Page 56 of After All

“I thought when you said you were going to be seducing me, it would include a lot of nakedness and dirty talk. I was prepared for that. But making me spaghetti…I mean, should the smell of oregano make me wet?”

Good God. And the thing was, she wasn’t trying to be sexy right now either. This was Peyton, having a conversation with him and just saying what was on her mind. Without realizing that saying she was wet was making his tongue tingle for a taste that was definitely not oregano.

“I can honestly tell you that if the smell of oregano makes you wet,” he said, noting his voice was definitely huskier now, “then you can expect to come home to a lot of pasta dishes in the future.”

She gave him a smile that made his heart turn over in his chest. “Yeah, I’m definitely confused about the sexy thing and the relationship thing. One minute you’re going for normal and I’m not wearing panties. The next minute, I’m flipping pancakes and you’re jacking off in the shower. And now this. I’m turned on by something totally normal that you weren’t even trying to make sexy. What side are you on, Hansen?”

He knew exactly what she meant. Her texting him the photo of the gazebo that morning had made him want her as much as having her hands on him in the shower had. He gave her a slow grin. “All sides. Every side.”

“I’m in trouble,” she said with a sigh.

He hoped so.

They ate at the table and talked. Peyton told him about Dan’s text and Jo’s planned trip to rehab. Scott told her that he really didn’t want her to have lunch with Dan.

She frowned. “Why not?”

“Because he makes you feel bad,” Scott said, trying not to grit his teeth. He’d had words with Dan in the past, but he’d gladly go over there and tell the man to back off. Of course, Peyton was his daughter and was a grown woman who could make her own decisions. Which was the only thing keeping him from driving to Dan’s right now.

“I feel sorry for him,” she said. “But it’s also all his own fault. So I’m just torn.”

After they were done eating, Peyton joined him at the sink and they rinsed and loaded the dishwasher together. Scott didn’t say anything about it. For one, it was a strange thing to love and to be turned on by. For another, it just didn’t require any talking. She put the last plate in the rack and closed the dishwasher, then turned to him with a sigh. “Well, I guess now you have to watchGrey’s Anatomywith me.”

Scott dried his hands on the dishtowel by the sink and then handed it to her to do the same. “Grey’s Anatomy, huh?”

“Well, you were all sexy with the spaghetti and everything. Now we do something normal.”

“And you watchGrey’s Anatomy?”

“Religiously.”

“Okay,” he agreed, making it sound as if he was very put upon. “But you have to sit with me on the couch.”

“Okay,” she said, “but you have to keep your hands to yourself.”

He grinned. “No can do.”

She sighed, as ifshewere very put upon. “Fine. But every time you touch me, I’m going to tell you a fact about the show that you don’t care about.”

“Deal.” He didn’t know much aboutGrey’s, but he did know it had been on for a long time. That meant lots of facts. And that meant he could do a lot of touching.

But two hours later, he was hooked.

On sitting with Peyton, watching TV. On rubbing her feet—and the little sounds she made when he did it. And on freakingGrey’s Anatomy.

After finding out he’d never seen a single episode, she’d insisted they start at episode one, season one. She’d run to her house quickly to get the set of DVDs she owned and they’d settled in. Scott had been all about her purple toenail polish—even after she’d put socks on when he’d commented about how much the polish turned him on—and rubbing her feet, and just feeling her up against him. She sat close, with her legs stretched over his lap, even while maintaining she was on the couch with him only because he insisted. She ran her fingers through the back of his hair almost absentmindedly while she watched TV. And she simply smiled and gave a soft sigh whenever he turned his head and kissed the inside of her elbow, or her neck, or her cheek during commercial breaks.

But he hadn’t pushed for more nakedness or said anything particularly sexy or even touched her anywhere else. For two reasons. One, she seemed completely content and happy, and damned if he was going to do anything to change that. Sex would be good—or fucking amazing—too, but he loved this peacefulness, and once he’d found out that Heather and Tess were the only people who had seen these DVDs with Peyton, he’d decided he was just fine like this, thank you.

Oh, and because he got into the show.

It would never be better than sex with Peyton, but it only took three episodes for him to be fully invested in Meredith and McDreamy and Izzie and everyone else.

But finally, he yawned and had to admit he was fading. It was the fucking pain pills, but he still needed them and he knew his body was still healing.

“Bedtime,” Peyton said, pointing the remote at the TV and stopping the show.

“But—”

---