Hush Baby Hush

7

austin

“That’s the last of it.”I set the cardboard box filled with McKenzie’s things on the bed. Out of all the rooms in my house she could’ve chosen, she picked the one furthest from mine. Assuming her feelings for me haven’t shifted in the two days since we kissed, I’m betting she chose the more distant room with her nightmares in mind.

“Thanks.” She turns from the closet where she’s been hanging her clothes and strides over to the bed to check inside the box I’ve just brought in.

“Where the hell are they?” she grumbles, rummaging among the folded shirts and dresses.

“What’re you looking for?”

“Nothing.” The way her lips pucker into the shape of a heart when she’s irritated is more adorable than it should be. She huffs a sigh. “If you must know, I’m looking for my underwear.”

“Ahh...” I survey the boxes she’s yet to open and tease back the flap on the nearest one. A splash of purple peeks out at me. I hook the delicate garment on my forefinger and free it from the box, unable to resist picturing Kenzie’s ass adorned in lace.

When she texted about moving in with me, I was outside admiring our handywork in the raspberry patch, trying not to picture her bare-assed in my truck with both hands working overtime between her thighs.

“Think I found what you’re looking for,” I say.

Her face reddens as she snatches up the panties and stuffs them back inside the box. “That was fast.”

“What can I say? I’ve got a sixth sense for these things.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me.” She carries the box of blush-inducing delicates over to the set of drawers. “Teagan told us you used to be a player, back when she and Jonah started dating.”

“Wish I could say she was mistaken.”

Truth is, I went home with a lot of women in my younger days, especially between tours of duty. Getting off was my go-to distraction from the horrors I’d witnessed in combat. I could forget who I was while I was inside someone else. Add liquor to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for dissociation if there ever was one.

After I finally sought help for my PTSD and got my shit together in general, I stopped using sex as a form of escapism. But I still liked to fuck, so I did. Often. With the crystal-clear intention that I wasn’t looking for anything serious.

Until I met someone I could not be more serious about.

“I almost didn’t believe her. You haven’t dated anyone in the time that I’ve known you. As far as I’m aware...”

I lean against the side of the dresser. “You’re right, I haven’t.”

“Why not?” She transfers her intimates into the drawers with the care and consideration of a certified bomb technician.

I allow the question to go unanswered for as long as she refuses to meet my gaze.

“Why do you think, Kenz?” I could beat around the bush, but what would be the point? The girl I’ve been waiting for has found her way home, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

A smile plays tug-of-war with her lips before calling the game in a draw. “You know, you don’t have to hang out in here with me. I can handle this part by myself.”

“Want me to leave you to it?”

She shrugs. I can’t tell whether she’s telling me to leave because she thinks I’m bored, or because she genuinely wants to be by herself. She’s been acting distant since I picked her up from Holly and Cal’s, and not just toward me. She barely acknowledged Holly while we were loading up my truck.

I managed to grab a quick word with Holly while McKenzie was carrying her things outside.

“You two have some kind of disagreement?” I asked Holly.

“How could you tell?” Her shoulders slumped as she sighed. “I may have overstepped.”

“How so?”

She glanced at the screen door. “There’s a lot of history Kenzie’s choosing not to deal with. I suggested she might want to try a new therapist and she didn’t take it well. Now she’s pushing me away and I don’t know what to do.”