Page 30 of Pucking the Grump

It’s Bossy for me. Just Bossy now and maybe…forever.

I study her face, softer and more relaxed in sleep than she ever allows herself to be when she’s awake. A lock of hair has fallen across her cheek, scarlet against her pale skin. It’s pretty, but I know how much she hates hair in her face.

I’m debating the wisdom of brushing it away and risking waking her when she mutters, “Stop staring at me, creep.”

“I’m not staring.” I skim my fingers down the hollow of her spine, grinning when she shivers. “I was admiring. Totally different.”

“Ew, gross, did I…” She wrinkles her nose as she lifts her cheek, but I’m already there with a tissue from the bedside table before she can finish her sentence.

“Drool again? Yes,” I supply, wiping the damp spot away before tossing the tissue back onto the table. “All better. Now get back here, I need five more minutes of snuggles.”

“Thank you for being cool about my drool,” she says, letting me cuddle her close again. “I swear, I’ve never drooled on anyone else. You just…make me too relaxed or something.”

“Hush,” I whisper in a softly dramatic voice. “I know I’m special. You don’t have to say it out loud.”

She exhales a snort of laughter as her eyes slide closed again. “What time is it?”

“Still early. Especially for a Sunday. The good pastry place that delivers isn’t open for another hour.” I drop a kiss to the top of her head. “But like I said last night, I could make vanilla protein pancakes with strawberries. I have all the stuff if you don’t want to wait for pastries.”

“Sounds yummy,” she says. “Am I allowed to tackle my email while I eat them? My computer’s in my purse. I’d just need your WIFI password again.”

I pout. “I mean, yeah, if you really need to. But can’t it wait until this afternoon? When you leave me here alone with nothing to do but be sad that the pool is closed for the season and your pussy is all the way across town?”

“Actually, I was thinking…” She props up on one elbow, a glint of mischief in her gaze. “If I can get my email and game tape study done this morning, maybe we could do something fun this afternoon.”

“What? Fun?” I exaggerate my shocked expression. “Who are you? And what have you done with All Work and No Play Remy?”

She gives my chest a teasing shove. “Oh, hush. I’m still mostly work. I just happen to have a relatively chill workload today.” She shrugs. “And I had a fun idea I thought you might like. But if you’re not interested, I can?—”

“I’m interested,” I cut in, not caring that I sound ridiculously eager. “I’m very interested. Where are we going?”

She shakes her head. “Nope. It’s a surprise. Now, get up. I’m hungry, and I’m sure poor Barb needs to pee.” She rolls off my chest, sitting up as she scoots toward the edge of the bed. When she reaches Barb’s cushion, she pauses to deliver some pets as my pup blinks sleepy eyes her way. “Isn’t that right, buddy? I know. You’ve got a tiny little bladder.”

Remy casts a questioning glance over her shoulder. “If you think it’s safe, I could take her out for a little walk while you cook. I mean, I don’t think anyone we know lives close by, do they?”

I sigh, momentarily deflated by her continued determination to keep us a secret, even from friends and teammates who I’m positive would keep our relationship confidential if we asked them to, but I push the feeling away. We’ve come a long way since even last week. I just have to be patient.

Remy will come around.

Or she won’t, and my heart will end up in more pieces than that Bucky the Badger stuffy I bought Barb last month, forgetting that she hates toys with teeth.

“Why don’t you just take her to the puppy pad on my balcony? Faster and zero chance of discovery,” I say, swinging out from under the covers on the other side of the bed. “And I’ll get started on coffee and pancakes.”

Remy hums happily. “Yay. Coffee. You hear that, Barb? It’s almost coffee time. I know we love coffee time. I’ll have coffee, and you can have a little whipped cream in an espresso cup.” She scoops my happily wiggling Chihuahua into her arms, continuing their chat as she carries Barb out of the bedroom.

The sight of her in nothing but one of my t-shirts hanging just past her ass, wild bed head, and a smile on her face as she coos to my fur baby does something to me.

She just looks so right here. So cozy and relaxed and at home.

I certainly wouldn’t mind coming home to Remy, building a home, a life with her. It’s not something I’ve allowed myself to even fantasize about before, but something is changing between us, a fact she proves a few minutes later by pressing an affectionate kiss to my shoulder as she sneaks past me to grab coffee.

She seals the kiss with a pat on my ass before reaching for a mug, and my chest fills with a warm, wistful ache.

In yoga, Steph always says to live in the moment, reminding the class that the past is just a memory and the future is a story yet to be told. Only the present is real. Intelligible. Livable.

I know she’s right, and I’m trying to stay in the present, to be grateful for it, but damn…it’s hard. The more “present” I get with Remy, the more I want a future with her in it.

Because right now, that future is looking pretty fucking bright…

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