Page 70 of Time To Live Again

Her smile dims. “It ended with her leaving and slamming the door behind her. And she was only here maybe ten minutes.”

I jerk my head back in shock. “I didn’t expect that.”

“It is what it is. It wasn’t realistic to expect that she’d be happy to see me when I left the way I did.” She sips her tea and lowers the cup.

“Tell me what happened and don’t leave anything out.” Anger toward her mother bubbles under the surface when she unloads everything. It’s hard for me to be neutral since I’ve never met her.

“And that’s how it ended. Her slamming the door. I don’t know what my next move will be. I’m too exhausted to think about it right now. Some cutie kept me awake last night. Our sexy night has been on replay.”

“It was fun, though.” I wiggle my eyebrows. “Sleep would be nice, but I’d rather talk to you.”

“Me too.” We gaze at each other with lovesick grins. She perks up, pulling us from the moment. “Hey, what was with the martinis?”

I tell her about my short but heartfelt conversation with Sully and what led us to my mom’s attic.

“I’m proud of you. Are you glad you did it?”

“Definitely. It hurt like hell, but we had fun reminiscing too, which helped balance the mood. We realized how long it had been since we really hung out together. Not hiding or holding anything back. I still have a ton of stuff to go through…lots more boxes at my aunt’s. But enough of that for tonight. Tell me something good.”

“Let’s see. I ate junk for dinner. I’ll resume my health kick tomorrow.”

“Don’t be losing your perfect curves. You know how much I love them.” I’d do anything to glide my hands over her gorgeous body right now.

She points at the phone. “Don’t be giving me that look. It’s not fair when I’m not in the same room as you. Focus on me.”

“That’s what I’m doing. I can’t help that I’m addicted to you,” I whine. “I miss your lips.”

She pretends to kiss the screen. “Poor baby. Anyway, I spoke to my brother. I can’t wait till you meet him. I think you’ll get along really well. Did I ever tell you he’s the one who came up with Amazon’s Super Bowl ad this year? He works for a popular ad agency.”

“No. How cool is that?” I buzz.

“He’s having a Super Bowl party in San Francisco and asked me to come.”

“That’s awesome. Did you say yes? I’d be all over that.”

“I haven’t visited him since he moved there. It seems like the perfect time to do it.” She bites her lower lip and looks shy suddenly.

“What’s up? Is there something else?”

“Um. Any chance you can sneak in a trip to watch the Super Bowl with us? I don’t remember where you’ll be in the world at that time. I think it’s on the second Sunday in February this year.”

“Very tempting.”Of course I’m going to go.“Maybe I can switch things around. I’ll let you know. If it works out, we’ll get to see each other sooner than we planned. You’re gone less than a day and I can’t stand not physically seeing or touching you. It’s fucking tough.”

“I know, sexy. When it gets hard for us, we need to remember the endgame. The. End. Game.”

I scratch my head. “Endgame. Hmm. And what is that again?”

“You and me. Together. Forever. Ring a bell?” she quips. “Or am I talking to someone else?”

“Ah,thatendgame. My bad. I thought you were talking about the Avengers.”

She gives me the stink eye. “Such a smart-ass. I think you could make me laugh while I sleep.”

“I’d rather you scream my name instead. Wait. That sounds wrong. Screaming, but not while you’re asleep.Grr. You know what I mean.” My sexiness has gone out the window.

“You act like you’re sex starved. Last night should’ve held you over for a little while.” She moves her phone to a pillow next to her, then curls up under the covers, facing me. She fell asleep like this last night, and I stayed up a bit longer to watch her peaceful face. It hits me again how in love I am with her. It’s mind-blowing.

I slip under the covers too. Once I’m comfortable on my side and my head is propped on my own pillow, I murmur, “I want to fall asleep with you on the phone. Can we do that? It’s the closest thing to sleeping together.”

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