Muffy leaned forward and inspected the cup. An absolutely adorable frown pulled her brows together. Can frowns really be adorable? He decided on Muffy they could.
“Did you spike it? Is that what the secret is? Or did you actually melt real chocolate into there?”
“No,” he admitted. “I never even thought of those things. I actually cheated. I used a packet of hot chocolate mix and then mix in two scoops of that coffee whitener stuff and a few tablespoons of cream into the hot water.”
“So that’s the secret.” Muffy picked up her cup, blew the steam away, pursed her lips, and took a tentative sip. Her whole face lit up with surprise. “Oh wow. That is really good. And it’s not scalding hot. I hate burning my mouth.”
“Nope. I do too. I was always impatient as a kid, so yeah. I learned that not fully boiling the water works best and the cream cools it down a bit too.”
“It’s not too sweet. I like that.”
I like you.
The thought was so shocking, Alex nearly toppled off the couch. He grabbed his mug and took a long pull, which did burn his mouth a little because even though it wasn’t scalding, it was still hot, and he’d practically just chugged half the mug.
He kept it in his hands, which were still cold from being outside. “Uh- I- I wanted to say that what you did back in the park… that was crazy. I really don’t think that most people would have gone to help.”
“I wasn’t scared.”
“Maybe because you don’t have any sense when it comes to danger.”
Muffy shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe I couldn’t let some ‘punk’,” she actually used quotes for the word with her fingers, “steal poor Myrtle’s purse.”
“She looked like a formidable opponent.”
“Still. If we hadn’t intervened, that asshole probably would have knocked her down and stomped on her to get her to give it up. Like what did he think she had in there anyway? A million dollars? She’s old! Everything is expensive now. She probably barely gets by on her pension.”
“Maybe he thought she had some of those mints old ladies carry around. Sweet tooth?”
Muffy paused for a second before she burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that her hot chocolate nearly sloshed over the rim of her mug and landed on the already stained carpet. “Maybe,” she admitted, in a soft voice. “You never know.”
God, watching her laugh lit something up inside of Alex. He wanted to make her laugh. Always. All day. Every day. The thought was alarming, so he chugged back the rest of his mug and set it down firmly on the coffee table.
“Wow. You were thirsty.” Muffy eyed the cup.
“Uh- yeah. I guess more hungry than thirsty. I don’t usually eat breakfast.” He scrubbed a hand over his chin. He also hadn’t shaved.
“I don’t eat breakfast either,” Muffy admitted. “I know they say that it’s healthy and everything to do it, but I’m just never hungry in the morning. I get ravenous right before lunch and by the end of the day, oh my god, I could probably eat an entire building.”
“Like what kind of building are we talking about here? A small house or one of those rich mansion deals or like a city building with a library or is it some high-rise apartment complex?”
Muffy giggled again and the sound was straight up magic. His dick thought so, because it stood to full mast and he had to quickly shove his hands into his lap and lean forward to hide the damn thing. There wasn’t anything like popping a boner in public. Well- semi-public. It was like Muffy was a snake charmer. Except she was more like a dick charmer. His dick. Where the actual fuck am I going with this?
Anyway, his cock hadn’t liked anyone so much in a long time. He didn’t just walk around sporting full wood all day. Ever. His other parts, like his eyes, his ears, his nose, his brain, fuck, his entire body, liked Muffy too.
She was funny. She was smart. She was nice. She was courageous. She was gorgeous. She was the complete damn package. If she was good in bed too, he was finished.
Alex checked himself right there. He had no future plans to wreck himself, or her, so he couldn’t let things get out of hand. That was not what the bet was about. That fucking bet. If he’d had guilt shocks about it before, he was practically getting electrocuted after seeing Muffy in action at the park.
“Shit,” he said, breaking the spell. “I forgot the whipped cream. Can’t have hot chocolate without whipped cream. It’s the good kind too. The coconut kind that they charge a fortune for.” Muffy’s brow arched up and Alex was quick to correct himself. He smiled at her sheepishly. “Sometimes you just have to splurge. I’ll go get it.”