Page 70 of Thanks for the Memories
We both grow silent—the only sound is coming from the waterfall. Without any warning, Jeremy moves over and sits next to me on the chair. He gently places his hand on my cheek, and in one motion moves his face toward mine. My lips part as he presses his against mine. Within a few seconds my hands are wrapped around his neck, pulling his body toward me. He doesn’t resist, leaning me back onto the lounge chair. My mind is completely clear, free of worry or confusion. As he continues to kiss me, my body tingles from head to toe.
Maybe this backyard is truly magical. After a few glorious minutes he pauses and runs his fingers through my hair.
“Blondie, I can’t believe it’s taken you this long to make out with me,” he whispers in my ear, sending shivers through my body.
“Well, the last time you stopped it,” I remind him.
“Yeah, that wasn’t one of my finer moments,” he scoffs. “But in my defense, I’ve been bringing you donuts for months and you never had this kind of reaction.”
I wrap my arms around his neck.
“So, you’re saying you’ve been trying to woo me with donuts?”
“Maybe,” he says nonchalantly. “And the abs.”
I laugh while he pushes a strand of hair out of my face.
“Now what?” he asks. “Is this something you might want to explore?”
Yes!
“I’m not trying to put you on the spot,” he adds.
“What about you?” I ask, deflecting.
He gives me a coy smile. “I brought you donuts, didn’t I?”
“So that’s been your plan the whole time?”
He puts his finger to his lips. “Blondie, I can’t give away all my secrets.”
I slide closer to him. “Please.”
He pretends to glare at me. “Oh, you’re not playing fair.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say innocently.
“Yes, you do,” he says pulling me on top of him. He places his hand on the back of my head and gently moves it toward his.
Gah! How have I gone so long working closely with this man and not realized what was right in front of me? I feel like I’m seeing a whole other side of him, and I really like it.
“To answer your question,” he says in between kisses, “I’d really like to explore this if you do.”
This is exactly what I was hoping he’d say.
Chapter Nineteen
Ihold out the donut box to my roommates, and both of them choose a glazed one.
“I told you the backyard is magical,” Gabby says before taking a bite. “Look at me and Theo. We first laid eyes on each other out there.”
Lila scrunches her nose. She always gets a little cringey when it comes to discussing Theo, but she’s so much better than she used to be.
“So how did you and Jeremy end things?” Lila asks, licking sugar glaze off her finger.
I smile. “We’re both open to taking the next step. And more importantly, we agreed to keep it quiet at the office for now.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Lila says.
