She looked at him. “What?”
“It’s a pestle. Here.” He put some of the herbs into the white bowl and held out his hand.
She gave him the pestle, noticing how much distance he was suddenly giving her.
He used it to grind the herbs, crushing them into tiny pieces. “Like this.”
Then he handed it back.
“Saint-John’s-wort. Pulverize it and dump it here.” He pointed at an empty cereal bowl.
“Right.” She started crushing the strange-smelling plants.
Beside her, Seth filled a pan half full of water and set it on a burner. He got out two more pans and sat them on the counter.
“So about the other day, about us…” She glanced at him, more anxious than she expected. She needed to be sure what it really meant to him, but she was afraid he’d be hurt when she asked.
His tone wasn’t insulted, though. Instead he sounded nervous too. “Yeah?”
“Are you, I don’t know, going to ask me out or something? Or is it just casual, wanting to…”
“Just tell me what you want.” He took the bowl out of her hand and pulled her up against him, hip to hip. “Dinner? Movie? A weekend at the beach?”
“A weekend? Aren’t you moving a bit fast?” She put her hands on his chest, keeping a little distance between them.
“Not as fast as I want to.” He bent down so his mouth was almost touching hers. “But I’m trying to wait.”
She didn’t even think about it; she nipped his bottom lip.
And they were kissing again, slow and soft and somehow more maddening than the first time. Somewhere between telling him she was meeting Keenan and asking him where they stood, the stakes had shifted.
Her hands found the bottom of his shirt, slid under it, over skin and the rings that decorated his chest. Any objections she used to remember had melted.
I found the uncrossable line. She almost giggled at the thought.
“Seth? You in there?” The doorknob jiggled.
“Seth, we know you’re in there,” Mitchell, one of Leslie’s exes, yelled. He knocked again, loudly. “Come on, open up.”
“Ignore him,” Seth whispered, his lips against her ear. “Maybe he’ll go away.”
The doorknob jiggled again.
“It’s probably a good thing.” Aislinn pulled back further, feeling almost lightheaded. “We’re not thinking very clearly.”
“I’ve done nothing but think about this for months, Ash”—Seth put a hand on either side of her face—“but just say the word and we stop. You set the pace. I won’t push you. Ever.”
“I know that.” She blushed. It was a lot easier to give in to the temptation than it was to talk about it—surprisingly easy. “I’m not sure how far that is, though.”
He hugged her closer and stroked his hand down her hair. “So we take it slow. Right?”
“Right.” She nodded, feeling both relieved and disappointed. There were too many diseases out there to be casual, but just letting go of control, of logic, of what she should and shouldn’t do…Tempting was an understatement.
His voice was low and steady as he said, “And yes, dating. There’s nothing casual about what I want.”
She didn’t say anything, couldn’t.
From outside Jimmy yelled, “Open the damn door, Seth. It’s freezing out here.”