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She gasps. “Like the kind you mix on the counter? Flour and egg and all that?”
Non-cooks are so easy sometimes. “Right on the counter.” It’s the simplest thing in the world, but it impresses the hell out of people who’ve never tried it for themselves.
She flings herself against the seat with a grumble. “And here I was going to settle for a PB&J.”
I open my mouth to tell her we can still go back to mine for pasta once we’ve finished this errand, but that’s just pushing my luck at this point. Besides, we’re at our destination.
This is a bigger store than the one we just left, and we join the throng at the pharmacy counter. This one has three employees running back and forth to serve the two lines and the drive-through. We join the shortest one, but we’re still a good eight people back.
Grace fidgets with the silver ring on her finger as we shuffle forward with interminable slowness. “So were you in the military or something?” She holds up her arm, covered in the olive green of my coat, and all I can do is laugh.
“Nah. Thought it looked cool when I was nineteen.”
She rolls her eyes, but it’s affectionate. “Well? Do I look cool?”
“You look beautiful.” It slips out, and her smile droops at the edges as she whips off the hat I put on her head at my place and tries to fluff up her hair.
“You’re just being polite in case I’m already cooking your baby in here.” She fusses with all that glorious, silky blondness, and I’m a little startled to hear her making light of our situation, but hell, she’s right. This isn’t the end of the world. We’re in line for a redundancy, and if that doesn’t work, we still have other options.
Cautiously, so very cautiously, I slide my arm around her waist and pull her into my side to whisper the words I don’t necessarily want the whole line to hear.
“I’ve thought you were beautiful since the first time I met you.” That stops her fidgeting, and she looks up at me with wide, surprised eyes. My voice drops to a rasp. “And I need you to get something straight.”
“W-what?”
My intensity has her tripping over her words, and I lean close to share this next bit. “Your pussy, Grace?” I wrap my hand around the back of her neck to draw her even closer. “It’s straight-up magic.”
Her eyes dart to the people in line around us, but everybody’s too caught up in their New Year’s Eve errands to pay attention to us. My lips brush her ear as I continue. “Before, you said your vagina’s standard issue, and I need you to know that’s bullshit.” My fingers press into the soft skin of her neck. “Your pussy felt so fucking good that when the condom broke, I truly did not notice. I just thought sex with you was that much better than any I’d ever had before.”
When I release her to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, she laughs shakily. “Turns out it wasn’t actually special. Just accidental skin on skin.”
“Gracie. You’re not hearing me.” I brush a thumb over her blazing cheeks. “It was that goddamn hot from the very beginning. From that kiss up against my house through getting you naked, it was—”
“Next?” A voice calls out before I can finish that thought.
I drop my hand to her lower back, and together we step forward to face the slender man peering at us over his half-glasses. “How can I help you?”
“Emergency contraception. Ella if you’ve got it.” I repeat Grace’s words from the last stop, hoping to impress her with my listening skills, but my heart sinks when the little man shakes his head, his voice brisk but sympathetic.
“I’m so sorry, but there was a glitch in our computer system showing more stock than we had in this region.” His dark hair starts at the very top of his head, and the overhead lights catch the sweat on his shiny forehead. “We’re trying to get it fixed, but our central warehouse shut down the week between Christmas and New Year, so we can’t even place new orders for two more days.”
My arm’s still around Grace, which means I can feel her whole body slump. “All the stores in the region?” she asks faintly.
“Afraid so.” His eyes, magnified behind his glasses, are kind, but that doesn’t solve our current problem. “You might have more luck at a locally owned pharmacy. Or you could try Chicago. Last I heard, their system didn’t have the same problems. Next?”
He’s looking over our heads at the man behind us, so there’s nothing left to do but leave. Grace’s breathing’s starting to pick up again, which means the progress we just made is coming undone. Understandable, but I don’t want tonight to be any worse for her than it’s already been.
Once we’re outside, she reaches for the handle of her car door, her face downcast. I grab her shoulders and spin her around.
“Hey. Gracie. Eyes on me.” I use myI own this fucking kitchenvoice, the one that stops a wait staff screaming match in its tracks and once made a nervous new line cook burst into tears. “We’re gonna figure this out. We’ll hit the local places one by one, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll keep driving till we hit Chicago. We’ll get you what you need and then head to Navy Pier to catch the fireworks at midnight. How’s that sound?”
She sniffles. “Chicago?”
I let my fingers drift down her arms and end by giving her hands a squeeze. “If that’s what it takes. Whatever you need to be able to sleep tonight, okay?”
“Okay.” She nods slowly, her eyes downcast. “Why these?”
I’m confused by the question until her thumbs brush over the art on the back of my hands. I’m not sure if she’s truly curious or just looking for a distraction, but I tug my fingers free before I answer, not sure I can be honest if she keeps touching me that gently.
