“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“I’m pretty good at lying on a bed,” he said as she propped pillows behind him and then snuggled close.
“Hey, Tabon?”
“Yeah, Avarie?”
“Do you have a ring in that box, or was it just a prop?”
21
Every time she thought about it and looked down at the beautiful ring Tabon gave her, Ava smiled.
He’d been mortified that he’d forgotten to give it to her, but when she dissolved in a fit of giggles, he eventually laughed too.
“What are you thinking about?” he said, coming up behind her and kissing her neck.
“How much I love you.”
“Saylor called to remind us that she’s bringing the girls over today.”
Ava clapped her hands. “They’re going to be so excited.”
“Do I…uh…have to do anything?”
“No,” she laughed. “In fact, it would be best if you made yourself scarce for a while.”
He pretend pouted and kissed her neck again. “They won’t be here for another hour.”
Ava slid off the barstool and took Tabon’s hand. “Oh, look.” She stopped on the way to the bedroom, and pointed at the whales whose blow she’d just spotted.
“I think you like it here.”
Ava turned around and studied him. “I love it here, Tabon.”
“Do you think you could live here?”
“Where else would we live?”
He shrugged. “It isn’t New York City.”
“We wouldn’t be able to have sex in the middle of the afternoon with all the blinds and windows open if we lived in New York City.”
“You make a good point.”
Tabon lowered her on the bed. “I want these off,” he said, unfastening the buttons on her shorts.
Ava lifted her bottom off the bed, and he pulled them off along with her panties.
“These are my favorite,” he said, dangling the sea-foam-green scrap of lace on his finger.
Ava slowly unbuttoned her shirt and shrugged it off her shoulders.
“I like this too,” he said, lowering himself over her and running his tongue where the lace of her bra met her skin. When he yanked on the cup so his mouth could reach her nipple, Ava’s fingers twisted in his hair, holding him close.
“I do too,” she breathed, arching her back when he moved to her other nipple.