I couldn’t forget the knowledge of how she kissed, the sounds she made when she was close to climax, the way her fingers had felt against me. You didn’t forget something like that, ever.
“I can’t go back,” she said, her voice choked. “But I’m still scared.”
“I know. But if you ever feel like freaking out, just talk to me, please. Don’t run.” I reached out and stroked her face and ran my thumb along her bottom lip.
“Please don’t run away from me,” I said.
Theo nodded. “I’ll do my best, I promise. I’m not going to say that I won’t fuck up again, but I’m trying. You’re worth trying for, princess.”
I smiled at her.
“Good.”
Theo didn’t have any other deliveries that day and had purposefully not asked Clint to be here.
“Oh, shit, I brought you something, but I left it in the van. Hold on.” She leapt up from the couch and ran out to the van to get whatever it was.
She came back with a box.
“Wow, you wrapped it and everything,” I said, taking note of the silver paper.
“Yeah, I figured you were worth the effort.” Sarcastic Theo was back, and it was a huge relief to see her again.
“Very funny,” I said. “You know, you’re still not completely in my good graces, so I’d watch what I say if I were you.”
I took the present from her and sat it on my lap to open.
“Oh Theo,” I said as I pulled out what was inside the box. It was a set of bookends, one with an A and the other with a Z, carved in curling script.
“I know you didn’t order them, but I thought you’d need them anyway. You can still take me up on my offer to make you some bookshelves,” she said, as I traced the A bookend before setting them both on the coffee table.
“That was so thoughtful, thank you.” I leaned over and gave her a hug, which I think startled her. She recovered quickly and hugged me back, sighing into my hair.
“I really fucking missed you,” she said in my ear.
Her smell overtook me, and it was like coming home after a long vacation. That smell of safety and comfort. I held her and she held me, and it was like everything sliding into place again.
“Can I kiss you now?” Theo asked and it was such a cute request that I almost laughed.
I pulled back from the hug and stared into her eyes.
“Yeah, you can kiss me now.”
One kiss turned into many, and we ended up making out a little bit on my couch until Scout started barking at something in the yard.
“Damn dog,” Theo said, her face all red. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine,” I said. Somehow, I’d ended up pressed against the arm of the couch. “Should we let him out?”
“Yeah,” Theo said, going to the front door to let Scout out so he could run in the yard.
“I should probably keep an eye on him,” she called to him, and I peeled myself off of the couch to join her. Theo put her arms around me and kissed me again.
“I’m sorry I was such a dumbass,” she said.
“It’s okay. We’re all dumbasses every once in a while. Some more than others.”
Her eyes narrowed and she glared at me. “I’m not going to let you get away with insulting me just because I messed up.”
“Twice,” I said cheerfully. “Twice you’ve messed up.”
“You’re going to hold that over my head now, aren’t you?”
“Yup.”
Scout found a stick and brought it over to us, his tail wagging.
Theo leaned down and grabbed the stick and then tossed it for him to fetch.
“Do you need to get back to the showroom?” I asked.
“No, I just went ahead and closed everything up early. Hopefully it didn’t piss anyone off, but I don’t care if it did.”
“You closed up for me?” I asked.
“Of course, I did, Kendra.”
I pretended to gasp dramatically. “Theo, does this mean you like me?”
She rolled her eyes. “I think that’s pretty obvious.”
“Haha, you like me. Loser,” I said, bumping my hip into hers. Since she was taller, my hip hit her thigh instead.
“You’re an interesting woman, Kendra Day,” Theo said, laughing. “And yes, I like you. A lot. Do you like me?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I said, acting nonchalant. “You’re okay.”
Theo growled and grabbed me up in her arms, picking me off my feet. I squealed.
“Put me down!”
“Not until you admit you like me,” she said, and I fought against her strength, but I was no match for her arms.
“Fine, I like you. I like you a lot, Theo,” I said, and she kissed me before putting me down.
“There, was that so hard?” she asked.
Theo and Scout hung around and I pulled the bed for him out of the closet. He had a good time sniffing it and making sure it was a good bed before laying down on it.