Page 211 of Mountain Grump
I take off the lid and pull out one of the watermelon-flavored gummies.
Tilda grins when I put it in my mouth.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She doesn’t stop grinning. “I’m just really excited for this.”
“Good.”
“Do you want to put your pajamas on?”
I look at her chest, then back up at her. “Do you want me to put pajamas on?”
I don’t actually have pajamas, so I don’t know what I’ll do if she says yes. I just wore sleep pants at the cabin because it was our first time sleeping together. Normally I just wear my boxer briefs.
Tilda shrugs. “You don’t have to. I just changed before I took my edible because I didn’t want to forget how.”
“Forget how to do what?”
“Put pajamas on.” She says it so seriously.
I nod back just as seriously. “If I forget, you can help me.”
She agrees.
We go back to talking about food, and I plate us each a heaping pile of peanut noodles.
And as we eat and talk and smile, I feel my own lids lower.
I feel my body getting a little heavier.
And I feel so good having Tilda this close.
She tells me how delicious the noodles are. She tells me more about that baking show she likes. And… I feel like I’ve known her all my life.
I get up and put our dishes in the sink. She gets up to follow.
I face her. “Turn the music on.”
Tilda doesn’t question me. She just does it.
The speaker crackles to life.
I don’t recognize the music, but it doesn’t matter. It’s upbeat.
Feels good.
I grip Tilda’s hand and take her with me as I walk around, flipping off light switches.
The sun is nearly down, so the house is dark. But the glow of the TV flickers through the room.
With the lights off and the door locked, I walk us to the couch and sit in the center.
Tilda starts to sit beside me, but I stop her.
“Don’t sit there.” I grip the hem of my T-shirt and drag it up over my head. Bare from the waist up, I lean against the back cushion and undo my jeans. Then I smooth my hands down my thighs. “Sit on my lap.”
Tilda is moving toward me before I finish my command.
