“Sorry, buddy,” I said. “Not this time.”
Not seeming too upset, Joker padded around to a sunny spot in the yard and lay down as I followed Danica inside. He let out a satisfied, if tired, sound as he curled up. Not for the first time, I was so happy that I had adopted him and marveled at how quickly he had become a part of my life. Simon, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen when I went inside. Likely hiding in the bedroom.
“Take a seat,” I said. “I’ll pop the meal in the oven and get us something to drink.”
“Water, please,” she said as she made her way into the dining room.
I walked into the kitchen, preheating the oven first and then grabbing two glasses. She might want water, but I was going to have a beer. The heat of the sun had been just enough that an ice-cold beer sounded like the greatest thing in the world. I cracked open the bottle and brought the glasses into the dining room.
Placing the glass in front of her, I couldn’t help but notice just how pretty she looked. She was clearly dressed for tromping around in the vines but still wanted to look cute. The combination of cute and functional was somehow sexier than anything else she could have worn. I popped the meals into the oven and went to the bathroom to wash up. Coming back in, I flipped on the stereo in the corner and turned the volume low. Light classical music streamed out of the speakers mounted in the corners.
Danica was smiling when I brought the food in and sat it down in front of her. We ate in the comfortable quiet for a few moments before I decided to start it out. I took a big sip of my beer, trying to steel myself once more. If I was going to lay it on the line, I needed a little bit of liquid courage. The beer was cool and refreshing and seemed to shake the cobwebs out of my mind like an Etch-A-Sketch. I took a deep breath and went for it.
“So,” I said. “I figured I should just come right out and say it. I like you a lot.” I kept my eyes on my food, not wanting to let her expression hinder me from saying what I needed to say. One way or another, I needed to get through it. “It’s been a long time since I really felt like that for anybody, so when you ghosted me, rather than just admitting that it was all a one-time thing, it sucked. Like, really sucked.”
I put the fork down and looked up into her eyes. She looked stunned, and like she didn’t know how to react. I couldn’t tell whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. If she had been angry or acted like it didn’t matter, I guessed that would have told me it didn’t matter, but the nonreaction was so hard to read.
“Oh,” she muttered.
“Look,” I continued. “I’m an adult. I don’t have time for games. So, I need to know one way or another. You know? I can’t just wait around and guess or do the whole high school waiting game. I need to know what it is you want from me.”
We weren’t sitting across from each other but catty-cornered. I had sat at the head of the table, beside her, mostly so that I could be closer to her. She hadn’t seemed to mind or commented on it, and I took advantage of my position to watch her body language. Her breathing was shallow, and she gripped her fork tightly in her hand, her knuckles going almost white. Her bottom lip quivered, and I couldn’t tell if she was about to laugh or cry. Her cheeks were flushed, as was the top of her chest.
“Well?” I asked.
I expected her to say something. To claim that I was being too pushy or that I needed to be more understanding of her position. Or maybe that she wasn’t interested in anything like that and that we should go back to just being professional.
What I didn’t expect was for her to lunge across the table at me.
22
Danica
Internally, the thought crossed my mind that he might not respond how I wanted him to, but it wasn’t like I was going to be able to stop myself.
Emotion, attraction, and raw desire bubbled up inside me, and it was like flipping a switch. I lunged across the corner of the table, my lips pursed and my body flinging itself at him. I crushed into his lips and sank into his lap, straddling him. I was thankful that his dining room chairs didn’t have arms as I melted into his grasp, and he wrapped his arms around me, returning the kiss tenfold.