I walk into my kitchen, place the bags on the counter, and take a deep breath. Turning to face her, I lean back against the counter.
“Why, do you have somewhere to be?”I ask, but it comes out harsher than I intended. The thought of her going out or having a date has my pulse spiking.
She scrunches her nose in that adorable way of hers and shakes her head. “No, just me, some ice cream and a bottleof wine,”she replies, embarrassment lacing her voice as she glances away.
I don’t miss the way she’s still yet to smile, and I fucking hate it. I’m well aware I’ve not apologised for touching her, tasting her. Just the thought has my dick twitching.
Reaching up, I grab the back of my neck, and before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “Stay for dinner.”
Her forehead crinkles, her eyebrows drawing in, and something tells me that was not the right thing to say.
“You don’t need to do me any favours. I don’t need your pity. I’m good, I just need the key.”
She holds out her hand, palm up, and I shake my head. I'm in front of her in less than two strides as I take her outstretched hand.
“You’d be doing me the favour, and it’s not pity.”I swallow hard. “Please, I want to have dinner with you,”I admit, even though I probably shouldn’t, but fuck me, she’s here in my apartment. The last thing I want is for her to leave, even if she should.
“What about my ice cream?”she says, her eyes darting past me to the counter.
I can’t help but smile. Tugging gently on her hand, I keep my eyes on hers as I lower my mouth to kiss the inside of her wrist, loving the throaty gasp that escapes her lips.
“I can put it in my freezer,”I say, reluctantly letting go of her hand. I turn towards the counter, but she moves in my path.
“And you promise not to judge me when you see my choice of wine?”she asks.
I pretend to seal my lips with an invisible key and throw it over my shoulder. This time she graces me with one of her genuine smiles, and that knot in my gut that’s been there since I left her earlier finally eases.
She turns away and moves towards the counter, and I can’t help but take in her oversized t-shirt and too-short shorts. I clear my throat and force myself to move, reaching past her and into one of the bags, pulling out a bottle of Summer Berries Rosé.
I smile because, yeah, that makes sense, and then I retrieve a tub of ice cream and hold it up.
“Frosty Vanilla? Are you trying to tell me something?”I ask as I make my way to the freezer.
She shakes her head. “You have no idea,”she replies.
I want to push her to elaborate, but then she laughs, and fuck me, that sound from her mouth is almost as good as when she groaned as she came all over my tongue.
I stash it in the freezer and hold out my hand for the others as she approaches, passing over two more tubs.
“Strawberry and mint chocolate chip,”I say, turning them over in my hands before I add them to the freezer.
She shrugs. “Yeah, well, I draw the line at rum raisin,”she says with a shudder.
“Something we can both agree on,”I say with a grimace, standing to my full height and closing the freezer door. I turn around and notice the last items from her bag. “What’s that?”I lean over to snatch one of the packets off the counter, holding them up.
“Popping candy,” she says.
“I’ve not had these in years.Call me old, but I didn’t know you could still get them.”
She nods shyly and takes it from me, turning it over in her hands. “Yep, sometimes you just need something nostalgic, you know?”
I nod my agreement, because yeah, I do.
“Wine?”I reach over her head to grab a glass from the cupboard, my body brushing up against hers. She turns her head to the side, and I realise I likely stink.
“Sorry,”I say, taking a step back, and placing the glass next to the bottle.
“You get started on that, and I’ll go jump in the shower real quick.”
