Page 19 of Husband Material
"It's being here...in Charleston." I popped a grape in my mouth and chewed. Swallowed. Giselle waited patiently for me to continue. "I think maybe I need a change...from some things I'd like to forget. I don't know all the answers, but I might want to leave at some point."
Giselle nodded understandingly. "Even if somewhere is our home, and we love it dearly, that does not mean that staying indefinitely is always right." The brown pools of her eyes reflecting the green boughs of the willow tree swaying all around us looked a bit sorrowful.
"Sounds like you know what you're talking about," I said.
"I suppose…" She began tracing the design in the pattern of the blanket with her fingers.
I closed my hand around hers, and when she looked up at me, I asked, "Why did you come here?"
Her lips parted, as if preparing to say something, but then she diverted her attention back to the picnic basket and said, "I do hope Ted has packed us something lovely for dessert."
She doesn't want to tell you.
So, I decided to leave her alone. After all, Giselle and I didn't really know each other, and I still hadn't even told her about…
"I was engaged. Recently."
She turned toward me, the intensity in her eyes understanding and questioning both at the same time. Why did I just say that to her? Was I trying to goad her into a sharing session where I would find out more about her?I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours,kind of thing?
Whatever the case, with her intelligent eyes resting on me now, there was no way to sidestep the truth. "It was a…mistake," I said carefully.
She pressed her pink lips together and nodded once, letting it drop.
It was a relief knowing that as far as the sharing game went, Giselle was willing to accept my silence if I was willing to accept hers. For now.But a part of me wants more.
"So, what about these for dessert?" I lifted a container of strawberries from the basket and handed it to her.
"I hope there are Twinkies to go with the strawberries," she said.
"Twinkies?"
"Yes, the small cakes in the shape of a tube with cream inside them. They taste good, no?" She looked sincere enough as she described what a Twinkie was, but so many times already…her wicked sense of humor had held the upper hand over me.
"I know what a Twinkie is, Giselle. But what I want to know…are you messing with me right now?" She had to be. A girl like her would not have a Twinkie addiction, would she? I really had no idea with her anymore. Teasing me was one of her best skills.
"No." She shook her head. "I have never tried a Twinkie, but I'd like to. I just thought maybe Ted would have"–she gestured toward the basket and shrugged—"you know, packed them for our dessert." She even looked mildly disappointed as she said, "It is fine if you don't have Twinkies today, but some time I do want to try one."
"If you've never had one, I'm not sure you're going to like them—but they might have Twinkies in the gift shop where they sell snacks. Want to wait here while I go try to find you some?" I guess you could say I'd officially lost my fuckin' mind, with no end in sight to the madness that seemed to overtake me when I was with her.Twinkies, dude.
Giselle shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest. "I think you will never learn, Gage Danielson, when I am teasing you, but I will keep testing my theory." She then broke into peals of laughter while trying to get the words out, "Twi—twink—twink-ieees…are j-just the m-most—oorri-blllle—"
I pounced before she could get the rest of words out, pressing her down to the blanket and tickling her until she shrieked, begging me to stop. "I think it's lucky for you I very much like your wicked teasing, Giselle Fleury, but I'll wise up eventually." What I really wanted was to kiss her senseless and then slide her silky dress up her legs, so I could take my sweet time making her shriek for another reason. But that wasn't exactly possible in public gardens so I made do with the smiling contest we were having instead.
"If you release me, I can make it worth your while."
With the sound of her sexy promise purring in my ears, I eased off her to lie on my side facing her. "I am intrigued."
Giselle put on one helluva sexy show as she pulled a glossy red strawberry out of the bowl and bit down slowly.
Then she brought her berry to my lips and pressed it against them. My eyes locked onto hers; I opened my mouth and bit down. As the sweet taste swept over my tongue, Giselle closed her eyes and sighed, "Strawberries…my favorite."
No sooner had she opened her eyes, she bit into another berry, again offering its smaller form to me. This time, I bit closer, my lips brushing her fingers and holding them there. She didn't move, or take her eyes off me.
And so, the game began. Each shared strawberry brought us closer together. Until there was only one last berry left, which I snatched out of her fingers before she could feed it to me.
I pressed it to her pouting lips this time. Her eyes lowered to the strawberry, then rose back to meet mine, unmoving as she slowly bit into it.
I kissed her just like that—with a strawberry in her mouth.
