Page 69 of Contingently Yours
“You good?” I inquire, flopping back on the bed and motioning to his lower half with my chin.
If I went too far, I want to know. I realize I have no idea what the aftereffects might feel like for him.
“Yeah,” he’s quick to answer. “Yeah, everything’s…fine.” Wiping ourselves off in silence, he adds offhandedly, “Kind of glad I didn’t eat much.”
It’s a welcome bit of amusement and has me making a mental note for next time. “Well, don’t forget. We have cake.”
His eyes light up as they flick to the table. “That sounds really good, actually.”
“Not complaining about my snacking anymore, huh?” I tease, bumping his shoulder with mine.
I remember another surprise I have and reach for my phone, pulling up the tickets from Mason. When I explain the reason for the gift, he pinches his eyes shut and lets out a puff of breath.
“So, make sure you put me on your calendar for Wednesday,” I inform him casually.
“You…want to go with me?”
Why does he look surprised? Who in the heck else would he take to a monster truck rally?
“Are you planning on taking your other boyfriend?”
Smirking, he chuckles, but then his expression falls as he stares at the screen of my phone. “Ah, crap,” he whispers under his breath. “That’s the night of the bachelor party.”
Is he serious?
“You’re actually fucking going to that?”
Frowning, he looks away in thought. “Yeah. I want to be there for the guys.”
I know he means his new brothers-in-law to be, but has he forgotten that bachelor parties are for men? I know what other man in his life is going to be there—the dreaded ex-best friend who stole his girl. Again, he’s a better man than I if he wants to put up with that for a night.
Stowing my phone back on the nightstand, I console myself with the knowledge that I can easily find tickets to a different show to surprise him with some other time. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Look at me, wanting to book a night of monster trucks in my future.
Sighing, I relax and run my hand over a dry patch of soft hair on his stomach. “Well, if you come to your senses, you could take a wrong turn on your way there down Arlie Lane instead.”
He shoots me a questioning look. Is it because my hand is venturing into post-coital cuddling territory, or does he not know where I live? I guess I never realized the latter. “House three-oh-two,” I clarify, waggling my eyebrows. “I stay up late.”
He stares at me for a moment. A strange, sickening sensation builds in my chest. I’m about to pull my hand away, wondering if I’ve just been shot down, but he glances at his stomach and gingerly covers my hand with his. It feels good and right, that simple touch, especially when his thumb brushes over my knuckle.
“What are we doing?”
I barely hear the question because it’s mumbled so softly. His gaze is still fixed on our hands, but his thumb has stopped its stroking. I nearly forgot about that nervous brain of his, how it mulls over details. Is it years of looking out for two baby sisters that have him primed to prepare for disaster around every turn, or was it the war? It’s so foreign to me. I wait for disasters to happen and then roll with them. This…us, is not a disaster. It’s…just good, and I want to keep it that way.
“Getting along?” I throw out cheekily with a grin.
He seems to process that for a moment, gaze shifting to the ceiling, and he bites his lower lip. “Um. I’ve got to pick up relatives from the airport the next day, but maybe we could get lunch or something on Friday before I have to go to the rehearsal dinner.” Glancing at me, he elaborates, “Celebrate the closings?”
I kind of thought what we just did was our celebration, but I’ll take whatever excuse Lucas needs for us to get together again. I suppose navigating our new normal back in North Carolina might seem a little uncertain. Hell, this is new for me, too. Inever even saw Veronica this frequently, and she’s the closest thing I came to having something like a relationship.
“The fifth?” I clarify, already excited about it.
“Yeah.”
The fifth… Why does that date stick out? Fuck.
Sighing, I scrub at my eyes. “Ah, I can’t. I’ve got a family luncheon thing. I’ve been threatened into not missing it. Plus,” I add, shooting him a smile, “I should probably thank Shaw and Terry for the lifeline in person.”
Okay, maybe it’s a little embarrassing to admit that I’ll be thinking about him when I’m not with him, but I’m trying to let him know I’m not blowing him off on purpose. He picks up on my insinuation, and his face goes an adorable shade of red.
