Page 107 of Foreplay on Words

“Maybe I don’t need an apron.” His arms tightened around me, and I could feel his warm breath wash over the side of my neck. “Your hose is welcome to douse my fire whenever it likes.”

He groaned as he kissed my nape. “You’d never get to eat if you prance around my kitchen naked all the time.”

“What about yo––oh!” I laughed as I got his double meaning. I’d never get to eat, but apparently, he’d be eating something. “You’re bad.”

“You seemed to enjoy it the other day. But maybe I need to put you back on the kitchen island and remind you what it felt like to have my tongue buried in your…”

“Okay, hands off mister.” Pulling his arms from around me, I darted to my closet before he disintegrated my panties with his dirty whispers. “We need to get packed.”

“Are we driving separately, or...?”

“Do you want me to drive myself?” I pulled down my bag and peeked out the closet door. His face was drawn as he nervously shifted from side to side.

“No.” His voice was soft as he finally looked up. “I don’t want to spend another car ride without your creative renditions of pop songs.”

“Okay. I’ll ride with you.” I nodded and placed my bag down on the corner of the bed. “I wouldn’t want to deprive you of my musical stylings.”

“I’ll bring you back whenever you want, but...”

“But...?” I asked curiously.

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.” He mumbled something I couldn’t hear under his breath, but I let it go.

I’d been serious when I told Isobel I needed two months. Leaving my condo behind for a few weeks or even months to write this book with him was okay with me. If I was completely honest with myself, I’d probably be content not coming back and staying with Evan indefinitely.

“You’ll get tired of me eventually.”

He crossed the room and pulled me into his arms, kissing me softly as he held me. When he pulled back, his eyes were no longer guarded as he shook his head. “I don’t see that happening any time soon.”

Despite my initial urgency to leave, we slept at my condo for the night. There weren’t any unexpected visitors, but Evan had distracted me enough to keep my mind off my paranoid worries. The next morning, we woke up early to prepare for the long drive back to Connecticut, heading out after breakfast. I missed staying in bed and snuggling with him, but we could catch up with that later.

“Are you alright with stopping for groceries somewhere along the highway?” he asked as he turned down the music from the car speakers.

Evan had been quiet so far on the trip back to his house, but I was equally zoned out with my laptop open on my knees.

“Looking for something you can’t find in Ashford?”

“Not really. I don’t want to have to go into town when we get back. I like the anonymity of Walmart rather than the Ashford market. No one stares at me there. I still don’t see the appeal of being curious about my boring life buried in a laptop, but I’ve found residents of small towns are a bit nosy.”

“They’re gonna stare at you everywhere, but I see what you’re saying.” I reached over and squeezed his hand.

“It’s these shorts, isn’t it?” he laughed, pulling awkwardly at the hem of his very short white athletic shorts. The other pairs in his bag had been dirty, and we hadn’t had time to wait for the laundry.

“Well, they’re not helping,” I giggled. “But why the hat?”

“I didn’t feel like styling my hair,” he shrugged.

“And the hat was a better alternative?” I giggled as I reached over to flick the underside of the brim. After rummaging in his trunk, he’d put on a trucker hat that was taller than a standard one. It looked awkward as it stood up from his head.

“Oh, now that we’re official, you’ve got a free pass to tease me?” He smiled. I knew he wasn’t entirely serious.

After another twenty minutes on the highway, he pulled off toward a Walmart right off the exit.

“Ready to go get stared at?”

“Pfft. I make this look good,” he laughed as he took off the hat and threw it in the back seat before he got out of the car.

“So that’s why you took it off?” I giggled as I took in the bedhead he was hiding underneath.

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