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“See,” he says, pointing an accusatory fork at me, “You think you're making fun of me,” his hands firmly grip my hips, “but I am very secure in my masculinity.”
Closing the distance, I kiss him lightly. “I think it’s very sweet.”
“I was never interested in learning to cook,” I say. “My sister was always in the kitchen with our mom.”
“She makes very good brownies,” Adrian admits, and it throws me off. My sister makes brownies for him.
“Does that bother you?” he asks, noticing my apprehension.
“No, it’s just odd to think of you having a relationship with my sister.” I pinch my brows together.
“You don’t have a good relationship with her,” he says, putting the top on the leftoverSarmale.
Moving my hands down his arms to circle his waist, I press my cheek to his chest.
“I have this very clear memory of being outside with my dad, handing him tools while he fixed my bicycle. I could see my mom and sister through the kitchen window. They were making brownies probably; I can’t remember, but they were laughing, and my mom left a fingerprint of flour on the tip of Beth’s nose.” I press my head further into his chest. “God, I was so jealous of that fingerprint.”
Adrian touches the back of my head, smoothing down my hair. I pull away, feeling embarrassed about bringing up that memory, but I feel it’s necessary for him to understand the history between Beth and me.
“Laura was always the one helping my dad in the shop,” Adrian says, breaking the silence. “She’s the oldest, and I was always jealous when my dad would take her instead of me. He’d kneel down to my height and tell me when I got this tall,” Adrian motions to the height of the counter, “I could go with him.”
He shakes his head, smiling at the memory.
“You like working with him,” I say.
“He taught me everything I know,” Adrian says, and I can see the pride in his eyes at the thought of his dad. “He left everything he knew back in Romania and came to America with hardly anything,” Adrian explains. “But he started this business when my mom was pregnant with Laura because he wanted to give us a good life and a good future.”
“I admire that so much,” I say, pressing a palm to his face.
“Now Laura works in the office for my dad, and I’m the one that gets to go out on jobs with him, but he doesn’t do a lot of the installing now that he’s older.” Adrian settles back between my legs after rinsing out the utensils in the sink next to me.
“So your sister could have seen us in the warehouse?” I smack him, embarrassed.
Adrian chuckles. “I knew she wasn’t going to be there.”
“You planned that?” I ask, curious.
“I know better than to plan anything around you.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you continue to surprise the shit out of me,” he says, grinning.
I’ve surprised myself lately; doing things I never thought I would do. My cheeks get hot at just the thought.
“I haven’t always been…” I search for the right words and decide to switch gears. “I‘ve worked for everything I have.” There’s this need inside of me to explain things to Adrian, to gain his approval somehow, because I don’t want him to think I’m a spoiled brat who doesn’t appreciate what she has.
“I know I can come across as abrasive sometimes, but it’s only because…” I’m at a loss for words because I don’t think there is an explanation good enough.
“You owe me no explanation, Lake.” He tilts his head, the dim lights in the kitchen casting shadows across his face, but I can see his eyes, the soft browns that have only ever looked at me with mischief and lust. Right now they are looking right down into me, extracting truths I never thought I would confess to him. The fact that he doesn’t think I need to explain anything to him is exactly the reason I should.
“I’m not used to things being like…” I pause, running my hand up his arm nervously and trying to think of the right words. “This.”
Adrian presses his forehead to mine and breathes in heavily while his hands slip into my hair. “That is a goddamned shame.”
Closing my eyes, I reach forward and press my lips to his. He tastes like tofu and wine.
“Thank you,” I say, opening my eyes.
