“I’m not leaving her,” I declare.
She laughs lightly. “You didn’t let me finish. I think we should go home and change and then come back. We’re both soaking wet. And um …” She waves a hand at my bare chest and then points over to the waiting area. “I’m pretty sure you’re giving that old lady heart palpitations.”
I look to where she’s indicated and find a white-fluffy-haired lady of about eighty staring at me with an unhealthy grip on her Persian cat.
I chuckle as my gaze swings back to Thea. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But I’m coming back.”
“And I’m coming with you,” she warns, like she’s afraid I might tell her to stay.
I smile and grip her hand in mine. I cherish these moments, where even for a second, it feels like we’re a real couple. I crave the freedom to touch her without the fear of being judged for it.
Without a word, we head out to my truck and home.
Cade and Rae are in the family room when we come inside.
“Heard you ran over a dog.” Cade chuckles, eyes glued to the TV.
“I didn’t run over it,” I snap with a bite to my voice.
He looks up and his brows scrunch together. “Where’s your shirt?”
“With the dog.” I sigh, heading for the stairs. “Thea and I are changing and then we’re going back to the vet.”
“Why?” Rae asks, peering over the couch at us. Thea’s already started up the steps and I stand on the bottom one. Rae’s eyes narrow on us, and I know she’s thinking, piecing together what might be happening under their noses. Granted, I don’t think she’d ever guess we’re married, but she’s no dummy. She’ll figure something out eventually or get Thea to spill with as close as those two are.
“Because I adopted her.”
“You got a dog?” Cade laughs.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “I hope you guys don’t mind.” I smile sheepishly.
Rae smiles back. “I don’t care.”
“Me either.” Cade turns back to the TV. “But if it shits in the house and I have to pick it up, I’m putting it in your bed.”
I laugh. “Fair enough.”
With Cade and Rae occupied by the show they’re watching, Thea and I head upstairs to change.
I don’t know how long we’ll be at the vet so I dress comfortably in a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I meet Thea in her room just as she’s pulling a loose sweater on. I hiss between my teeth as she tugs it down and her black bra disappears. She tilts her head, looking at me over her shoulder, and smiles shyly.
“Do you have any idea how much I want to kiss you right now?”
She turns fully and pulls on a pair of cotton shorts. “Why would you want to kiss me? You could kiss anyone you wanted—so why me?”
I swallow thickly. “Because you’re the only girl I ever see.”
Her eyes flick from mine to my lips and back again.
Just like that day in the kitchen, it’s like a switch is flipped. I cross the room to her, take her face in my hands, and kiss her. I kiss her like she’s the sun, and moon, and stars all wrapped in one. She’s everything in this world that dreams are built upon. A quiet moan builds in her throat and it spurs me on. My hands leave her face, ghosting down her sides, where I grasp her legs and lift her up, sitting her on top of the dresser. Her fingers wind into my hair, tugging on the strands near my neck. I know we’re playing with fire, but I don’t give a fuck if we get burned.
Her hands move down to my neck and over my shoulders and then she starts pulling and tugging on my sweatshirt, trying to get it off. I break the kiss long enough to pull it over my head and then I’m back, taking her lips in mine. She tastes sweet, like coconut and I wonder if maybe she’d just put Chapstick on. Her hands roam down my chest settle on my waist.
I yearn for more, so much more, but I know now isn’t the time. We’re still on rocky ground and I don’t want to push her too far, too fast, to the point that I lose her before I have her.
She gasps for air when we part, and I hover there, my nose brushing hers. I’m scared if I move that Thea will go back into her freak-out-zone and I don’t want the shutters to come back down on everything we feel. I want, just once, to not feel guilty for what I feel—for what we feel.
She raises her eyes to mine. “You’re going to be the end of me.”