“Oh, and Dollie hasn’t sent any paperwork or a bill for the rent.”
He chews on his lip. “She won’t take your money.”
“What?”
“This has nothing to do with me this time. I swear. She told me to tell you that she won’t be accepting a dollar from you.”
“Mommy! Come look!” Winnie calls from inside.
We both hesitate for a moment, knowing there’s no real urgency in her voice, but after a moment, Tanner stands and offers me both his hands. They’re calloused and greased stained and I slide mine into them carefully. His grip is firm as he pulls me notjust up, but square into his chest and I can feel his heart pounding in equal measure to mine.
“That’s breaking rules,” I whisper, letting my eyes travel from where our hearts beat against each other, then up to his eyes.
“I could break a lot more rules,” he whispers back. “But there are cartoons waiting for us in the other room.”
He makes no effort to move though. So, with a deep breath and the rest of my self-control, I turn from him and step into my room. I only make it a few steps into the sun-streaked space before Tanner's hands find my hips and pull me back into him. There’s no fight in my body. In fact, I only melt back into his chest as his arms wrap around my middle.
“Hannah.” His lips graze my neck, before he presses them against the soft skin. The sound of my name is muffled because of it, or maybe because my heartbeat is drowning out his voice and all my reason.
I try to steady my breathing, but I can’t. Not with the feeling of his body pressed against mine. Not with the feeling of his heartbeat against my back and his lips on my neck. The room is warm, but my skin is on fire.
We don’t say anything else, because there is nothing else to say. We just keep each other there for a moment before I force myself away, leaving him standing there in my bedroom and I regret every step I have to take away from him.
When I step out of my room, Winnie points out something silly I missed on the screen, and I realize the kitchen is cleaned. The garbage is bagged up with the pizza box next to the door.
“I’ll get that when I head out,” Tanner says as he steps around me, giving my side a light tap.
“You cleaned all of this up,” I point out and he looks over at me. Confusion all over his gorgeous face.
“I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep, I just thought?—"
“No.” I shake my head. “I— thank you.”
He nods. “You don’t have to thank me. I helped make the mess. But I should probably leave you two?—”
“No.” Winnie pouts and slaps the empty spot on the couch next to her. “Come watch.”
Tanner looks at me as if to ask permission.
I should send him home. I should stop this attachment before it becomes too painful to untangle ourselves. But I can’t and I don’t. This time, I’m in the middle. Tanner sits with his leg touching mine, and his arm behind me on the couch.
“I like this one,” Winnie declares about whatever cartoon that plays.
My heartbeat echoes in my ears and though my eyes are trained forward, attempting to pay attention to whatever Winnie is talking about, I can only focus on Tanner next to me with that devilish smirk on his face. The flashing colors and animals on the screen are purely background to the thunder in my chest.
Then in a moment, I feel Tanner’s fingers find the clip in my hair and pull it away gently, my frizzy waves spill over my shoulders and chest. He runs his fingers through the length of it until it lays on my opposite shoulder, leaving my neck exposed to him and it takes everything in me to keep from leaning into his hand. He traces a finger along the line of my shoulder and toward the strap of my dress. He flicks the strap off but continues to float his finger back up my neck.
“Tanner.” I try to sound strong and resolute, but my voice is hoarse and the words come out as a whisper.
“You were winning,” he whispers and laces his hand into the back side of my hair, tugging it enough to turn me to look at him. “I had to make it even.”
Then he drops his arm to the back of the couch and plays innocent for the rest of the episode. Once the cartoon credits speed by, Winnie is sound asleep, and so is Tanner. I'm stuck between two sleeping golden retrievers, and I’d be damned if theyare both snoring. I carefully lift myself, only waking Tanner in the process. He stretches and smiles at me.
I gave him my hand. “Truce?”
He takes it and pulls himself up to his full height before leaning down so his lips graze the shell of my ear. “Never.”
He pulls away and walks toward the door picking up the garbage and pizza box.
