I cup his flushed, damp face between my palms and claim his mouth. “I know,” I pant. “I know.” That’s all I can say at this moment. If he wants more of an explanation later, he can have it. “I guess we should just roll with it? Because it feels so, so, so perfect, doesn’t it? So right?”
His whole face changes and becomes all sensitive, mushy, and soft in ways I’ve never seen, and I know he agrees that we can talk about this later, start sorting it all out. But first, we should wear each other out until we’re satisfied or so tired and sore that all we can do is talk.
I think I’m really going to enjoy this. More than learning about stars and orgasms with Hal. I’m going to enjoy all of it. Learning about him, about who he really is, and about all the squishy, messy, mushy feelings I have jammed up inside me.
“You sure you don’t want me to do the transfer right now?” Hal asks when I assume we’re halfway to the bathroom.
“No,” I giggle. “That can absolutely wait.”
CHAPTER 17
Hal
I love this. I love waking up beside Stella. And I love this new, soft, and tender side of her that she lets me in on. I love that even as she stirs now, rubbing sleep from her eyes, she offers me a smile and pokes me in the shoulder.
“Are you watching me sleep? Do you have any idea how creepy that is?”
“Yes. And no. Or maybe yes.” I reach out and sweep my hand over her cheek. God, she’s so gorgeous like this. And in every other way. I can’t believe we’ve been seeing each other for a week now. I guess some people would call it dating. “What do you want, Stella? Like, really want?” I don’t know where that comes from since it’s pretty heavy for first thing in the morning.
Stella just yawns. Her finger settles on my muscle where she poked me, and her palm flattens out. “Laughter. Health. Happiness. You. Doesn’t everyone say that?”
“No. No, they don’t. You’re special.” I trace her bottom lip with my thumb. “You’ve always been special.”
She giggles. “Oh, I’ve heard you say that before, but last time and all the other times, they weren’t so complimentary.”
“You can’t take anything I say seriously. Not the stuff from before, at any rate. I was an idiot back then. And I’m sorry.”
Her lip twitches just a little under the pad of my thumb, and I know she can’t keep her smile locked away. She gives me that look which says she knows because she knows me—most of me. And she’d like to know more—the rest of me. She sighs hard, which stops me from reaching for her.
“We shouldn’t keep doing this. Without telling anyone, I mean. It just feels…I…I don’t want to use the word wrong, but we’ve been doing this for over a week, and I don’t think we have any intention of stopping.”
“I know we said we’d tell Sam.”
“Yes, which is why I got him to agree to have us over for lunch today.”
“Together?” I set my hand over Stella’s.
She’s still warm and flushed with sleep. Her hair is all over the place, a big knot on the right side since she sleeps on it more often. Also, her lashes are long and thick, and her lids are extra heavy. I want to drag her to me and punish that pouty mouth of hers with kisses, but I know I shouldn’t distract her.
“Yeah, together.”
“And you said together?”
“I did.”
“So he knows to sharpen all his knives and load his guns.”
Stella makes a face. “My brother doesn’t even own a gun, for goodness sakes!”
“Maybe he went out and got one just for the occasion.”
“What do you think he’s going to do? Blow your nuts off? Or cut them off? Where exactly is this fantasy going? If you’re anticipating some kind of ball bagging or some other damage, I’ll go out and buy you one of those jock-can things.”
Her lips twitch, and it’s pretty clear to see just how amused she is, so I let my anxiety flood away and pull her to me instead. There are at least a few ways I can think of to kill the hours before this surprise lunch. Or at least a few positions…
“How are we going to explain this to anyone if we don’t really understand it ourselves?” I finally take a chance and ask.
Stella looks puzzled. “Well, we’ll just tell them I changed my mind about you.”
“Just like that? Spur of the moment?” My lips wobble. “Or was it my prowess in bed?”
Stella wouldn’t be Stella if she didn’t roll her eyes hard at that, but then humor dances in her gorgeous eyes. “Pretty much. Can’t everyone make a decision? I acted on what I wanted because it was finally clear to me that I wanted it.”