“Come home with me.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Charlie took my hand and led us out of the park. He pulled me gently against the window of a closed shop on Bleecker.
He leaned down and kissed my forehead, then my right cheek, then the tip of my nose.
“You’re beautiful. I want to tell you that every day.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in his natural scent, tilting my head to meet his mouth. It felt like the first kiss all over again. His body overtook mine as he wrapped his arms around me, and I arched my back to press myself to him. I felt him harden against me, and I opened my eyes, overwhelmed and excited all at once.
“Let’s go,” I whispered, shivering more from adrenaline than the cold.
We walked the block back to my apartment without saying anything. I unlocked the building door with shaky hands.
“I love getting into elevators with you,” he said with a wink.
“You can’t press the stop button here, or we’ll strand the neighbors.”
A few moments later, we were standing in the doorway of my studio.
“I’ll give you the tour,” I said lamely, waving a hand in each direction.
He took off his shoes and put them by the door.
I resisted the urge to pour a glass of wine to take off the edge.
“Can I get you anything?”
“Maybe just a glass of water.”
I poured water for both of us. We stood there quietly for a few seconds, then I motioned toward the bed.
“We can sit down over there,” I suggested.
He raised an eyebrow, and my face flushed.
“It’s just—I don’t have a couch,” I pointed out helplessly.
“The bed looks big enough for two people.”
I set the water on the nightstand and sat at the foot of the bed. Charlie sat next to the pillows and ran his hand over the duvet cover. “Your apartment smells like you,” he said softly.
I took a deep breath and covered my face with my hands. “I’m so nervous. I haven’t done this in such a long time.”
Before I could look up, I felt his arm pulling me close.
“Look at me.”
I uncovered my face and gave him a side-glance.
He chuckled. “Goddammit. You’re like this cute, small creature that I just want to cuddle, and then there’s the other part of you that drives me crazy. I don’t know how I didn’t let myself come home with you last night.”
“Because then we wouldn’t have this moment,” I said seriously.
“I just don’t want you to regret any of this.”
“Let’s worry about that later,” I said, only half jokingly.
