“That’s fascinating,” I replied, my eyes growing droopy.
“Not really. Just a tidbit of medical data.” He pushed back to rest on my thighs. Curls tumbled, green eyes as lazy as mine, and a flaccid cock that really needed to be kissed back into rigidity. Maybe I could poke his ass during the second round. Or he could poke mine. I was game for anything with this man. “I’d like to make some spiced molasses gingerbread muffins for breakfast.”
“Okay, we can do that—” He bolted from the bed with the glow of inspiration on his handsome face. Within seconds, he had wiped his tacky belly off on a dirty shirt and pulled on some lounge pants and a Copperheads tee. Out the door he went, the sound of Sable padding along down the hardwood stairs carrying into me. “Now. Guess we’ll do that now.”
By the time I washed, dressed, stripped the sheets and put clean ones on, Chip had put Sable out in my front yard to piddle and was now gathering ingredients.
“You’re sluggish this morning,” he informed me as I schlepped into the kitchen with a laundry basket of dirty bedding. “Those should be washed in cold. Cold-water washing conserves electricity by up to eighty cents per load, which adds up to one hundred and sixty dollars a year for a typical household. Where is the flour?”
“Cupboard above the stove. I’ll use cold. I’m sluggish because we went to that party with your teammates at Finn’s and the game went into overtime,” I said as I headed into the laundry room to chuck the dirty sheets into the machine.
“That was not an expected outcome for those two teams, but the result was good for us. Our quest for the cup should be an easy one at the beginning, but as Coach says, any team can win any game on any given night. Statistically speaking, we should be able to easily handle them in the first round of the playoffs by a… ”
Whatever he was saying faded into Chip chatter as the water began to fill the washer. Cold water, obviously. Once the sheets were churning, I joined him in the kitchen, where we made what may have been the most amazing muffins ever.
Chip was going back for his third when a sharp rap on the front door startled us. Who the heck was knocking at my door at eight o’clock on a Monday morning?
“Not a clue,” I said to Chip’s quizzical look as I made my way to the front door from our pig-out station on the sofa. Peeking through the peephole, I saw my mother standing on the step with what looked like a box of donuts.
She grinned at me when the door opened. “Good morning!” She was incredibly chipper today, and it showed in her clothes. Bright spring colors, sunglasses, and a generous amount of lipstick that she only wore when she was going somewhere special. “Hello, Chip!”
“Hello, Mom Rourke,” Chip called from the sofa. Sable woofed hello but stayed with Chip and the muffins. She’d gotten a few nibbles.
“Are those for us?” I asked as I reached for the box. She jerked it away from my greedy fingers.
“No, they’re for Eli. We’re taking a day trip to Niagara Falls.”
“Oh. That’s nice. We’d love to go, but we have plans for the day and?—”
“I’m not inviting you, Dane. Eli and I are having a day trip for two.” She stared at me for so long I was beginning to wonder if I had sprouted antennas. “Honestly, you’re so sluggish in the mornings. A date. We’re going to the falls on a date, and these are for the ride.”
“Oh. Oh!” My brain finally put two and two together.
“I know you’re probably upset I’m considering dating someone?—”
“Mom, no, I am not upset at all. Dad’s been gone a long time now. Your kids are grown. I bet your house is lonely.”
“It is. And he’s so very nice. And he cooks!” Mom glowed.
“That he does. And yes, Eli is so nice. Have a great time. Text me when you arrive and leave.”
“Yes, son,” she teased, kissed me on the cheek, and scampered over to the next doorway to ring for Eli. I leaned on the doorframe, arms folded, as Eli bounded out of his house in adark blue sweater, rubber-soled shoes, and a yarmulke with tiny Stars of David on it.
“Good morning, Dane. It’s a lovely day for a drive. I’m sure your mother told you we were going on a date today?” I nodded. “Good. Good. She’s quite a pretty sight, isn’t she?”
Mom blushed.
“That she is,” I said. “Now, listen, young man, I want her home by midnight and no later.”
Eli snorted a laugh. “Young man! Ha! It’s been many years since anyone called me that. No worries, I’ll deliver her safely to her home by your curfew.”
“Please, as if that child can setmycurfew,” Mom scoffed before linking her arm with Eli’s. “Come along. We have kosher donuts to eat and a waterfall to get frisky by!”
My eyes flared as the two lovebirds hurried to Mom’s car and rode off into the sunrise.
Chip appeared at my side. He slid his arm around my back and leaned his head on my shoulder. His curls smelled of molasses and gingerbread. Frisky? Hmm, not sure I liked the idea of that so much…
“Your brow is wrinkled,” he whispered before lifting his head to give me a soft peck on the firm lips. “They’ll be fine.”
