his face and neck, but his scruffy beard has been trimmed.
“Hey,” he says, those eyes wreaking even more havoc on my system than the sight of his wet, naked body already has.
“Hey,” I respond lamely, my voice coming out high and squeaky.Ohmygod, am I drooling?I snap my mouth closed, and shove the cup of coffee forward, though I temper the movement so the hot liquid doesn’t slosh out over the rim. “I uhh… I wanted to check on you. And bring you coffee. Here.”
“Thank you,” he murmurs, that deep rasp making my stomach do somersaults. He takes the cup of coffee from me and our fingers brush, sending jolts of electricity up through my fingers and straight to my heart. I lift my cup to my lips, just for something to do with my hands, which are trembling. “And uh, thanks for last night. I’m sorry. I don’t usually let myself drink like that.”
“Don’t apologize for that,” I whisper, swallowing hard. “It’s no big deal.”
“I do need to apologize for what I said before, though,” he says softly, his brows lowering over his eyes sadly.
“Please don’t,” is all I manage, clutching my cup of coffee between my fingers. “I understand. You don’t have to explain?—”
“Yes, I do,” he insists, his eyes tracking over every inch of my face, like he’s trying to memorize it. Like he missed me. “Teddy… Fuck.” He looks down at himself, a soft, self-deprecating laugh tumbling from him. “Let me get dressed, and then can we talk? Please?”
I must be a glutton for punishment, because I find myself nodding slowly, and then my traitorous mouth opens up and says, “Okay.”
“Great,” he says on a breath, like a weight has just been lifted off of him. His eyes brighten, and that stunningly white smile sends me even more off kilter. “Give me like, three minutes. Do you want to come in? Is Bea sleeping?”
“Umm, sure,” I murmur. “And yes, she’s sleeping. I have the baby monitor in my pocket, just in case.”
He steps aside, letting me step in over the threshold, and then he’s closing the door behind us. He walks ahead of me, and I can’t help but stare at the broad, tanned expanse of his back, the way the muscles shift and contract with each move he makes. Or the round firmness of his butt beneath the towel. His feet are bare and I laugh lightly when I realize he has left a trail of water through the hallway to the door.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your shower. I didn’t even know if you’d be awake yet.”
“I woke up hungover as fuck,” he chuckles, talking to me over his shoulder. He stops at the kitchen island and takes a drink of the coffee. He hums appreciatively. “Thank you for this. And for the water and Tylenol last night. It helped a lot.”
I lift my coffee to my lips and take a drink as he skirts around the counter.
“I’ll be right back,” he says quietly, and I nod. He disappears down the hallway and into the bedroom, the door closing. Cup clutched in my hands, I wander around the living room, though there isn’t much to look at. A few pictures of what appears to be his brothers, his mom, and his dad are on the wall, but that’s it. His house is clean and well kept, but it’s just… empty. And it hits me all over again that he’s rarely here.
The door at the end of the hallway opens and he steps out in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that clings to his shoulders and biceps like paid actors. His chest fills out the shirt in a way that makes my mouth go dry. He’s using the towel to scrub at his still wet hair with one hand, leaving it tousled and messy and dammit, now I just want to run my fingers through it, too.
He tosses the towel over the back of one of the dining table chairs as he walks over to where I’m standing. Picking up his coffee cup, he takes another drink. “Seriously, thank you for this.” When I nod, he gestures to the couch. “Will you sit with me?”
