“Really. This isn’t the 1950s. Showing you’re vulnerable is more of a strength, in my opinion.” Cassie focused hopefully on the box beneath Taryn’s hands. “Will you show me?” she asked gently, sensing Taryn’s reluctance hadn’t been completely reduced.
Taryn opened the hinged lid slowly, but Cassie couldn’t see inside from the angle she was sitting at. She pulled something out and clasped her fist around it before closing the box and shoving it across the table toward the window.
“Something small makes sense if it goes with you everywhere.” Cassie retreated a little to give Taryn some space. She hadn’t honestly expected this kind of softness from Taryn, but she liked it immensely. And that didn’t stop her heart from falling a tiny bit more for the woman she hadn’t anticipated getting to know beyond a few nights of wild and intensely satisfying sex. How cruel of the Universe to put someone like Taryn in her path, only to move her on after a few short months.
But that time was better than no time.
Taryn opened her hand slowly to reveal a small piece of metal in the shape of a dog bone. “It’s the tag from my dog, Pepper. I had her when I was nine, and she grew up with me. It destroyed me when we had to have her… When, you know…” Taryn pressed her finger to her brow. “I still can’t really talk about it. But I take this with me everywhere to remind me that there’s never enough time but also that there are amazing things you can experience if you take the time to open your heart to them.” She shrugged. “You got it right when you said I was obsessed with time.”
Cassie ran her fingers along Taryn’s forearm. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”
“S’okay.” She placed it back in the box and looked deep into Cassie’s eyes. “Phew. That’s been a lot of seriousness. Can we get back to the fun and sex?” Taryn grinned then launched herself over the table to pull Cassie in for a deep kiss.
When Taryn retreated, she left Cassie breathless, and the melancholy of the moment had been definitively replaced with their usual, more playful vibe. Cassie put her fingers to her lips; they felt almost bruised from their earlier passion. “I’m going to need food before I get back into bed with you.”
“Do you want to go out or get something delivered? Or I could cook?”
Taryn showed no residual signs of the softer side she’d revealed with both their bedroom activities and their last conversation. But it was enough to know it was there, and that Taryn trusted her enough to be that open. “You cook?” Cassie hadn’t expectedthateither.
Taryn leaned back and lifted her tank top. “You think I could look like this if I ate out all the time?” She slid out from the bench and opened the refrigerator. “I have fresh salmon and asparagus tips.”
Cassie smiled at Taryn’s apparent excitement and eagerness to cook for them.Another string to her bow. But she still hadn’t answered Cassie’s question. “Before I decide, I’d like to know your answer to my earlier question about you staying at my place tonight.”
Taryn closed the fridge door and leaned back against the sink. “You could stay here…”
Different location, same outcome. That worked for Cassie. “I’ll have to get up at five a.m. to go home and get ready for work. If that doesn’t bother you, then yes, I’d love to stay with you tonight.” She’d get as much of Taryn as she could, actually.
“So it’d be easier if I stayed at your place?”
Cassie nodded. “I wouldn’t have to get up early, so we could play til later.”
“Sold.” Taryn pushed away from the sink and pulled Cassie to her feet. “But how about I pack the ingredients into a cooler and cook at your place?”
Cassie laughed and ran her hands through Taryn’s hair, trying to straighten the bit that was stuck up from their afternoon’s adventures. “I have no idea if my stove works, and you may have to peel the store stickers from the pots, but sure, you can be the first person in the world to cook something in my kitchen.”
Taryn looked incredulous. “You’ve never cooked anything there? How long have you lived there?”
Cassie arched her eyebrow. “Hey, Judgy McJudge Bottom, I could cook if I wanted to.”
Taryn wrinkled her nose and looked adorable. “Could you though?”
Cassie shook her head. “Absolutely not, no. Can’t cook a thing. Never wanted to. Never tried.”
“Will you sous chef for me?” Taryn asked.
“I can’t possibly risk chopping off any digits, I’m afraid. But I will happily sit on the other side of the countertop, drinking wine and keeping you company while you rustle up something tasty for us.”
Taryn smiled widely, and Cassie’s heart warmed at the thought of that beautiful smile being the first thing she’d see in the morning.
Chapter Eighteen
Taryn completed one last circuit of the stadium before sliding to a halt in front of Gwen. She got off the bike and patted Gwen on the shoulder. “She’s handling great, G.”
“Excellent. And the new thumb throttle?” Gwen released the kickstand and began to wheel the bike back to her workshop area.
“Way superior to anything else I’ve ever used.” Taryn followed alongside and nodded to Andi when she joined them. “You should trademark it and sell it to Honda or Kawasaki.”
“Don’t say things like that.” Andi gave Taryn a hard shove. “We can’t lose our genius.”
