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“Thanks,” I said, feeling like it was the best compliment I’d ever received.
She rested her hand on my bicep, and my eyes immediately followed. “Don’t act so surprised.” She gave me a gentle squeeze, and an unexpected rush of heat coursed through my body. I stepped out of her touch and once again ignored the thoughts, trying to force their way into my mind.
I was just horny since I hadn’t had sex in… well… too damn long. After Rebecca left, Gio became my entire life. I didn’t have time to meet anyone, let alone find time to have sex with them. I’d been in what my brothers called a dry spell while I called it putting my son above my own needs.
It hadn’t even bothered me, just something I had accepted. If anything, my ex had put such a bad taste in my mouth, I had no desire to pursue a woman again. So I had no idea why, after all this time, suddenly I was desperately aware of how long it had been since I’d had any physical contact with a woman.
Quinn bit her lip, that pretty blush spotting her cheeks. “Does Sally have any favorite spots? Maybe we missed one.”
I thought for a moment. That damn reptile had gotten loose more times than I could count. We never found her in the same place either. She was an adventurous one, always searching out a new haunt. Then it dawned on me. I scanned the house, looking for where the sun was the brightest.
My eyes followed a sunbeam bursting through the living room window. I followed the beam to the TV unit and there behind the TV on top of the modem was Sally.
“Found her,” I called out.
“You did?” Quinn exclaimed. “How? We’ve been looking for over an hour.”
I pointed to the stream of sun shining in from the skylight. “Always follow the light.”
Gio flew into the living room, a massive smile on his face. I gathered Sally from her resting place, and I swore she gave me a dirty look. “Here she is.”
Gio immediately took Sally into his arms and hugged her to his chest. “Sally, what have I told you about escaping?” he scolded before holding her out in front of him. “No more adventures for you.”
“No, she’s had enough for today. Go put her in her tank, triple check it’s secure, then wash your hands, and we’ll go get tacos.”
“Sally can’t come?” He pouted, and I had to remind myself that giving my son everything he wanted wasn’t always a good thing.
“Like you said, no more adventures today. Besides, I’m sure she’s exhausted.”
“Okay, fine,” he sulked, and I almost gave in, but I held strong. We would take Sally for a walk when we got home. But for now, I wanted to talk to Quinn and Gio and get a feel for how the day went without the distraction of Sally.
It didn’t matter how many times we brought her in public, she always drew a crowd. Rose told me I should turn Sally into a social media star. While Rose was up on all the new social media, I hadn’t had social media since the days of Myspace. Something she used to call me old.
Gio disappeared upstairs, leaving me and Quinn alone in the living room. “Today really went okay?” I asked, still waiting for her to quit and run out the door.
“I told you it went really well. I had a blast with Gio. He’s super smart.”
“He does love facts.”
“Same, so it’s nice to go back and forth with someone. Most people make fun of me, especially my mom. She tells me I’m a walking Snapple cap.”
“Oh wow. I haven’t had a Snapple in years.”
“As a kid, I would make my mom buy them just for the facts.” She shrugged. “I was a bit of a nerd.”
Looking at her, she did not fit the stereotypical description of a nerd. If anything, I’d think she was one of those girls all the others were jealous of.
“When I was a kid, I used to follow my grandpa into the vineyard and watch him talk to the grapes.”
“He talked to the grapes?”
I smiled at the memory. “He thought they listened to him. He always said the nicer you are to your grapes, the nicer they will be to you.”
“Do you talk to the grapes?” Her eyes narrowed, amusement tugging at the corners.
“I do. I mean, you don’t fix what’s not broken. It worked for my grandpa all those years, so I figured there has to be some validity to it.”
“I’m not sure it would be a Snapple Fact, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
