He pulls me into his lap and looks up at me, those deep blue eyes full of affection. "You sure?" He presses his palm against my sex, over my shorts.
Not sure. Not remotely sure. Not able to form coherent sentences.
Sex. Mal. Now.
I clear my throat and slide off his lap. "I'm very sure." I attempt to turn my body towards the TV. It refuses. It begs for proximity. "You need anything before we start?"
"Will you sit in my lap if I promise to play nice?"
"Maybe."
"No funny business." He copies my tone.
"That didn't work out last night."
"You can't blame me. You took off your panties."
I can't help but smile. Or slide into his lap. His chest feels good against my back. With his breath on my neck and his arms around me—
Fuck, this is heaven.
"Okay, ready?" I ask.
"Ready."
I press play and sink into his lap. Mal is quiet. The only sounds in the room are the film and his breath.
He's not torturing me. He must know this is important to me. Mal really does respect me. It's not like when I tried to show Adam movies. He'd ignore them.
We move around on the couch. I rest my head in his lap. He combs his fingers through my hair. I grab a blanket and cuddle up next to him.
He holds me close.
After the first two movies, we talk. We talk until the sun sets. We talk through Mal making dinner— pan-fried salmon and sautéed kale, of course.
I love that he eats fish and kale for dinner.
I love that he cozies up on the couch with me after dinner and watches my third pick—Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
I love that he knows the film's director, Michel Gondry, got his start directing music videos.
I love the way his blue eyes look when he's focusing.
I want to talk about the movie. I want to talk to him forever. But it's late and I have an early call time.
It's torture forcing myself to change into my dress, get my stuff together, and head to the door.
Mal walks me to my car. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into a slow, deep kiss. It's intimate enough to leave me breathless.
"Goodnight, Lacey."
"Goodnight."
I think about him the entire drive home.
As I change into my pajamas.
As I touch myself.