Page 55 of Outside The Wire

“And I have no doubt you will use it viciously on me, one evil stab at a time.”

“See?” Holly grinned. “He’s hilarious!”

I chuckled, wrapping my arm around Holly’s shoulder and pulling her to my side. “I’ve been known to have my moments.”

“I can’t take this. I’m going to have to find a new grocery store and probably a new gas station. Hell, I’m going to have to find a new place to get hot cocoa. You can’t be relied on for anything anymore!”

“Is PDA at a gas station a thing?” I asked Holly.

She shrugged. “Should we give it a shot?”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

“No, no!” Noelle muttered, pacing the grocery store aisle like a mad woman. “I can’t believe this. I can deal with you being happy, alright? I’m a normal, pretty well-adjusted person. I can be happy for other people. I know my limits. But this is not one of them. I don’t want to have to turn around and see you kissing face everywhere I go.”

“I think the phrase you’re looking for is sucking face,” I clarified.

She thrust her hand on her hip as her nostrils flared in anger. “Again, do I need to remind you about my sewing kit?”

“No, I’m well aware of it, but I’m willing to risk a thousand tiny needle wounds for this woman.”

“Aww, that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Holly smiled up at me. “I think I might cry.”

“No. Don’t you dare!” Noelle jabbed her finger in Holly’s face. “This is not some Hallmark movie. You are not allowed to say gushy things or risk needle marks—like sewing needles, not drugs—” Then she narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re not a druggie, are you?”

“Last I checked, I have no drugs on me, but if you know someone good?—”

She tossed her hands up and walked back to her cart. “I give up. I’m going back to my day and pretending I didn’t see you here. And when I show up tomorrow morning, we’re not going to discuss this. You—” she pointed at Holly— “are going to tell me about your very boring Sunday. You stayed in bed and then cleaned your house all afternoon. And you— Well, I wouldn’t see you, so it doesn’t matter what you say.” She shoved her cart forward with a huff and continued past us, muttering to herself about how Sundays were not supposed to include Holly and her stupid boyfriend.

I turned to Holly with a grin. “Well, I think we played that rather well.”

“I’d say so. She’s thoroughly worked up for the day. You did a good job laying on the Hallmark fluff. I’m pretty sure she’ll never watch another sappy movie for as long as she lives.”

“Then our work is done.”

“All we need to do now is finish the grocery shopping, find a good cancer movie, cry in each other’s arms, and vow to take care of each other for the rest of all time.”

“For all eternity,” I clarified. “Sounds like a solid plan.”

“Hallmark would be so proud of us,” she smiled up at me.

“Well, we’d better follow through on this, or we’ll never get that movie deal.”

She sighed heavily. “It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.”

I curled my arm around her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. I was in serious trouble of falling in love with this woman.

“So, this is the bachelor pad,”she said as she wandered around my house, checking out the very sparse living arrangements.

I chuckled as she examined it with a scrutinizing eye. Yeah, it wasn’t much to look at. In fact, to anyone else, it looked like a rental that anyone might move into at any moment.

“I know it’s not much.”

“It’s very…” She spun around, taking it all in. “It’s very plain.”

“I know,” I grinned, unloading the groceries. “I don’t exactly have a flair for decorating.”

“You don’t have a single picture on any of the walls,” she pointed out.

---