“Cabernet would be great if you’ve got it.” She followed me into the kitchen and pulled a small box out of her handbag. “These are for you. I noticed you needed them the last time I was here.”
I arched an eyebrow at her, curious about what she’d brought.
“They’re not sex toys,” she said, shaking her head.
“Pity,” I said as I dug through the drawers for a corkscrew. “I lost my last pair of nipple clamps in the sofa cushions. I’ve been meaning to replace them.”
“Very funny.” She tipped her head to the side, watching my increasingly frenzied search.
I didn’t usually drink wine, but I knew I owned a corkscrew. I just wished I’d bothered to find it before she arrived. It didn’tdo any good having a wine cellar’s worth of wine and no way to open it.
“Ha!” I pulled the corkscrew out of the utensil drawer, which on second thought, was probably where I should have started my search, and held it up in triumph.
I opened the bottle, poured a glass for her, and grabbed a beer for myself before turning my attention back to the box in front of her.
“It’s only coasters. Not a big deal. Sex toys would have been better.”
“Next time.” I opened the box and couldn’t hold back my laugh. The box held a stack of tiles with a graphic of vampire teeth printed over repeating binary code. The cartoon bubble at the top said Byte Me. “These are great. I don’t think I’ve ever bought coasters before, but if I had, I would have chosen these.” When she smiled at me, I leaned over the counter to kiss the gentle curve of her lips. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” She glanced from my eyes to my lips in a way that had me rethinking the movie-watching plan. “Regardless of what you say, I figure I still owe you. Not that this makes us even.”
She took a sip of her wine, dragging her teeth over her bottom lip to catch an errant drop. She watched as if she knew exactly what she was doing to me.
“I’m sure we can work something out.” I traced the back of my finger along her cheek and over her mouth.
Her lips parted, and I felt her breath against my skin. We hadn’t set any parameters for the evening. To be honest, I hadn’t been sure we were actually playing until she showed up at the door looking like a casting call for the girlfriend character in a sitcom. I hadn’t been sure of anything beyond my need to see her again. But if playing girlfriend meant we were doing this teasing, ramping up desire thing, I could work with that.
“Should we order dinner? We can get ramen or something else.” I reached for her hand, twining my fingers with hers.
I’d considered cooking for her. I knew it was a tried-and-true way to seduce women. I actually enjoyed cooking when I could focus on just that, but I worried about getting lost in the process and the mess I’d leave behind. Takeout seemed like a better—and safer choice. I could cook next time.
“Ramen would be great,” she said. “The same as last time is perfect.”
Still holding her hand across the counter, I opened my phone with my other hand and placed the order.
Grabbing the wine bottle and my beer, I led her from the kitchen to my couch. She toed off her sandals and sat, tucking her feet up beside her. I hurried back to the kitchen and grabbed a pair of coasters off the counter. Elena grinned up at me as I set them on the tables beside us.
“I haven’t played girlfriend before, but I’m pretty sure you get to pick the movie. A romantic comedy or some such thing.” I set my beer bottle on the coaster and reached for the remote.
“You’ve never had a girlfriend?” She sat up straighter and pinned me with a curious gaze.
“Of course I have,” I said, trying to navigate my way around the dragons suddenly popping up everywhere.
“Really?”
“Yes. I mean, not a long-term thing, but I’ve had girlfriends.” It might be a stretched version of the truth. My longest relationship never passed six weeks, but my conscience felt clear.
She watched me for a moment longer, and I worried she wouldn’t let it go.
“In that case, you’re right. It should definitely be a romantic comedy. Gimme.” She leaned across me and snatched the remote out of my hand.
I caught her and pulled her into my arms, settling her on my lap. She grinned at me and for a second, my breath caught and I felt the absolute rightness of this moment. Elena in my home, in my arms.
I shifted us around so we were still sitting but nestled deeper into the couch cushions. She quickly navigated to one of the streaming apps and used the voice command button.
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected. I hadn’t really cared about the movie at all, but by the time the male main character said “the hickey guy is Keanu Reeves” I was completely invested. Before they finished the crazy fusion dinner scene, the bell rang, announcing our food’s arrival.
Elena paused the movie and slid off my lap. For a moment, I contemplated holding on to her. Noodles suddenly didn’t seem as important as keeping Elena in my arms. The bell rang again, and I forced myself to my feet, crossing the short distance to the front door.
