Page 21 of Love Grows

“Well, if we’re giving compliments. You are also gorgeous and?—

Steph cut me off as she stood, leaned forward, and delivered a full on hold-onto-my-shoulders lip-smothering kiss. My mouth then caught up and joined in wholeheartedly.

When she broke away, she slid her hands down my arms and brought them to my palms.

"Sorry. I didn’t ask permission.”

I huffed a quick laugh, somewhat dazed.

"Permission granted from now on. If you want to, that is.”

“Yes, please,” she replied. “I liked our date the other night.” Then she smirked. “And our kiss.”

“It wasn’t meant to be adatedate but apparently I’m a delusional lesbian with a huge dose of cluelessness.”

Steph cocked her head, still holding my hands. “Do you want this?”

I hummed. Did I? My body was certainly a fan. My heart said that I should give it a chance. That was all the permission I needed.

“Kisses, and looks-but-not-looks, and brushing against each other accidentally-on-purpose, and dates?”

Steph smiled, then enveloped me in a beautiful hug. “Yes.”

I rested my cheek against her chest. “Okay.” Then I smiled into her apron string. “I like the way you manhandle me.”

There was a cough at the door, and we sprang apart. Well, I did the springing. Steph simply stepped backwards to lean against the desk again. So smooth.

Lucas stood there, grinning.

“Just letting you know that I’m off and I’ll see you next week.”

I nodded, shot finger guns at him, which was seriously uncool but I was flustered, and Lucas knew it because he rolled his lips in to stifle another grin.

“Goodo. See you then,” I replied, slightly manic, my voice pitched higher than normal.

“Okay. Oh, bye Steph.” With another look at me, he disappeared from the doorway.

I repeated my thought from earlier. Impudent, observant teenagers are annoying.

Steph laughed at my expression and delivered another lovely kiss.

* * *

On Saturday,I found my gaze drifting over to Steph who was chatting and laughing with Lucas at the front counter. We’d had a few kisses during the week similar to those first ones in the office. One memorable moment occurred at the small loading dock at the back roller door. I was sitting on the bars of the miniature forklift—the kind that has a one-person plate for standing on at the back and hand-held operating device and the capacity to lift a pallet of bags of soil, etcetera. Steph grinned, reached for the hand-held controller, and pressed it to raise the forklift arms. I gripped the edge of the steel bar to steady myself, not only because of the bar’s movement but also because I felt myself liquifying in Steph’s intense gaze. Within a few seconds we were at eye level. Steph pushed the stop button, then hung it over the handle. She stepped forward so that I was compelled to open my legs to let her into my space.

“Hi there,” I said, grinning. “So this is what it’s like to have your head in the clouds.”

Steph laughed. “Hardly. You’re a head shorter. That’s all.” She pressed into my body and I squeezed my legs.

“I don’t know what this is but I’m enjoying you.”

“Me, too.”

I patted the forklift bar. “Probably shouldn’t use business equipment like this. We could be breaking some sort of workplace health and safety law.”

We shared a grin, then I put my hands on either side of Steph’s head and brought her lips to mine. It was a gentle kiss: a one-two-three pressing of lips, until I couldn’t wait anymore. I slipped one hand around the back of Steph’s neck and held her against me, held the kiss, held her cheek with my other hand, then dipped my tongue into her mouth. Just a touch, and she gasped. I’d never felt anything like this before. Sure I’d had girlfriends because of that common attraction situation. But the attraction with Steph was lightning. I couldn’t help myself. We weren't just colleagues or friends now. We were something else. Affection was seeping in.

I shivered at the memory, then returned my attention to the Bonsai Brains and found that Kadee had followed my gaze to the front of the store. She’d paused her tiny clipping and wetting of her base sponge to deliver a tiny nod.

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