He held her toothbrush in his other hand. She’d left it on his sink that morning.
Rachel, sitting crisscross-applesauce on the bed with her laptop open in front of her, lifted her gaze to him and raised her eyebrows. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said again. He held up the toothbrush. Set it on the table by the door. “Thought you might want this.”
She hadn’t messed with her makeup that day, so her face was bare, her hair piled on her head like she wore it only when she didn’t expect anyone else to see her. At least, that’s what he’d noted. She never kept it up like that when anyone else was in the room. He gave her thirty seconds before she remembered that it was in the pile before she removed the band and let it hang loose.
He liked it both ways. He didn’t particularly have a preference.
“Are you busy?” he asked, hand still on the doorknob, ready to leave if she couldn’t take time away for him.
She nodded, the almost-there smile edging at her lips. “Always.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” He turned the door handle to leave.
“Trav?” she called before he pulled the door open more than an inch. “Did you need something?”
Yeah, he needed something. Someone.
“You,” he said simply, turning back toward her.
She smiled, her cheeks turning pink, her teeth nibbling her bottom lip. “Good thing I’m here,then.”
“Good thing.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, glancing at his bare feet.
She closed the laptop, carefully, and moved it to the nightstand before patting the bedspread in invitation.
He pushed the door closed and made it two steps into the room before she reached for the rubber band and pulled her hair free.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said, moving to the bed and stretching out beside where she sat.
“Do what?” She tossed the band on top of her laptop and snuggled in to his chest.
He relaxed immediately. Breathing around Rachel just came easier. Having her against him like this made him feel like he hadn’t been breathing and never even realized it. Then suddenly she was there, and the world was full of oxygen.
“The hair thing. I like it up.” He shuffled his hands through the strands, piling it on the crown of her skull like she’d had it with the band.
The kiss he pressed to her mouth didn’t go as planned when she frowned against his lips.
He didn’t like it when she frowned in bed. Didn’t particularly care for it when he frowned in bed, either.
“Okay.” She turned from him and reached mechanically across the mattress toward the nightstand until her fingertips grazed the hair tie. “I can put it back in.”
He caught her, pulling her back in to him so the front of her meshed with the front of him. “I like it down, too.”
That got him a smile and a press of her lips against his. “Oh.”
“I like it both ways. You don’t have to change it when I’m around.” His lips were barely away from hers, sharing the same air, firing all his senses, making him want to sink himself in all that she was and escape.
Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day and she had work, and he had a call with distribution, and if they weren’t careful, someone would come knocking at the door.
“Wanna make out?” he asked instead of what he really wanted to do.
“The kids with Dave?” she asked but didn’t wait for his response before running her hands up the edge of the bottom of his tee. Her palms against his abs lit a trail of fire along his skin that was all Rachel.
“Yeah.” He brushed the tip of his nose against hers. “We’re alone.”
“Then by all means, yes. Making out is good. Add some groping too, if you want.” The last word barely passed her lips before he rolled her to her back and reached up her top, under her bra, to toy with her nipples as his mouth melded with hers.
