Page 28 of Happily Ever Laughter

It takes us two trips in the elevator to haul all of her purchases from the van to her kitchen. She refuses my help putting things away, since I don’t know where things should go, and her space is admittedly a bit small for two. I lounge on her couch and check my email while she shuffles things around.

“Hey, there’s a message from Gretchen.”

Tanis spins to face me, her eyes tense. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course,” I say quickly. “Jeez – take a breath.”

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry. I’m just…I really hope they like everything.”

“They do. There’s a thank you email passed along from the editors. They’re relieved that we gave them some extra clips. Turns out they likely do need half of one more.”

She breathes a huge sigh of relief. “Okay. Good.”

“Hey. Come here for a minute.”

She sets down the last two cans of black beans, then as soon as she’s within reach, I pull her into my lap. “Do I have to kiss the nervousness out of you? Because I will if I have to.”

My intent to be funny is apparently taken seriously, as she melts into my shoulder. “You’re right. Sometimes I’m too high strung. I’m just used to things going south and fading away, I guess.”

“There’s no guarantee with jobs, especially creative jobs. Sometimes it gets down to the wire, and the whole thing gets scrapped. I can’t protect you from that. All we can do is try to learn not to take it personally, and book another job as quickly as possible.”

As I stroke her back gently, I realize she’s drooping against me. “Are you tired, baby?”

“Just a little,” she says. “I’m used to taking it easy on the weekends, not all of this running around.”

“Are you hungry?”

She shakes her head. “I’m fine. Those sandwiches we had from the deli were huge.”

I simply hold her for a few moments, looking around her space. Books and knickknacks and plants and photos, all jumbled together to create her home. I could spend hours here, studying the things she’s read and what she watches to try to get my mind around how wonderful she is.

But my wicked eyes keep snapping back to the pink and purple bed in the corner.

Glancing at the old-fashioned wooden clock on the nightstand, I see that it’s only nine-twenty, but she really does seem tired.

“Maybe I should tuck you into bed and leave,” I whisper against her ear.

Her hand grips my t-shirt. “No. I mean…maybe you could stay?” She looks up at me hopefully, then snaps her eyes shut. “Sorry, you’re probably busy early tomorrow.”

“Not in the slightest. Dan will forgive me if I work out around noon instead of seven am. Trust me.”

“Really?”

I want to tell her that she’s worth canceling the entire world for. Worth climbing mountains, or doing absolutely anything just to care for her.

Instead, I kiss her cautiously, waiting for her to show me how much heat she wants.

It doesn’t take long before her lips part, her tongue darting out to explore my mouth. Her hands roam all over my shoulders and chest, then latch at the back of my neck to pull me deeper.

Slipping my hands up her back, I need to feel her skin without fabric in the way. But I don’t want to rush her, or think that I’m pushing for more.

It’s enough that I’m letting my emotions totally rule my every thought. I already want to tell her I love her. Need to press the words into her lips with mine.

“Tanis, I would love to undress you and taste you again, but if you’re tired or don’t want to do that again so soon, that’s totally fine.”

She pulls back just enough to stare into my eyes. “I feel like I’m supposed to wait longer for more, but I don’t want to.”

“You should do absolutely anything that feels right for you, sweetheart.” I love the way her eyes light up when I call her that.

---