“Yep, cookie dough!”
“You’re right. I need this is my life, just like I needed those Dutch doughnuts and the pierogis and the fourth cup of hot chocolate. And probably whatever’s in that bag you gave me. You know Christmas.” He kisses my head affectionately and takes in the display in front of him. “Do you want to do the sampler bites?”
“Sure.” I’ve created a monster. Oh well, I get more food out of it.
Beau takes the box from the server and hands it to me to pick first. I stick with some classic chocolate chip and he takes out the peanut butter. After too much cookie dough, I yawn and look at my watch.
“I better call Tom.” I get out my phone to do that, dreading that the night has to end.
Because no matter how laid-back Beau’s been, there’s no way the end of the night isn’t going to be awkward. Is he going to invite me to the hotel? Should I invite him to my place? Was he only so quiet about the fact that we had sex because he hated it so much he never wants to even talk about it again, much less do it again? Was it so bad he scrubbed it from his memory??
And do I even want him to remember?
Okay, that question is ridiculous. Of course I want him to remember. And I want him to do it again. He’s amazing at sex and I’m not in the habit of denying myself things that give me pleasure. Look at how many cups of hot chocolate I just drank!
The uncertainty makes me quieter than I usually am if the concerned look Tom shoots me after he picks us up means anything. I practically throw the box of oliebollen at him as a distraction, and it works. His eyes light up and I know he’s going to spend the rest of the drive counting down the moments till he can tear into that box at home, just like he always does when he drives me here. I would have gone for it in the car, but Tom says his husband would kill him if he ate the pieces of heaven without sharing, so he always waits.
Thatmaybe an example of true love. If I believed true love actually existed.
“Where to?” Tom asks.
“Ask our guest. Are there any last-minute New York sights you want to see before the night is over?”
“Probably. But I don’t know enough about the city to know what I should do.” He flashes that genuine smile over at me. “And I’m so tired I doubt I could drum up the amount of appreciation that New York would demand.”
I laugh. “New York does demand fervor. And she doesn’t mind getting feisty with you when she doesn’t get it.”
“To the hotel then. Unless you’re closer? I wouldn’t want Tom to go back and forth.”
“I’m closer. To my place then.”
One anxiety-filled ride later, I almost chew a hole through the inside of my cheek and develop a nervous tic where I flinch every time the car stops because I think we’re there. I really don’t have a good excuse since I know this city inside out and I know exactly how far we are from my condo.
Finally, we do stop in front of my building. My heart, now knowing it’s really the time to freak out, runs with the permission, beating in my chest in anticipation. There’s a slight silence when the car stops, both of us searching for a way to say good-night.
Tom clears his throat slightly, probably worried about his food getting colder. The noise spurs Beau into action. “I’ll walk you to the door. No need to wait, Tom, I’ll get the subway from here.”
“Are you sure? Tom can take you all the way.” I don’t want to wake up tomorrow to the headline Out-of-Towner Starves to Death Wandering the Subway; He Got on the Express when He Should Have Been on the Local.
Beau, proving he can read my mind, throws a contrary look over his shoulder when he closes the car door. “I’ll manage. I’m not a hayseed out in the city for the first time. My mom is from here.”
“I believe you.” I hold up my hands. “But transit maps don’t usually get passed on via DNA.”
His hand finds my lower back without looking and we move toward the building. “Thank you for another great Christmas night,” he says in front of the building.
“You’re welcome.” I move back and forth on my feet, wondering if I should offer him some eggnog or yet another cup of hot chocolate.
Before I can, he interrupts my internal monologue. “Do you want to come back to the Plaza? Maybe order some more hot chocolate? I heard adults can have as much as they want.”
Chapter Thirteen
I smile in genuine relief. I don’t mind being the person to initiate sex, but it’s nice to know that he wants me as much as I want him.
“That sounds really good. Especially the part about the hot chocolate, but my apartment is right here.” I point to the building we’re standing right in front of. “And it has a fully stocked hot chocolate bar. Even a hot chocolate charcuterie board, if I haven’t used it all already.”
“Lead the way.” Beau tries to open the door, but it needs my key access, which I get out of my purse to swipe by the side of the door.
In the elevator, I swipe my key fob over the reader and push in my floor. Beau pulls me in from behind me to kiss the back of my neck and then lingers by sucking lightly in the area. I smile, looking at our reflection in the reflective metal wall and wonder what it is about Beau and elevators. Not that I mind, but it makes me want to take him to the Empire State Building.
