Page 55 of The Interns

“I’d like that,” she said, grinning back, their faces so close now that they had no choice but to take advantage and seal their plans with a kiss.

25

Reed

Reed watched Maya move past him into the foyer of his house. He still couldn’t believe she was actually here.

“Smells good in here.”

“I told you I could cook,” he reminded her. He shut the door then followed her and the smell into the kitchen.

“Well, let’s see how it tastes first,” she teased, glancing at him over her shoulder. “I brought two slices of caramel cake from my favorite bakery.”

She placed the white box on the counter then started toward him. His eyes followed her across the room until they were cast down and looking into the big brown eyes that were looking up at him waiting on a proper greeting.

“Thank you.” He cupped her cheek and leaned in to give it to her.

His lips met hers straight on, and it wasn’t long before they parted, heads tilting in opposite directions as they took advantage of being in the privacy of his home and away from the prying eyes of others. They didn’t have to pull away, instead they kept going back, not satisfied until each had placed their mark on the other’s upper and lower lips at every angle and at least twice. But even their private display of affection began to feel excessive, so they reluctantly pulled away, lips swollen and tingling as they shyly met each other’s eyes.

“You’re welcome,” Maya eked out. “So is there anything I can do to help?”

“Nope. Just needs to simmer for a little while longer, then we’ll be ready to eat.” While he returned to the stove to check on their dinner, she wandered off to explore.

“Did you finally get a present for your mom?”

“Huh?” He turned to find her standing over the red and green wrapped box that he forgot was on the dining table. “No, that’s for you, actually.”

“Reed.” She tilted her head and awwed at the gesture. “I didn’t think we were doing this.”

“We’re not. It’s not really from me.” He put the wooden spoon in his hand down on the counter and made his way over to her. “It’s hard to explain. Just open it.”

She eyed him curiously, then slid the box off the table, her arms bowing from the unexpected weight. “It’s heavy.”

She recovered and turned toward the living room. He followed behind her and took a seat on the couch next to her as she set the box on her knees and gave him another look before tearing into the gift wrap to find a plain cardboard box that had some wear and tear around the corners. She questioned it with a raise of her eyebrows.

“Keep going,” he said, grinning ear to ear at her reaction.

She ran her nail under the band of clear tape that held the box shut, and opened it, revealing a shiny mass of metal. She picked it up and turned it in her hands as she examined every angle. Its levers, coils, and base were all a uniform silver with a light sheen, and after a moment her eyes flashed with recognition. She had seen a cruder version of this before.

“Wait, is this Johnson’s tool?”

“Yep.” He couldn’t help his proud smile. “I got him in touch with a local metal fabricator, and this is from the first test run. He wanted us to have it.”

“Oh my God.” She seemed as impressed by the slickly produced tool in her hand as he had been the first time he saw it. It looked like something that belonged on the shelves of a hardware store.

“We also got free plumbing services for life, by the way,” he added, still tickled by the unconventional gift that he knew would probably come in handy someday. “Didn’t know how to wrap that one up for you, though.”

“This is amazing,” she said, still marveling at what Johnson was able to achieve with their help. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, taking another long look at the tool before turning to him. “You know, I always thought he hated us.”

“Nah, he’s all bark and no bite. Nice guy once you get to know him. You know the type.”

“Yeah,” she scoffed. “I’ll never forget that first time we met him, within five minutes he was trying to shut the door in our faces and you got all tough. I hadn’t seen that side of you before, and I was like, Hello, Officer Stanton.”

He swiped his hand over his face and groaned. He wasn’t even sure what that was supposed to mean, but he was embarrassed and flattered all at once due to the mischievous look on her face. He fell back into the couch, and she placed the tool on his coffee table and did the same, coming shoulder to shoulder with him. She drew her feet up on the couch and twisted her body towards him, her knees coming to rest on the side of his leg. He reached over and put his hand on her knee, and she covered it with her hand.

“So what are you going to do with that thing?”

“That thing? You mean my pipe crimper? Ditch law and go into plumbing, obviously.”

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