He was grinning at Knox’s shirt on my body.
“We good?” she asked me.
“Totally. Always,” I answered.
“Cheyenne strategy meet tomorrow at headquarters?” she queried. “Or will you two still be reuniting?”
I really did want that Cheyenne line item crossed off our to-do list.
But more, I wanted to make up for lost time with my guy.
So I requested, “Can we play it by ear?”
“Sure,” she replied.
“Getting my coffee,” Shanti shouted from the upstairs walkway, on her way to my unit. “Then I’ll be out of your hair.”
“All right,” I shouted back.
Everyone else was drifting away or huddling to gossip about what just happened (and fill Bill and Zach in, and I could tell they didn’t mess about doing it because both men looked ticked as all get out). I got Angel squeezes of my hand and arm that were different versions of Raye’s “we good?” to which I obviously answered the same as I did to Raye, doing it using a smile.
And then it was just Knox and Jaques and me.
Jacques barked because two things needed to happen: pee break and breakfast.
“I’ll look after him, you go make us coffee,” Knox ordered.
“I’ll look after him, you put him down, go up, put on your sling, and make us coffee,” I countered.
“Baby.” He got closer, and his voice lowered. “Promise, I’m healing.”
“Baby,” I held his gaze and did not lower my voice. “If you put on that sling and make me coffee, I’ll give you a blowjob that will make you question your allegiance to the Cardinals, Uncle Sam, the knowledge that the sun rises in the east and man has walked on the moon. So”—I hitched a hip—“which way we gonna play this, honcho?”
He was grinning flat out when he said, “I’ll make coffee.”
“As I suspected.”
He dropped a kiss on my lips before he put my dog on the grass.
Then, the infuriating man, he jogged up the damn steps.
Though he sauntered to my unit.
I followed my dog around and was glad to see this morning he just needed a pee break, because I hadn’t brought my puppy poo bags.
Then he followed me up to my apartment (such a good boy, he didn’t even need a leash).
Knox had coffee ready.
I took a few sips.
And about twenty minutes after that, I knew Knox had forgotten that Neil Armstrong even existed.
Mission accomplished.
FIFTEEN
“WALKING ON SUNSHINE”
