Page 20 of Obsession on Repeat
"Is there any way to answer that so I won’t get slapped?"
Smiling, I accepted the glass he held in his hand. I sipped the juice and eyed the table he had set up with plates of bacon, eggs, and toast. "I thought you only cooked bacon and eggs."
"I fibbed a little."
"I’d say a lot." I inched upward on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek and then slid into a seat at the table. "Thank you."
"You’re welcome." He sat down across from me, and for a few minutes, we filled our plates, eating in silence.
I shoved a piece of bacon into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. I glanced up to find him watching me and paused mid-chew. "What?"
"Nothing." He lowered his glass. "I love watching you eat."
I picked up another piece of bacon and threw it at him. He easily caught it. "You should eat." I snatched up myfork and stabbed the eggs on my plate. "Growing boys need fuel."
"You sound like my mother."
"Trust me; I’m nothing like your mother," I snickered.
"I fully realize that."
The obvious meaning behind his words flustered me. "About last night…"
"I’ll find a way to make this work. We’ll make it work."
"You’re leaving."
He laid down his fork, wiping his mouth with his napkin before he made his way around the table to squat next to me, resting his hands on my knees. "Rory, look at me."
Slowly, I turned my head to meet his eyes.
"I want to date you, distance or no distance." He reached out to grab my chin, so I couldn’t look away. "Don’t you want to be with me?"
"What if we try and it’s not enough?"
"It’s enough; you have to trust me on that."
"This isn’t easy for me. I’ve never let people into my life."
Releasing me, he rested his weight onto his knees. "Why is that?"
"My childhood wasn’t perfect. It was hard. Growing up alone was hard. I’ve spent so much time moving and not looking back that I’ve forgotten what it feels to have anything meaningful. Do we have to talk about this right now?"
"No, of course not. Do you need more orange juice? How about some coffee?" He stood slowly, passing a hand over my hair. "Coffee sounds good right about now."
I grabbed his hand and pressed my face into the palm of his hand. "I want this to work, too."
"I know." He pressed a kiss into the top of my head and stepped back when I let him go. "Coffee, coffee…" He glanced around. "You don’t have a coffee pot."
I winced shamefully. "It broke the other day."
"No problem. I’ll run down to Starbucks."
"I might be on a tabloid most wanted list now, but I’m pretty sure I can make it there without being noticed," I smirked. I rose from the table and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I’ll be right back."
"Excuse me."
I glanced over my shoulder to stare at a woman standing behind me in line.
