Page 41 of Accidentally Forever
“Pretty sure that was me,” he mumbled.
I finally took off my boots and skirt, and reached for a tank top and tiny shorts to sleep in. Crew and I usually slept naked, but I really didn’t want to walk around my kitchen that way.
“Crap.” I paused.
“What?” Crew asked as he pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants he had left here a few nights ago.
“I’m going to have to scrub my kitchen. My family eats in there sometimes.”
He rolled his eyes and left me alone in the bedroom. “I’ll go get the bleach,” he called out.
“You know we had to scrub your living room last time,” I replied.
“True. I have a cleaning team that comes in but I’m not about to have them clean up after orgasms.”
I shivered. “No, thank you.”
Crew pulled out two forks, and then gestured for me to sit at the breakfast bar. I hopped on the barstool, and he took a seat beside me as the two of us opened the cartons and began eating.
“This feels so domestic,” I teased.
“It’s food. And talking. So sure.” He rolled his eyes, but I saw the blush on his cheeks. This was different forCrew as well—whatever this was. So who knew what we’d do with this.
I licked the whipped cream off my fork, before setting it down and hopping off the chair.
“Where you are going?” he asked, a frown on his face.
“I forgot I got you something.”
“It’s not my birthday. Is it because I made you come? Because I think you owe me a few more gifts.”
I rolled my eyes and pulled out the box I had put together earlier that day, and feeling suddenly self-conscious, I handed it over without looking at him. Then I hopped back on the barstool and took a huge bite of dessert.
Crew gave me a weird look, and then pulled the top of the box open, his eyes widening.
“I forgot you took this,” he whispered.
He set the fork down and looked over at the photo I had given him. I didn’t do portraits often, because it wasn’t my specialty—it was my dad’s. But I couldn’t help doing this one.
It was from our picnic in the mountains, when Crew had been laughing, and then glaring at me. I had somehow caught the in-between moments, when he was just himself. With the mountains and green trees behindhim, and just that look in his eyes that said it was the two of us.
I put it in a dark frame and adjusted the color a bit so his eyes stood out, so it wasn’t fully black and white.
“You do damn good work, Montgomery.”
“It helps that the subject is pretty.”
He snorted. “Pretty, my ass.”
“Well, your ass is also pretty.” I paused, self-conscious. “I don’t know…I just wanted you have it. It’s just a gift. A token.”
He met my gaze, but he didn’t smirk like he usually would have in the past. Instead he leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. “Thank you. I have some of your artwork in my place, but I always want more. I’m greedy like that.”
I bit my lip and leaned back into my seat. “You always make me believe I can do more. Without making me feel as if I’m doing less.”
He stared at me for a moment, before finally setting down the photo and pulling me into his lap. “You have always been spectacular, Aria Montgomery. Even when I pretended to hate you. So you are going to have to get used to the fact that I believe in you. Got it?”
For some reason tears pricked my eyes again, and I leaned into his hold, letting him cradle me. “This meansI get to have one of your paintings in my place though, right?” I teased, needing to lighten the moment.
