Page 50 of Handy

“Does this mean I can buy you fun underwear?”

“Will it all feature bird-related puns about my dick?” He arches an eyebrow.

“Notallof it.” I grin shamelessly, already mentally adding items to my cart to surprise him with.

“Fine,” he sighs, playfully slapping my ass and then reaching for the plates. He pulls a couple down and a piece of paper flutters out and lands by our feet. “What’s that?”

I bend down to pick it up, already laughing. I forgot I hid this in his kitchen. That feels like a lifetime ago now instead of a handful of weeks. I unfold the paper and show him the message I wrote.

“I can’t stop thinking about you ~ Your Secret Admirer”

A second eyebrow joins the first, inching up his forehead as he looks between me and the note.

“I left this a little while back,” I explain.

“You realize that if I’d found that before you came clean about being my secret admirer, this note would have been extremely creepy?”

I frown and read it back. What’s so creepy about a note from someone you don’t know, telling you they’re thinking about you, hidden in your kitchen… Okay, I get it.

I cackle and crumple the note up.

“Well, nothing to worry about. Your secret admirer wasn’t some weirdo stalker, it’s just me, the guy who’s been watching you through the window for months, occasionally touching myself while you innocently sipped your coffee, and now breaking into your house to cook you dinner.”

“When you put it like that, it’s not creepy at all,” he deadpans. “How did you get in here, by the way?”

I wave him off and take the plates from him so I can dish up our food.

“The normal way. You know, climbed in through an open window then unlocked the door so I could go back and grab supplies for dinner and my pet raccoon.”

“Oh, right, thenormalway.” Griff chuckles, wrapping his arms around me from behind and kissing the back of my neck. “You’re a freak, you know that?”

“Psh. You lo—” I clear my throat. “Likeme,” I correct quickly.

He hums, brushing his lips against the nape of my neck one more time. “I do lo-like you, so I suppose I’ll let a little light breaking and entering slide. But maybe I’ll have a key made for you too, so next time you can just use the front door.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I’m too pretty to go to prison.”

GRIFF

I rumble happily through every bite of dinner, music still playing in the background and Ledger jumping up every minuteor two to tell TP to stop whatever she’s doing, even after I repeatedly assure him that it’s fine. Was there really a time when I convinced myself that silence and solitude were better than this?

When we’re done eating, I take on cleaning up since he cooked. Ledger keeps me company while I load the dishwasher and wipe down the counters though, chattering away as always and managing to put himself directly in my path at every turn, making the whole process take twice as long. And I’m not bothered by it one damn bit.

Once I’m finished cleaning up, I reach up into the cabinet over the refrigerator and pull out a bottle of tequila, shaking it at him enticingly.

“What do you say we grab a blanket off the bed and take it out onto the deck for a nightcap and stargazing?”

Ledger gives me those big, watery emoji eyes and nods, then runs down the hallway to snag the comforter off my bed. While I lay it out on the deck, he takes TP home so he doesn’t have to worry about her chewing through my walls or scampering off into the night, and when he gets back we lie down together and get comfortable.

I uncap the tequila and bring it to my lips to take a sip, sputtering as soon as it hits my tongue. It’s been awhile since I’ve drunk anything stronger than beer. He laughs and takes the bottle when I hold it out, still coughing and wiping the back of my hand across my mouth. He tilts it to his lips and takes a swig, his throat bobbing with his swallow. When he lowers it again, a small dribble of tequila escapes his lips to run down his chin. I lean over and lap it off of his skin, loving the rasp of his two-day stubble against my tongue and the taste of him overpowering the alcohol.

I grunt happily and nip at his chin, rolling closer to him and kissing my way up to his lips. I trace the shape of his smile withmy tongue, and he parts his lips to tempt me to lick into his mouth. I suck on his bottom lip and then take the bottle back from him for another drink. We trade it back and forth for a few minutes, teasing each other with almost-kisses in between sips until we’re both lightheaded, giggly, and horny.

I set the bottle aside and lie flat on my back, pulling Ledger close to rest his head on my shoulder and tangle our fingers together.

“Do you know any constellations or anything?” I ask, a relaxed buzz from the food and alcohol and Ledge’s closeness making me feel like I’m floating.

“No, my knowledge stops at birds and forest conservation. I could make some up though.”

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