AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I open the bag and all I see is green. “You found them?”
“I sure did, and because you don’t eat candy or ice cream, I figured this was the next best thing.”
My favorite fruit is green grapes, but better than the basic green grapes are the special ones called cotton candy grapes, which actually taste like cotton candy.
“You’re something else, Mrs. Winslow. If you need anything, just come next door and we’ll share and watch movies with Otis for the weekend.”
“I will, my dear. Same goes for you.”
I close the door, and Otis follows me, like I’ll share my grapes with him. I would if they weren’t deadly for dogs. “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll cut you up some apples.”
Hearing the A word, he follows me until I stop at the fridge and begin peeling one for him, cutting Otis-sized pieces. He’s so excited, and I love seeing him go crazy over something as simple as fruit.
There’s a knock on the door. Thinking Mrs. Winslow must have forgotten something, I take the step around the small wall separating the door from the rest of the house and pull it back. But it’s not Mrs. Winslow on the other side.
twenty-four
DOMINIC
She must be expecting anyone but me. And I can’t blame her. Besides the quick logistics when she dropped my shit off at my place of work, and leaving hers with Mrs. Winslow one day, we haven’t spoken.
Otis comes around the small wall separating the doorway from the kitchen and runs as fast as his little pug legs will carry him when he sees it’s me.
“Hey, buddy!” I kneel down, and he’s in my face, attempting to push me over with his compact little body.
“Dom, there’s a blaring snowstorm taking over the city. What the hell are you doing out in it?”
I stand, pulling Otis up with me, and he continues to lick my face.
“I guess you wouldn’t believe I was in the neighborhood, would you?”
Her hands move to her hips, hips I miss pulling toward me as I bury myself deep inside of her.
“Dom, this isn’t fair to me. Nor is it fair to you. And I can’t believe you came during a snowstorm. Don’t you know they’re calling for it to shut down the city?”
“Can I come in, please? I won’t stay long. I’ve been thinking a lot, and fuck, Rosso, I miss you.”
She steps aside and lets me in. I’m surprised it’s that easy, but I’m holding her dog.
“Have a seat,” she offers, but she’s not smiled since she opened the door. And I miss the way her lips turn up into a vibrant smile, the love for life she has, and the ability to never take shit from anyone.
I’ve thought long and hard for two weeks, since my night on the town with Bodhi.
“San, I love you, and I don’t think I’ll ever find anyone I love like you.”
She holds out her hand to stop me. “I promise, I’ll say what I need to say, and then get out of your hair, but please, just let me say it?” I ask.
She gets a text alert and looks at her phone with a pained expression on her face. Is it that Curtis twat? Is she going out with him again?
“Do you have plans?” My question is aggressive, my tone elevated.
“No. But go on,” she urges.
“I love you, and I know you love me. I’ve never found someone like you. We’re compatible in ways I never dreamed possible. You give me control, and I give you what you need. It’s taken me time to realize thatyou’remy dream. You’re my only dream. There’s no choice. I want you, and nothing else,because you’re my dream.”
She stills and holds her breath, as if she has forgotten to breathe. “Sandra, baby. This isn’t something I’ve decided in the last day. I’ve given it a lot of thought for a while. I’ll never findsomeone I’ll love like you. I know what it means to ask you to be a part of my future. We’ll never have children. But as long as I have you, it’s enough.”
She pushes up from her seat, walking to the bay window, the snow coming down harder than it had in the last hour. Otis stays planted on my lap.
