Page 34 of Capacity
“You’ve been calling him by his first name for two days now and all of a sudden you can’t stand to hear me call him Mr. Cunningham? You are so smitten.” She shook her head and tipped the wine glass to her lips. “So what happened at dinner? I want to know everything.”
I drew in a breath and laced my fingers together, squeezing a little to get the nerves out. “He came over on time and he looked so damn good. He still had on his shirt and slacks from work but when he was here he looked relaxed. There was an ease about him that he didn’t have at work.”
“He was sexy as hell. Got it.”
“Basically,” I giggled, hiding my face. I couldn’t remember the last time I giggled like a schoolgirl. Coco eyed me with a look that was half happiness and half faux disgust.
“Get to the juicy parts please because if I have to listen to you giggle like that one more time I’m going to sedate you.”
“Jesus, Coco. You’re so violent. Anyway, we had a delicious dinner. Instead of wine he brought iced tea so we drank that and sat on the couch.” My throat constricted as the inevitability of our kiss approached. “We got into this deep conversation about how I don’t feel beautiful anymore because of all the shit Jacob put me through and the next thing I knew…we were kissing.” My shoulder shrug was a gross understatement of my true feelings.
Coco’s eyes widened and she drank the last of her white wine. “He kissed you when you weren’t feeling beautiful.” Her words came out hushed and wrapped in awe. Like it was the sweetest thing she’d ever heard. Okay, itwaspretty damn sweet in hindsight.
“Yeah. Then it got weird and he backed off because you know…we work together and he’s my boss.” I exhaled and toyed with my fingers. “At first I was stunned by the entire moment. The fact that someone thought I was beautiful even though I feel like my trials and tribulations are written all over my face was beyond anything I could properly comprehend. But the kiss was like a drug. In that little bit of time we pulled away from each other, my mind replayed the feelings and sensations repeatedly until I kissed him.”
“So he tried to slow things down but your thirsty ass kissed him again?”
“I’ll be thirsty. That’s fine. Knight makes me float. I’d chase that feeling up a mountain.” The sun dotted kisses on my skin making my temperature rise. I pulled at the neck of my shirt and swallowed the desire thickening my throat. I wasn’t even in front of him and I was about to combust into a million embers and flames.
“Wow, that kiss has you open,” Coco said, shaking her head.
“I am not open. We kissed a few times and had dinner,” I mentioned nonchalantly.
“And went out for frozen yogurt. And you two have lunch together every day. And you’re the only person who knows about his struggle with addiction and he’s the only person outside of me and your mom that you talk to about Kaiden.” She paused briefly so her point landed and boy, did it ever. “So, like I said, that kiss has your ass open. It’s the gateway drug that’s going to lead to you fucking your boss. Didn’t I tell you I don’t recommend that?” She lifted an eyebrow at me and sighed.
“I don’t recommend it either but I’m not fucking him. A few kisses hardly insinuates we’ll be butt naked screwing all over the place.” A laugh slipped past my lips.
“You like him, Lumi and he likes you. At this point, telling you to nip it in the bud would be pointless. This shit has to run its course now.”
“What does that even mean? Run its course. Neither one of us is ready for a relationship right now.”
Coco rolled her eyes and took her plate and glass in the kitchen. When she came back she stood beside the couch with hands anchored to her curvy hips. The woman was built like an Amazon.
“Just because you aren’t ready doesn’t mean it’s not for you. Clearly, you two fit like puzzle pieces. I can see it, why can’t you? You and Knight are sharing things that are intimate as hell. I’ve never seen you like this over a man before and I get the feeling this is more than dick. Although, I’m not opposed to you being on the hunt for good dick because it’s hard to find.”
“How would you know? You’ve been married for fifteen years, Coco.” Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. She laughed and waved her hand at me, dismissing my comment.
“I know good dick is hard to find. That’s what I know.”
“Also, hard dick is good to find so…”
“I can’t argue with that.” We both fell into a fit of laughter. When she checked her watch, my lips dropped into a soft frown.
“Is your lunch break over already?”
“I still have to get back to work, so if I don’t want to be late, yeah. I’ll come over tonight. Luke and Andrew are having some father-son bonding time.”
“Knight is coming over to mount my TV later,” I told her, smiling.
“Oh…well excuse the hell out of me. Call me when you have a free moment. I want to know what you decide about this thing going on with you and Knight.”
“You’re supposed to help me figure it out!” I squeaked. She shot me a grin before grabbing her bag and walking toward the front door. We hugged before she left and I fussed at her for not helping me figure anything out. I was still at square one.
Before I came back in the house, I glanced at the small aster flower trying to grow beneath the dead weight of the bush on top of it. “You just want to be able to breathe again, don’t you?” I sighed, kneeling in the soft soil.
I tried to move the dead bush but it was stubborn. Its roots must have reached deep into the ground. I wondered if the roots of the bush were usurping the nutrients from the flower.
Something pushed me to scoop out handfuls of dirt until I unearthed the dense root system of the bush. At first, I thought the flower was a part of the bush but once I got down on the ground and looked at it, I realized the aster was growing on its own and the dead bush wasn’t a part of it at all. It made me want to work harder to free the struggling flower. It was the only burst of color in my drab yard. It might have been tiny but it was gorgeous. All it needed was fresh air and sunlight to stretch and grow.
