Page 12 of His Forever

“Yes, unless something changes for you, I’ll see you then.”

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Walking her back over to his father’s car, he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers, giving hers a gentle squeeze. When she looked at him he pulled her closer in a side hug and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.”

“For what? She set out to deliberately embarrass you and that isnotokay in my book! She keeps it up and I will advise her to find someone else to take care of her skin!”

“Now, mi siempre hermosa, don’t cut your nose off to spite your face,” he told her.

“No. You and I…hell, I don’t know what we are, but at the very least, we are becoming friends, right? And I don’t stand for other people treating my friends like they’re less than!”

He chuckled at the vehemence in her voice. He knew she had a spirited sassy side and hearing her now, he was seeing it in all its glory. As they reached the car, she let his hand go and got the keys out to unlock the door. He turned her and without saying anything else, leaned down and pulled her into his body, cupping her face with one of his hands and stroking a thumb down her cheek. “Zeus?”

“Mi siempre hermosa, want to kiss you, okay?” he asked her as he lowered his lips to hers.

Wowshe thought as his lips gently caressed hers, causing all kinds of sparks to shoot through her brain. He kept it light but she felt every inch of his lips on hers and lost herself to the sensations. Before she knew it, he pulled back slightly and ran his thumb over her lips. “I’ve wanted to do that for days and would have waited until our first date, but this way, it takes that stress out of the way.”

Hearing his words and processing them, she started to giggle. Shehadbeen worried over whether or not he would try to kiss her Friday night and now? She wasn’t worried. “You were stressed?” she asked him teasingly.

“No, mi siempre hermosa, you women stress about that kind of thing. We just hope it’s not like kissing a sibling.”

“And is it? Will I forever be in the friend zone?”

The look he gave her promised things she wasn’t ready to think about as he leaned close to her ear and whispered, “You’ll be in the super friend zone, mi siempre hermosa. What that means is we will always be friends and eventually, when you’re ready, much more.”

Holy shit.That growly raspy voice does things to my guts and makes me want to throw caution to the wind!

“Hmm, I kind of like the thought of being in the super friend zone, Zeus. Someday, right?”

“Si, someday. You are not ready, mi siempre hermosa, and I am a patient man. Speaking of, I know you have to head home, have you had a chance to enjoy the swing yet?”

“Oh my goodness, yes, last night I sat out there for a little while. I need to think of a way to protect it so the cats can come out and enjoy the fresh air without fear of them running off,” she told him.

“Would you mind if I joined you this evening? I’ll bring the drinks if you tell me what you’d like.”

“I don’t mind, no, but I need a shower and to feed the cats first. And I like fruity wine coolers mostly.”

“Will an hour be long enough do you think?”

“Probably so and if not, you go ahead and sit, I’ll be out once I’m done, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he told her before he stole another quick kiss from her.

Chapter Five

As she showered she thought about Zeus and how she felt. She knew she liked him, hell, his touch alone set her on fire in ways that no one else had ever done. He had shown her each time they were together who he was and she knew he was kind and compassionate, but not a pushover. He was obviously more than a “mechanic” she thought, thinking of what Chandra had told her earlier in the day. There was no way he could be a successful business owner if all he knew to do was turn a wrench. Leaning back to rinse the conditioner out of her hair, she thought of his kiss and the promise she felt behind it.Ah, I sure hope things continue like thisshe thought as she wrung the water out of her hair. Stepping out of the shower, she quickly dried off then slipped on some shorts and a tank top. Walking through the house, she called out to the cats and then got them fresh wet food and water. As she was headed back into her room to get a brush, she heard a knock on her door. Opening it, she smiled up at Zeus and motioned for him to come in, saying, “I need to grab my brush and comb this nightmare out.”

He smiled at her as he stood there. Seeing the cats, he asked, “Who is who?”

“The calico colored one is Nabisco, she’s deaf, but a total lovebug. The orange and white one is Harry and he’s a hot mess,” she replied from her room.

Nabisco, seeing a possible head scratch in her future, walked over to him and wound herself around his legs, meowing loudly. He crouched down and began petting her, causing her to flop over on her side and start purring. “Ah, what a pretty girl you are,” he told the deaf kitty. “I see why your momma talks to you even though you cannot hear her.”

Marleigh, coming out of her room, saw him talking to Nabisco and her heart melted a little more. She had adopted her from a rescue group after the cat was returned by another adopter and started to lose weight when the other cats in the household bullied her. It had taken less than a day for the sweet little calico to start sleeping curled up against her and she slowly regained the weight she had lost. “Hey! I see you’ve met Miss Motor. She may not be able to hear but she’s plenty loud enough, that’s for sure.”

“She’s a beautiful cat, mi siempre hermosa, and it’s obvious that you take good care of them both,” he told her, looking at the sleek orange and white male she had referred to as Harry. “He seems mischievous.”

“You have no idea! C’mon, let’s go out to the swing. Do you need an iced glass or anything?”

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