Page 30 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“Nick…”

“Jo… I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I really want to do this.”

“But—” I felt my eyes fill with tears. He wouldn’t leave me, would he? I mean, I’d always secretly hoped that we’d end up at the same college. That was the way life was supposed to be, wasn’t it? I knew there was a chance we’d end up apart for a few years, but I’d assumed he’d be safe at another school, waiting for me, not fighting a war thousands of miles away, where I wouldn’t know whether he was alive for weeks or months.

“Don’t get upset, Jo. I haven’t made a decision yet. But even if I don’t go into the navy, I’m not a college person.”

“So, what will you do?”

“Be a fireman?”

I burst out laughing.

“What?”

“A fireman? Since when?”

He lifted the bag full of cream, pointing at me.

“You keep this up and you’ll be decorating on your own.”

“Of all people Nick, I know you can take a joke.”

“Can you?” He reached out and plopped a large finger-scoop of buttercream on my nose.

“Hey!” I dipped my finger into the cream as well, but before I got a chance to get it on his face, he grasped my wrist and brought my finger to his lips. He licked and sucked it clean and I just stood there, with my mouth open and my nose dirty. Nick proceeded to step closer and licked the excess cream off my nose. I felt my heart pick up and chest swell. That was unbelievably sexy.

We stood only a foot away, staring into each other’s eyes, and for that moment I forgot that he was thinking of joining the navy, and everything was perfect again.

“Is there anything I can do to persuade you?” I asked.

“Probably, but I wouldn’t want us caught making out right here on this floor.”

My body heated. If there were any cream left on my face, it would have melted.

“Jo, remember Washington and how my father saved us? I want to be able to do that for you — for us. If I do this, if I go away, it’s because I need to. I’m doing this for you and for me. For our future. And I can’t do it without your support. I won’t leave unless I have your blessing.”

“All I want is for you to be happy. I’d do anything for you, Nick. You know that. Even if I have to wait for you for years.”

That was partially true, because now that I knew of his plans, I also knew that I had a year left to change his mind. A life without Nick was not worth living. It would take special kind of persuasion to keep him in Hope Bay. And if I failed, my heart would go into hibernation while he was gone.

We proceeded to layer the black forest cake, scooping in the cherry filling and then smoothing the cake all the way around with buttercream. Nick showed me how to swirl around the edges, and then how to make buttercream roses. My first one didn’t come out so well, so I started over. The second and third were a little better, and by the time I got to the fourth, it was perfect.

And all this time, in between me decorating and him instructing, Nick worked on the red velvet as if it were just another day. By the time I was done with the black forest cake, he was done with his cake as well. I had no idea that baking cakes, decorating and then seeing the final product would bring so much satisfaction.

“I think I found a new hobby,” I grinned.

He spun the cake on its turntable, examining it from every angle. “Jo, you’re better at this than I am. You sure this is your first cake?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Well, then let me be the first one to congratulate you, baby.” He lifted me up into his arms, twirled me around, pressing his lips to mine, and then set me down on the counter. “I could get used to this, you know.”

“What?”

“Having you in my kitchen all the time.”

That predatory look in his eyes rolled over my body as I pictured myself with long, bushy and unkempt hair, in the middle of a Neanderthal cave, watching my man build a fire. Hopefully he’d drag me onto the sabre tooth skins laid out in the back of the cave, after we ate the meat he caught earlier in the day, for a nice make-out session. Although I was sure that as Neanderthals, we’d be much wilder than I was ready to be.

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