The words bothered him, though he hid it behind a grin as they strolled to the car, and he opened her door.
“Hey, I’m a gentleman.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Do I need to challenge you to a duel for slandering my good name?”
She shut the door in his face in response.
“Is that a yes or a no?” he called as he walked around the car.
They were both laughing when he entered the driver’s side, and his heart lightened. This was their normal. They were still okay. Buckling up, he pulled out of the driveway and steered onto the road as she scrolled through his XM stations. The cool weather, heat in the car, and the brilliant orange, red, and yellow leaves on the trees created a cozy feeling inside of him.
***
“Why is cheese so good?” Petunia moaned as she patted her belly.
He laughed “Yummy mold.”
“Shut it, Patten. You should know by now I’m not going to let you diminish my love for cheese.”
“I know. I do it for the way you wrinkle your nose in disgust when you think about it too long.”
She poked out her bottom lip. “All this time and you’re still picking on me for the same crap.”
He snorted. “And you don’t do the same thing?”
Batting her stupidly long, dark lashes, she shook her head from side to side. “Uh huh.”
The timer went off, and she rubbed her hands together. “Good thing I saved room for chocolate.”
“I don’t know where you’re putting all of this food.”
“In my ass, clearly.”
He choked on his laughter. “Did you really just say that?”
“I calls it hows I sees it. Better get in on this dessert before I devour it all, Mas.”
He loved a girl who could eat without worrying about how she might come across.
“Greedy little thing,”
“Hush.” She all but shoved a fresh chocolate-covered strawberry in his mouth. He hummed as the sweet chocolate and berry danced a salsa over his taste buds. “Best way to shut you up has always been to put something in your mouth.”
His eyes drifted to the swell of her breasts. Images of her dime-sized, Hershey kiss nipples popped into his mind. He chewed faster to occupy his mouth. She dipped a piece of cheesecake into the melted chocolate, and he watched, mesmerized as she brought it to her mouth and blew on it gently. His pants shrank as he imagined giving her something completely different to wrap her lips around. Shifting in his seat, he averted his gaze and speared a strawberry with his fork. Almost done here. He wasn’t used to handling things with kid gloves, but this situation was too delicate to handle with anything other than the utmost care.
He glanced at her and snickered at the smeared chocolate on her left side.
“You got something …” He rubbed his left cheek.
“Here?” She missed by a few centimeters.
“No.” Leaning across the table, he swiped it away with his thumb. Her lip quivered, and he licked his lips. Her pupils dilated. His mouth went dry, and his heart raced.
“Mason!” The shrill voice was akin to nails on a chalkboard and had the effect of a bucket of cold water. He sat back in his chair and popped his thumb into his mouth, sucking the chocolate off. Her nostrils flared, and the tension between them ramped. He turned and swore as Ann, and her brother, Owen, greeted them.
“I thought that was you, Petunia. You look fantastic,” Owen said. The horror etched on her face before she turned to give him a fake smile made him laugh into his hand.