“Please don’t ever say that again,” I said with a shake of my head.
“What?You don’t like the words getting dicked down?”
I mock-groaned, knowing she was stuck on that word and would use it until I bled from my ears.After cleaning-up, she wiped and rinsed away the evidence of our sex from the island while I finished cooking our lunch.
I wasn’t a great cook, but I could make a decent meal with chicken and vegetables.
We carried our plates to the couch, sitting facing each other, our elbows touching as we chewed.
“You know,” she said, scooping a forkful of salad.“I thought I was asexual for the longest time.”
“Really?”
I wouldn’t be surprised if she was.She had always been touch-averse and I knew it took years before she allowed Amanda to hug her.
She swallowed before continuing, “I thought I didn’t want sex with anyone.But turns out I just didn’t want to sleep with anyone?—”
“But your young and handsome boyfriend,” I finished her sentence.
“Yes.You,” she said, smiling at me, her hazel eyes bright.“I always ended up overthinking.Am I using enough tongue?Am I making enough eye contact?Does this reaction look remotely human?”
“Darling,” I said, squeezing her thigh.“Everything you do turns me the fuck on.Even how you eat cheesecake like a starved woman.”
“Of course you do.”She grinned, nudging me with her elbow.“But I’m glad my brain shuts up whenever we are intimate.I don’t have to pretend.”
“Thank fuck for that,” I said.“My ego would bruise if you faked orgasms with me.”
She straightened up.“Who says I haven’t?”
“You… come back here!”I said when she stood up, keeping her plate on the coffee-table.I followed when she ran away.
We turned the chase into a tickle war, which ended with me grabbing her and hoisting her over my shoulder.She squealed, trying to wriggle free when I took her to the small office we had set up for me in her guest room.
She told me that we would never get anything done if I set up my desk in her home studio.My desk gleamed with two monitors, a mechanical keyboard, and a gaming chair.I loved that she had made space for me in her sanctuary, and Amanda was glad I was finally out of her hair.
“Sit,” I ordered, spinning her into the chair so she faced the monitors.
“What is it?”she asked.
“Have some patience.”I typed some things into the panel, opening a new window.
“Is it the edited version of our almost sex-tape?”she asked.
“That’s a good idea, butno,” I paused, looking at her.“It’s something better.”
I finally opened it and watched her face change as the site loaded.It had a clean layout with soft colors and a handful of mock products.Necklaces in the hero banner, delicate rings and polished photographs of the cufflinks she’d once made for a client.
I built an entire site around her brand, used her color palette, and filled it with mockups of pieces she loved and the pieces she had created.
It had taken a few weeks to work behind her back, but I wanted to do it for her.
She stared at the screen, her lips parted and eyes wide.
“I made it with your brand colors,” I said, my voice low and shaky.“Amanda helped a ton.I… I want you to leaveOpulenceand open your own shop online.You don’t have to design the same thing for someone else ever again.”
Her hands flew to her mouth.“Dylan?—”
“I know it’s scary,” I said, squeezing her shoulder.“I’ve been talking to suppliers.I made a list.Ethical gemstones, recycled metals.I’ve already messaged a few manufacturers who said they’d work with us.I… I want to do this with you.”
