He fired up the air fryer, then set the olive oil on the island in front of her.
“Spices?” Instead of waiting for an answer, she began searching, finding them on her own.
He loved having her in his kitchen, loved that they were cooking dinner together. Not long ago, she couldn’t even be in the same room with him.
When the grill heated up, he placed the seasoned steaks on the tray.
After wiping down the patio table and setting it, she asked, “Do you have matches or a lighter?”
He went inside, pulled the long lighter from a drawer. While she lit his mosquito candles, he flipped the steaks.
Despite the simplicity of their activities, this moment felt special. Every few seconds, he’d sneak a glance. In part, because he couldn’t get enough of her, but more so because her being there was like a dream. A dream he never wanted to wake from.
Minutes later, they were seated outside, the dusky sky a stunning array of dark pink, bright orange, and light purple. As he slid his gaze from the backdrop to Slash, Mother Nature’s beauty paled in comparison.
He raised his glass. “To you.”
“To me,” she replied and tapped his wine glass with hers.
He chuffed out a laugh.
She was staring so intently at him.
“You doin’ okay over there?” he asked.
“I… um… yeah, so I’ve got a thing for your smile.”
Progress.
“I’ll take that.”
“I’ve always loved it,” she said as she sliced into the steak. “Grilled to perfection.” She slid the fork into her mouth, slowly pulled it out. He sat there, mesmerized by her every move. When she swallowed it down, she ran her tongue over her lower lip.
Jesus, I’m getting hard.
“Your eye teeth jut out. It’s sexy.” She dragged the edge of the French fry through the dollop of ketchup, slipped it into her mouth and bit it off. After swallowing, she said, “I never told you that. I wished I had.”
“Our regrets are so different when it comes to us.”
“Don’t you like dinner?” she asked.
He hadn’t taken a bite.
“I don’t want the food,” he said. “I want you.”
“You wanna fuck? Get the first one out of your system?”
A shock of energy jolted through him.
She smiled. “I’m just messin’ with you.”
“I’m notfuckingyou,” he said. “Claude Amos is looking for free use, not me.”
“You always took good care of me, even when we didn’t know what we were doing.”
That memory made her smile and he took a mental snapshot of the joy on her beautiful face.
They stared into each other’s eyes. The pull to kiss her, to touch her was too strong to ignore.
