Page 13 of Getting the Grinder
I head for the lounge, hoping tonight is better than last night.
Chapter Five
Leo
* * *
“How was your day, dear?” I ask Mara when I hear her coming in through the kitchen.
Her answering glare is less withering than usual. I improvised a workout after she went to work earlier, the three animals watching me do push-ups, squats and lunges and licking my face anytime they saw an opening. Then we took a nap and I felt much more human after.
“Darling’s doing fine,” I say. “Caroline came over and checked on him. You don’t have to stay if you need some sleep.”
She sighs, her shoulders dropping. “No, I’ll stay. I’m too tired to drive home.”
Glancing around the room, she pinches her brows together, looking confused. “It doesn’t smell anymore. And the couch is clean.”
I lift a shoulder in a shrug, bringing back my caveman impression. “Me not dumbass.”
Her eyes glimmer with amusement. “I never said you’re a dumbass.”
“You just imply it by calling me a caveman and saying I can’t spell three-letter words.”
For once, she doesn’t argue. She must really be tired.
“I need to get out of this house,” I say. “I’ll go pick up something for dinner.”
“Okay, let me change clothes first.”
She returns a few minutes later, dressed in leggings, a red T-shirt and slippers. Guess she and Suki are the same size.
“If I give you some money, will you pick up something for me?” she asks.
She’s looking over her shoulder at me while pulling her hair back into a ponytail, the bottom of her T-shirt rising and giving me a better view of her phenomenal ass.
“Um, no.” I force my gaze away and onto her face.
“Really? You’re going to be that much of an asshole?”
“No. Sorry. What I meant was you don’t need to give me any money. Just tell me what you want. You can pick the place since you kept our community safe from speeders all day.”
Noodle is sniffing her feet, and she bends down to pick him up, snuggling him to her chest and kissing the top of his head. “At least someone around here is nice to me, Noods. Don’t be mean to women like he is.”
I smile. “Please. You’re the queen of mean. Now what do you want for dinner?”
“A cheese quesadilla and two steak tacos from that Mexican place we all went to a few weeks ago. With a big side of guac. And also a brownie.”
In addition to being hot, Mara’s also a foodie. I’ve always secretly liked that about her. She doesn’t order half salads when we go out to eat, like some women I know.
“Where do you want the brownie from?”
She shrugs. “It doesn’t matter. I’d rather have one with walnuts and frosting, but I’ll take what I can get.”
I’ve spent a lot of time with Mara. I’ve seen her in fancy gowns, hockey jerseys and jeans, swimsuits, and even nothing that one time for a few seconds. But we’re always with other people. I’ve never been around her without at least Carter and Suki there, and usually, Bash, Lainey, Dex, Harry, and the girls. Looking at her right now, in her casual after-work outfit, and talking about what we’re having for dinner feels intimate somehow.
It's been a long time since I picked up dinner for a woman. I like my single life, and I have no plans to settle down anytime soon. But for a flicker of a moment, I wonder if Mara and I could have been something different if I hadn’t walked in on her in the bathroom.
“The queen of mean is going to be a raging bitch if I don’t eat soon,” she snaps, breaking me out of my daze.
