“I thought I’d give you some inspiration,” I said guiltily. “But if we do that again, I’m gonna forget everything I just said and have my way with you, right here, right now.”
Her eyes asked what was wrong with that.
I chuckled. “We will. Trust me. And not on our wedding night.”
She nodded.
“Now,” I said matter-of-factly, “if I don’t go upstairs, my pain is gonna be blue balls.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” she teased.
“Hey, I dunno if there’s a female equivalent—”
“There is. Sort of.”
“—but I know you’ll be suffering too if you don’t… you know.”
“Go upstairs and commit a sin?”
“It isn’t a sin.” I touched her face and lifted it to mine. “It’s natural.
Everyone does it. Just because a bunch of celibate old men say it’s wrong doesn’t make it so.”
“I know. It’s just…”
“I get it. You have a lifetime of Sunday school that tells you one thing, but your body tells you another.”
“Exactly.”
“Listen to your body.”
“I don’t have much choice. She’s screaming at the top of her lungs.”
“‘She’?” I asked with a grin. “Do you have a nickname for her? Miss Kitty?”
Her cheeks turned rosy and she shook her head.
“That’s okay. I’ll think of one. But for now… we’d better stop.” I stood and pulled her with me. My erection had softened a bit, but it still made a healthy bulge in my shorts.
Christy grinned at it.
“Whoa, don’t make me regret what I’m about to do. Seriously. Stop looking at it. You’ll just encourage it.”
“Him.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Your penis. It’s a him.”
“Okay, it’s a him.” The bulge was turning into a tent again. “But I need to go take care of him, or he’s gonna do it himself. Now, upstairs. March!”
“Yes, sir, captain, sir!” She saluted. Then she dashed toward the stairs.
I raced after her, but she was too quick.
We came to a halt at her bedroom door, breathing hard and grinning.
I quickly grew serious. She looked up, and her eyes found mine. I bent to kiss her but kept it short and sweet.
“Thank you for tonight,” she said softly. “It was nice.”
“It was. And I take back what I said after the party.”
“What’s that?”
“
She grinned and stretched upward for another kiss.
“Goodnight,” I said at last. “I’ll see you in the morning. We’ll talk.”
“Okay.” She smiled and closed her door.
I took a deep breath and slowly walked to my room. I replayed the evening in my head as I kicked off my shorts and pulled the sweatshirt over my head.
“Yep,” I said to Wren, wherever she was, “three to zip. Gonna be a shutout, I think.”
The next morning I ran for an hour and a half, nearly twelve miles by the time I finished. I was thinking about Christy, of course, and what I wanted to tell her. I had a lot to say, evidently.
She was sitting at the kitchen table when I finally returned home. I held up a finger and drank straight from the faucet. I didn’t want to make myself sick, so I stopped long before I wanted to.
“Sorry,” I said at last. “I was parched. Need to get a water bottle or something if I do that again.” I plucked at my sweatshirt. “Is it hot in here? I think it is. D’you mind?” I pulled the sweatshirt over my head and fanned my T-shirt. “Guess I didn’t cool down enough outside. It’s warmer than when I left, too. And I think it’s hot in here. Gotta check the furnace. If I ever find that contractor, I’m gonna—”
She was grinning.
“What?”
“You’re chattering,” she said calmly.
“Oh my God! I really
“They say couples become more like each other.”
“Are we a couple now? Or a not-couple?”
“I don’t know. We still have to talk.”
“Um… yeah,” I said. “About that. D’you mind if I shower first?”
She smiled and shook her head. “Do you want me to make you breakfast?”
“Yeah, that’d be nice. Thanks.”
“What do you want? I can’t really cook bacon and eggs.” She scrunched
up her nose. “Can’t bring myself to touch the bacon. Yuck!”
“That’s okay. Surprise me.” I glanced at my watch. “Fifteen minutes?”
She nodded.
I dashed upstairs, raced through my bathroom routine, and returned to the kitchen exactly fourteen and a half minutes later.
Christy grinned and checked her watch. “That was quick. You’re five minutes early.”
I checked my watch again, just to make sure.
“What? Did I do it again? I
“Why don’t you just buy a digital watch?”
“Are you kidding? A big ugly plastic thing on my wrist? No, thank you.”
I had to admit, her slim gold watch matched her slim wrist. “Yeah, okay.
I see your point.”
“Thank you. Now, have a seat while I finish your breakfast.”
“Nah. I’ll help. What’re you fixing?”
“A gourmet meal fit for a king!” She looked chagrined. “Better known as cereal, toast, and melon. Sorry.”
I laughed. “Sounds perfect. What can I help with?”
“Will you do the melon? The big knife scares me.”
“Sure.”
She buttered the toast and poured the cereal while I cleaned and sliced the cantaloupe.
“Orange juice?”
“No thanks,” I said. “It makes the melon taste weird. Probably just milk.”
