After taking a few more bites, Carli said, “But then I’d be dying of hunger right now and would have to wait longer to eat.”
“Guess it was a good sacrifice then.I don’t want you to die.”
That made her smile. He’d do anything to keep her happy.
Once they’d eaten and cleaned up, Carli helped him move all the perishable food he’d stored on the balcony back into the fridge. They tidied up the bedroom and took turns taking a hot shower. He’d thought about suggesting they share, but when his eyes had moved in the direction of the master bathroom, Carli had turned beet red and shuffled from the room, saying she’d let him go first. He never wanted to do anything she wasn’t ready for. They’d already gotten closer than he’d thought possible for this point in his career.
They spent the afternoon watching an old movie on TV. With the Closed Caption on, Carli could enjoy it, too. He found he got more out of the movie with the captions on, also. He hadn’t realized how people mumbled at times and how much he missed.
Holding her close to his side while they watched felt amazing, and he thought about the last two nights with Carli in his bed. He’d wanted to whisper sweet words in her ear and probably had subconsciously but had stopped himself most of the time. What was it like for her not to be able to hear his accelerated breathing or his moans of pleasure? Could she tell how excited he was regardless? Thank God, he could hear her. Her sighs and whimpers when his lips touched a sensitive spot had set him off. But now he knew exactly where to touch her to make sure she got intense pleasure. Overall, their body language had been very clear.
When the movie was over, he picked up the remote and clicked through the channels. “Oh, cartoons.Do you like them?Embarrassing, but I still tune in every now and then, if I have some time and need to unwind. My mom refused to let us watch. Said they were trash.”
“We rarely watched cartoons.”
“Your parents?”
Pointing to her ear, she said, “No, we didn’t understand them. You can’t really read the lips of a cartoon, and Closed Captioning wasn’t as common. Though we did enjoy ones like The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, because it was all action.”
“Do you want to watch some now or would you rather see another movie?”
“I’m happy to sit here with you. Doesn’t matter what we watch.”
Could she be any more perfect? As he flipped through the channels, he kept an eye on her face. There were some things she appeared to be more interested in than others.
“Except horror movies,” she blurted out as a slasher flick flashed across the screen. “I’m happy to watch anything, except horror movies.”
“But if we watch this,” he pointed to the screen, “then you can cuddle into my shoulder when you’re scared, so I can protect you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t need protection. I don’t like seeing stupid people killed.”
Laughing, he reeled her in for a kiss. He’d lost count of how many they’d shared today. Or this weekend. When he eased away, her eyes were soft and dazed. It felt good to know he could get that response from her.
“Turn it to cartoons,” she instructed as the killer on the screen got ready to attack his next victim. “Now.”
“Yes,ma’am. Anything for you.” He pressed the remote, and Bugs Bunny munched on a carrot, waiting for Elmer Fudd to come along.
“Anything? Really?”
“Anything legal.”
“How about you practice your ASL on these cartoons. Bugs is a good place to start, since there isn’t a ton of dialogue.”
“Only if myfavorite ASL instructor helps me. Otherwise, I’ll be fingerspelling everything.”
“Deal.” She put her hand out to shake, but he had a better idea to seal this agreement.
Deal,he signed, then pulled her into his arms and reclined on the couch.
Half an hour later, Bugs was over, and he’d gotten out of signing the show. The look in Carli’s eyes told him she knew what he’d done, but the smile on her face said she didn’t care. A make-out session topped cartoons any day.
“I wonder if the streets are any better now.” Carli sat up and adjusted the t-shirt he’d given her to wear.
Grabbing his phone, he scrolled through reports and sighed. “Yep, says they lifted the ban and trains are all running again.”
“I should probably think about heading home.” Standing, she gazed out the window.
That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “It’s only Saturday. We still haveone more day off.I won’t even charge you extra.”
