Adelaide shook her head as she hung her coat on a hook by the door and made her way to the kitchen, scooping the bowl and spoon from the counter as she did and depositing them in the sink. “No. Colette graduated last year. She’s a nurse and has been working night shifts lately. She won’t be home until early morning.”
I took a seat on one of the stools as Adelaide plucked two wine glasses from a drying rack by the sink and set them on the counter between us. “Wine? I haveWexstone’s finest boxed vintage,” she said with a posh accent, nodding to indicate the box of red wine by the small fridge.
I laughed and nodded. “I would be a fool to pass up such an offer.” Truthfully, I was more nervous than I had been with a woman in a long time. I didn’t have a dating track record like Vince or my brother’s, though I wasn’t exactly a monk, either. But Adelaide was different from anyone else I'd been with. I didn’t want to be drunk for whatever happened next—if anything—but I had only had a few beers at the party and knew a glass of wine wouldn’t hurt.
As she poured the wine, my eyes continued to skim the kitchen, landing on the windowsill above the kitchen sink.
“Adelaide,” I asked, my head tilting to the left curiously, “is that a pair of binoculars by your kitchen window?”
Adelaide whirled around, her eyes wide, wine nearly sloshing out of the glass she was holding. “I…um…well.” She cleared her throat nervously. “Yes.” I met her gaze, the corners of my mouth twitching upward as I suppressed a grin. I waited.
She set the glass back on the counter with a resigned sigh before the words spilled out of her. “I’m nosy, okay! I’m infernally nosy and the people who live in the building behind us are rather curious individuals and sometimes I just…want to see what’s going on. They keep digging random holes in the yard; I thought for a bit that perhaps they were burying bodies, but it seems they’re just burying rocks. Possibly potatoes? It’s been quite the saga, honestly.” Her cheeks flushed a brilliant red.
“You know, you could have just told me they were your flatmate’s,” I teased. “But, I guess now I know: if there is figurative tea to be spilled, you will be there lapping it up.”
“Absolutely. Knowledge is power, or something like that, right?”
“Right.” I laughed.
She handed me my glass of wine and stood next to me while she took a sip of her own.
“I know some tea you could share,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“Earlier tonight, when Faxon was doing his whole bodyguard thing, he called you Whitesnake. What is that about?” she asked through a giggle.
“It’s my code name. Whitesnake is one of my favorite bands.”
“Oh, right.” She took another drink of her wine. “I’m so ignorant to all of the security stuff; it’s all quite new to me.”
“Look.” I set my wine down and grabbed her bandaged hand. “I am truly sorry for tonight. I don’t want you to think that’s normal or anything. I hate that our night had to end on a low note.”
Adelaide set her wine down and moved closer to stand between my legs.
“Who said the night was over? I’m still up to end it on a high note.” She leaned in to brush a soft kiss against my lips. “Go tell Faxon that I’ll handle your Whitesnake or whatever tonight.”
I couldn’t help but let out a boisterous laugh.
Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I texted Faxon that I’d be staying here for the foreseeable future and gave him a head’s up that Adelaide’s roommate would be returning home early in the morning, then laid my phone on the counter. Adelaide slowly pulled me off the stool and led me to her bedroom.
The small space held a full-size bed covered in a sage duvet and an assortment of throw pillows. An antique dresser stood against one wall, while the opposite wall was filled with shelves, half of which were stackedwith novels while the other half displayed row upon row of shoes. I stopped in my tracks as I took in what had to be at least thirty pairs.
“So, I, uh…” Adelaide started.
“Like shoes?” I finished.
“Yeah, something like that,” she said sheepishly.
“We all have our vices.” I spun her around to face me. “I think my new vice might be you.” I lightly kissed her lips. “And the way you taste.” I kissed her cheek. “And the sounds you make when I do this.” She moaned as I trailed my lips down her neck. “Mmm, yep. Those sounds are my new favorite thing. I might be addicted.”
She slowly backed up until the back of her thighs hit the bed. I lifted her up under her ass and tossed her back onto the mattress before crawling up beside her. Our lips met again while I let my hand slide up her side to her breast. I gave it a light squeeze and then pinched the peaked nipple showing through her dress.
“God, Oliver,” she whined.
“You like that?” I smiled.
“I love it,” she answered between kisses. Before I could squeeze her breast again, she climbed up to straddle my lap, her body-hugging dress riding up her thighs as she pressed me back against the bed.
