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coffee maker…” She paused and took a breath, then blurted, “In my kitchen.”
And… my mind went straight there.
“Uh…” Call me a total guy, but there was no way I could get sex off the brain when she suggested shit like that. But she had just moved away from personal contact, so she probably didn't have sex on the brain.
Except the way she was looking at me after just inviting me back to her place kind of did say she was thinking about it. Her eyes were wide, a bit frightened, yet a lot hopeful. And the way she was ever so shyly biting her lip...
Well, let’s just say, my erection wasn’t going down anytime soon.
“Are you sure?” I asked anyway, not sure how to read all the mixed signals I was getting.
She thought it through a moment, then gave a firm, decided nod. “Yes. Are you—I mean, do you think you’d be okay with following me home?”
I had no idea if we’d be sitting across a kitchen table from each other, platonically sharing a drink and talking about the weather, or if things were about to get freaky sexy, but I was honestly on board for either outcome. I just wanted to be with her.
So I nodded immediately. “I’m definitely okay with that. I’ll just…” Hooking my thumb over my shoulder, I backed away from her. “I’ll run and grab my car and bring it around here. Follow you from there, okay?”
She nodded, clutching her keys to her chest for dear life. “Okay.”
The next twenty minutes seemed like the most surreal moments of my life. I knew everything should be right and settled with Bella before I went any further with Yellow, and there was this gnawing guilt that ate at my stomach the entire time I followed the red glowing taillights in front of me.
Yet the excitement and anticipation of spending more time with Yellow had my heart beating hard and my hand literally shaking as I gripped the steering wheel.
Yellow saw all the nerves I was experiencing too. As soon as I found a parking spot in the lot next to her building, and I hurried to meet her at her car, she took one look at my face and asked, “Everything okay?”
I nodded. “Yep.” Then I reached for her hand. When her cold fingers wrapped around mine, we walked up a set of outside steps together to the second floor, and then three doors down to the right until she paused in front of a door with a black metal letter N inside a decorated hanging circle.
Looking out over the balcony at her neighborhood as she unlocked her door, I nodded. This place seemed like her. Calm, quiet, steady, safe. When the door came open behind me, I turned back to find her stepping aside to let me go in first.
The first thing I noticed was the peachy smell. Then Yellow flipped on the light, and I lifted my eyebrows.
“Damn, you’re clean.”
Everything was decorated in shades of blues and tans and dusty rose colors. And everything seemed to be in its proper place, save for a crumpled blanket on her couch with a remote control next to it, an empty but clearly used cup on the coffee table, and a pair of running shoes splayed on the floor next to a zipped sports bag.
I mean, I wouldn’t say I was a slob, but I certainly never picked up this well, especially when I had no idea I’d be having company.
“It’s nice, though,” I said as I turned to her.
She just stood there, her hands clasped tightly at her waist. “Thank you.”
With a small smile, I stepped toward her. “I would pay some serious money right now to know what you’re thinking about.”
She blinked, then blurted, “Eleanor Roosevelt.”
I laughed. “Okay.” With an obliging nod, I added, “Totally not what I was expecting you to say. Why her?”
“She has some amazing quotes,” Yellow answered, lowering her gaze to my body and then lifting it again to my eyes. “One of my favorites says something like everyone should do one thing every day that scares them. So I was just thinking that right now, the one scary thing I want to do is...you.”
My lips parted and anticipation roared through me. But instead of letting her know she could do any fucking thing she wanted to me, I murmured, “Am I scary?”
Her head bobbed immediately. “Oh definitely. But the safe, thrilling kind of scary.”
“Ah…” I murmured. “I’m scary but safe. Right. Well, that clears up absolutely nothing for me.”
She chuckled through a silent laugh. “You’re, you know, the safe, controlled-environment kind of thrills people seek, like roller-coaster rides, haunted houses, or skydiving. People actually pay to experience them, hungry for that sudden rush of endorphins, not sure if they’re going to die in the next moment while knowing it’ll actually be okay. That guy with the bloody chainsaw won’t really try to chop you into a million pieces, so you go back for another round because it’s seriously that addictive to get your heartbeat racing and your blood pressure spiking. It’s the best kind of scary ever.”
“Hmm. I think I’m starting to get what you’re saying here.” I eased close enough that she’d have to look up at my face to see it. “So is your heartbeat racing right now?”
