Her hair was still twisted up on top of her head to keep it from getting wet during her shower and she decided to leave it there.
The scent of Chinese food wafted into her room and January decided what she was wearing was going to have to do because her stomach was making noises she had never heard before.
As she stepped in the kitchen, she had every intention of telling Deckard how good the meal smelled, but she was struck dumb as she found him piling some of the food onto plates looking like a domesticated god.
“Wow,” she mumbled, taking him in. Today he wore a light blue shirt, almost the same color of his eyes, and she swore that it was going to be her new favorite color. It looked amazing against his tanned skin and the scruff of his chin.
“You going to stand there all day?” he asked without raising his head or eyes in her direction. He knew she was there all along. “Or do you plan to join me?”
Deciding not to try to cover up her ogling, January strolled into the kitchen and planted herself on one of the bar stools at the island. “I’m starving. I could smell this all the way back in my room.”
“I asked Samantha which meal was your favorite, so if you don’t like it, you can blame her. But if you do, just forget I said anything.”
January giggled as he set the plate in front of her then walked around to take his own seat.
“Don’t worry, I’m not picky. There isn’t a Chinese dish I dislike. So you’re in luck.”
“I knew there was a reason why I liked you.”
Their meal was eaten in silence, the comfort of each other’s presence enough to keep their minds at ease.
Last night January had started thinking of the different kinds of decorations and ornaments her mother used to have them make for their tree. A few stuck out clearly and she was lucky enough to find the supplies in town during her lunch break. The string and bags of popcorn were sitting on the counter while the air-dry clay and plastic balls were in a basket in her living room.
She had a plan and hoped that Deckard was on board.
“I like you like this,” she heard above the noise of her slurps from the lo-mein noodles she held on her fork.
With an unattractive number of noodles still dangling from her mouth January turned to look at Deckard in confusion. “Like this?” She was fairly certain not only did she look like a pig at the moment, but that she most likely had soy sauce splattered on her face. A neat eater she was not.
Deckard laughed as he grabbed one of the eggrolls sitting on a plate on the counter between them. “No, like this.” He motioned up and down to her outfit. “Relaxed. Carefree.”
“I am far from carefree or relaxed. Being around you has me on high alert.”
“Well, it shouldn’t because I think that you’re just as beautiful like this as you are all done up. Hell, I even like you in just a ratty T-shirt. Actually, I won’t lie, I prefer you that way the most.”
“You just like my legs,” she joked as she added a new forkful of noodles into her mouth.
“I do, but it’s more than that. I really just like you. You intrigue me.”
She pondered that for a moment. Besides their attraction, she really didn’t know that much about him except that he was a dentist. She knew she should probably remedy that soon, but January was afraid that she was going to get more attached to him the more that she knew.
“Do you think we should try to get to know each other better or just leave things as they are?”
A clatter rang out as Deckard dropped his fork on his plate and turned ninety degrees on his stool to face her direction. When she followed suit and set her own fork on her plate, Deckard grabbed her knees and twisted her to face him, placing both of her legs between his. She loved the feel of his hands on her thighs.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
“Like your favorite color. Where you like to vacation? Are you a homebody or do you like to go out? I don’t know. It’s silly.”
The feeling of warmth spread through her as Deckard settled his hands on her knees. “Why is it silly?”
“Because we’re like a week away,” she explained.
Cocking his head to the side, he analyzed her as he asked, “A week away from what?”
Agitation pulsed through her at his response. “Until you lea
ve!”