“A few months now.”
“I’m impressed you got this far,” she says, which makes me smile.
At twenty-four, I take pride in all things I do, especially my home. It means a lot to me to have my life in order. My parents instilled in me that I not only have to findthe one, but I have to bethe oneas well. I wanted to make sure I had my life in order whenever she walked into my life.
I have to admit, seeing Kara standing back here with me feels pretty freaking good.
Putting down the barbecue utensil, I wrap my arm around her, bringing her to me and just breathing, relishing in how amazing it feels.
I hear the oven beep from the window in the kitchen and pull away from her. “Time to put in the mac and cheese.”
After I do so, I grab my cutting board and head back out to the backyard, stopping in my tracks when I see Kara just standing there with her back to me. Everything about her brings this calmness to me when she’s near, and I just want to breathe in all that she offers.
When she turns to me and gives me a small smile, I know I’m completely done for with this girl. I smile back, then open the barbecue and take the meat off before shutting it down.
“Wow, that’s a lot of meat,” she says.
“When I cook, I don’t mess around, so I cut it up for meals all week.”
“Ah, so you’re a meal prepper.”
“Isn’t that the firefighter way? Always be prepared,” I tease.
“Um … pretty sure that’s the Boy Scouts, but I’ll give it to you.”
I kiss her cheek, then grab the cutting board and head inside with her right behind me.
We sit and eat dinner together, talking about anything and everything. Our conversation never falters, and I feel like we’ve done this a thousand times before. She tells me about her family some more, and I tell her more about the guys at the station. Part of me wants to sit here all night while the other part of me can’t wait to get her in my bed again.
She helps me clean up the kitchen, surprising me by coming up behind me while I’m at the sink and wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Thank you for dinner,” she says in the sweetest tone.
I turn around just enough to be able to give her a small kiss. “You’re welcome.”
Once it’s all done, I face her and am not able to wait one more second as I reach for her, holding her head in my hands and bringing her lips to mine.
“God, I’ve been waiting all day for this moment. Please let me take you to my bed again,” I whisper with my forehead pressed against hers.
“Take me to bed or lose me forever,” she says dramatically.
I pick her up, and she instantly wraps her legs around my waist. “Ah, aTop Gunreference. You really are my kind of girl, aren’t you?”
She laughs out loud. “Surprised you got that.”
“Let’s just say, I’ve seen the movie, oh, a thousand times. I might or might not have had aTop Gunpatch sewn onto my backpack when I was little.”
“Did you want to be Maverick back then?”
I start walking us to my room. “What are you talking about? I am Maverick right now with how I’m about to get my girl.”
She leans in, kissing me, and, man, how I love the way she feels.
As we enter my room, I kick off my shoes and lay her down on the bed, wasting no time in lying on top of her, and we continue our exploration of each other.
I lean back, only to remove her boots, and then kiss my way up her leg, to her stomach, and back to her lips.
“How is this so fucking good?” I ask, kissing her neck.
