Page 130 of Off Camera
Oh. I see it now.
Thank you for trusting me enough to do that.
Me
Thank you for being trustworthy. I’m on my way over.
Reid
Can’t wait to see you, beauty queen.
Reid opensthe door to his apartment before I can knock. I’m greeted with a shirtless chest and gray joggers that sit low on his hips. I look him up and down, and an appreciative sound works its way out of me at the sight of bare skin and lean muscles.
“Festive,” I say. “I see the resemblance between you and Santa. Can I sit on your lap?”
“Obviously.” Reid closes the door behind me. “Is it cold out there?”
I shrug off my coat and hang it on the hook on the wall. “It’s fucking freezing. It took me forever to get here because of Metro delays. It’s our third snow of the season and people still don’t know how to act.”
“That explains the snowflakes in your hair.” He tugs off my beanie and touches the long strands I straightened before coming over. “We’re driving to Dallas and Maven’s, so you won’t be stuck underground again today.”
“Thank goodness. I was starting to feel claustrophobic down there.” I unzip my boots and kick them off. “Merry Christmas, Reid.”
“Merry Christmas, Ave,” he says, dropping a kiss to my forehead like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
He’s been more affectionate lately, I’ve noticed. We used to only kiss when we were having sex. Now, he sneaks one in from time to time.
When I’m falling asleep. When he gets to my apartment late, caught up in a meeting and behind schedule. After he picks up our dinner plates and puts them in the dishwasher.
It’s almost second nature at this point, and I’ve come to crave the physical contact.
The graze of his pinky when we’re at Maverick’s for team dinner. The way his knee presses into my thigh when we’re out with our friends and squished together around a table. His palm on the small of my back when he passes me in the hallway. There’s plenty of room to sneak by without touching, but he touches me anyway.
It’s always small, subtle gestures, but they make my heart skip a beat.
He’s whispered filthy things in my ear. Sent pictures of his hand wrapped around himself and using my underwear to get off. Fucked me in every position imaginable, yet the brush of his hand has me grinning like a girl with a crush.
“Is it present time?” I ask.
“Someone’s eager. Let’s go to the living room. That’s where your gifts are.”
I follow him through his apartment and spot an envelope on the coffee table. It’s next to a small package with a red bow, and I wonder if Reid wrapped it himself. I sit on the couch and look up at him.
“You first,” I say, smiling as I hand over the box I’ve been guarding with my life.
It’s been hiding in my closet since it arrived last month, buried under a stack of coats and old pairs of jeans. He’s never snooped through my stuff, but on the off chance he decided to rummage through my things, I didn’t want him to find it.
Reid takes the present and peels back the tape. He’s slow with his unwrapping, careful to not rip the paper. I wait withbated breath, suddenly nervous about what his reaction might be.
With all of the paper off, he stares at the large box. His mouth pops up, and he holds up the gift, as if I haven’t been staring at it for weeks.
“Is this—” He stares at the present and shakes his head. “Avery. How the fuck did you—I can’t—where?—”
“Malcolm is a huge LEGO fan too,” I say. “When I did my interview with him, he spent fifteen minutes talking about some of his favorite creations. I mentioned I had a friend who was equally obsessed, and he asked about your dream set. He pulled some strings and was able to snag two Millennium Falcons for me before they went live to the public. I might owe him my first born child and a kidney, but it was worth it.”
“I—I waited in the queue online, but I was too late,” Reid whispers. He traces over letters on the box and clutches it to his chest. He lifts his chin, and his eyes meet mine. “I checked resale sites, and they were five times the cost of the original purchase price. I couldn’t bring myself to splurge on one. You’re telling me you havetwo?”
“I do, and they’re both for you. I figured you could put one together for your display case and keep the other in the box. I’m not a collector, but that has to be worth something one day, right? Maybe not. I don’t know, but?—”
