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“Mmm,” she hums. “I do too.”
We exit the hallway into our open concept living room, overlooking the dining room and kitchen. The light from the candles I’ve lit and placed throughout the common area gives the open space a warm glow of flickering orange and dark shadows.
“Aww, Aleck, what isthis?”
“I want to eat ice cream with you at midnight, Grimm.”
She smiles and even in this dimly lit room, her gaze shines brightly and glitters for me. No one has ever looked at me the way Winter does and since we’ve reunited, I’ve made it my life’s mission to let her know how much I appreciate that, how much of a lifeblood that look in her eyes has become to me.
I walk her to the island and lift her, setting her beautiful ass on the white and gold marble countertop and she yelps when the cold surface hits her bare thighs.
She picked this counter out herself. After Winter moved in with me, I presented her with the idea of finding a place that we could choose together. I loved my old condo, but it was cold, detached, minimal—the place I pined for her and sunk under the weight of losing her.
I needed a completely new start with my girl. And it was only a month before we found this place. A few miles from my parents’ home. It’s still a condo, but the building is older and not so haughty. It has old LA charm and eccentric neighbors. The minute we walked into the building, I cringed at the smell of burning incense and grumbled at the sounds of acoustic guitars playing beyond the closed doors we passed, but one look at Winter told me we had found our home. Shesparkledthat day. I couldn’t start the paperwork fast enough to give my girl what she wanted.
Let’s face it, I could buy out this entire block if I wanted to, but Winter is teaching me to live more simply and only take what I need when I need it. Right now—and I suspect through the duration of my life—all I need is her. So, a small condo with exposed brick and gaggle of eccentric neighbors it is.
Besides, the neighbors aren’t so bad. Occasionally we get invited to a tapas and wine party where every surface in the condo is covered in charcuterie, and I nod through conversations about brewing your own IPAs and frisbee golf, but watching my girl smile and laugh, talk about books and art with people who she relates to, makes it all worth it.
A plus, the only thing we needed to renovate here were the closets and the kitchen.
She said,“We can’t have talks at midnight in an outdated kitchen, can we…”So we changed it.
Wasting no time, I pull the Phish Food from the freezer and a spoon from a drawer next to the refrigerator. I press the ice cream carton to the inside of Winter’s thigh and she yelps and giggles, opening her legs for me to step between them. She peels the carton lid off and I scoop up a healthy spoonful and feed it to her.
“Tell me about your day,” I say.
She smiles and swallows down her ice cream, watching me lick the spoon clean afterward.
“Work was busy as always. We have a few new editors now so it should slow down soon. I met Rebecca for an early lunch downtown, so that was good.” She laughs. “She’s been seeing that guy she met outside of her office.‘The kickboxer’, she calls him.”
I laugh, rubbing my free hand up and down her warm thigh. Hearing that makes me smile. Winter and Rebecca have grown very close since Winter and I made our relationship official. At first I was worried I fucked it up beyond repair by bringing Rebecca to Preston’s house for that gathering. Looking back on it now, I can’t believe I ever thought that would go over well. Just goes to show how monumentally clueless I was back then.
I wince, thinking aboutthattime in my life. When I thought I had lost the only thing that has come even remotely close to mattering. Thank fuck Winter is amazing enough to move past my screw-ups to let me in. Even her willingness to get to know Rebecca and integrate her into the Fearless Four (which I guess is now the FearlessFive) is so veryWinterof her.
Heart on her sleeve, splitting at the seams with passion, ready to love hard…That’s my girl.
“Oh!” she continues. “I found out I have to go to a book signing event in Vegas with Wes next month. If you can get the time off work, you can come with us. Or you and I can fly separately. The signing is on Saturday, and I’ll be there all day, but Wes is leaving on Sunday morning. I can take that Monday off, and we can stay an extra day. A little gambling… All-you-can-eat buffets… Watered down casino booze…”
I smile, kissing the tip of her nose with my chilled lips. I hate Vegas. Old Vegas is too old, and the carpets need to be replaced everywhere you go. AndnewVegas isn’t much better with its faux extravagance and night clubs. It’s a breeding ground for poor choices, tacky atmospheres, and food poisoning. But again, there isn’t a thing on this planet I wouldn’t do to make my girl happy. And selfishly, I’ll do it for the rest of my life to see her smile, and experience the glee vibrate from her pores.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Oh!” She jumps excitedly. “Do you remember Tara from my office?”
“That the one with all the cats and the gamer boyfriend?” I ask, feeding her another bite.
“Mm-hmm.” She swallows it down. “She caught him cheating on her with his sister.”
My eyes narrow. “Come again…”
“Turns out, his sister visiting from Denver isactuallyhis ex-girlfriend from Queens.” She laughs.
“Holy shit,” I say.
“Yeah. What a douche.”
“Is she okay?” I load another bite onto my spoon.
