B
"I should go."
He drops his hand. "Why?"
"Clover could be home any time. I really should be gone before she gets here."
"You don't...have to be."
I pull back from him, his hand slipping off my cheek. "Kass..."
"Okay, you don't have to be here when she gets home, but at least meet us later."
"Where?" I'm not agreeing, I'm just curious.
He thinks for a moment, his eyebrows scrunching together in concentration, but his eyes never leave mine. I try to pry away my gaze, but it's like his eyes have a hold on me.
"The farmer's market. Clover and I go there on Sundays sometimes. You can meet us there."
I start to shake my head. "I really don't think?—"
"Bring Fia then. That way, it doesn't feel like a date. Just friends who happened to run into each other."
My head is screaming no, but my heart, under its thick layer of dust, is begging me to say yes. I do get along with Clover. It wouldn't be awkward as long as she thought we were just friends. It couldn't hurt, right?
"Fine. I'll ask Fia if she can go."
He starts beaming, and his body tenses in celebration.
"But—" I grab his face with one hand and squish his cheeks so he's looking at me. Big mistake, because he looks adorably ridiculous with this fish face. "I'll only go if she says yes. I'm not meeting you there by myself."
"What about Iris?" His words come out muffled due to his puckered lips, but I can still understand him.
"Don't push it."
He nods as much as he can. Just before I release him, I lean forward and lick his lips in one swift motion. He tries to lean into me, but I shove him away and hop off the counter.
"Alright, I need to go home first."
As I pack my things into the bag Fia brought me, I think about how crazy it is that just 24 hours ago, Kass was texting her to bring this bag for me, and I didn't even know it. A lot has happened since then. Sex, games, ropes...sharing our deepest, darkest secrets. Who the fuck am I right now?
Introducing me to his child would ordinarily be a huge step—one I'd never take—but these are special circumstances. I've already met his daughter. Actually, I met her before I met him, so it doesn't carry the same weight. Or at least that's what I tell myself as I grab my bag and head toward the front door, where I find Kass waiting for me with a travel mug.
"I made you some coffee to take with you."
God, why does he have to be so nice to me? I take it from him because I'm not an ass. He went through thetrouble of making it for me; I'm not going to reject it out of pride. But if he thinks he’s getting this back, he’s sorely wrong.
"Thanks."
"Well, I had a really great time with you this weekend."
"Yeah, me too." I genuinely mean it.
"You're not…" he rubs his hand across the back of his neck, "going to bail on me, are you?"
"I thought about it."
"Blake..." His tone is a warning as he wraps me in a hug that I can't quite reciprocate due to my bag over my shoulder and the travel mug in my hand. "You know I'll just come hunt you down if you don't show up. I need to get my thermos back somehow."
