Page 97 of Awaiting

“So, you bought an entire cheesecake for me?”

“Well, we’re here for the whole weekend. You can have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you’d like.”

“Where’s your dessert?”

“I’ll make tea,” Alex said.

“Well, I know you like strawberries, so at least eat one of these?” Bexley forked a berry whole and held the fork over the candle in the middle of the table.

She watched as Alex leaned in and opened her mouth, and she swallowed hard when Alex took the berry off the fork with her teeth. As Alex chewed, Bexley thought about those teeth nibbling on her skin while Alex stared at her and licked her lips.

“Delicious,” she said.

“Yeah,” Bexley replied.

“I should put another log on the fire. I’ll be right back.”

“Let me do that. You start your tea,” Bexley said, standing up.

“I’m supposed to be taking care ofyouthis weekend, sweetheart.”

Bexley smiled at the term of endearment as she walked to the fireplace.

“I won’t tell anyone thatyoumade tea whileIkept us warm. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Can I help keep you warm when you’re done with your dessert?” Alex asked.

Bexley wasn’t sure what she’d meant by that until after she’d finished a delicious cheesecake and Alex had made them both tea. Alex sat on the sofa. Bexley joined her, and Alex wrapped a blanket over both of them, causing Bexley to practically fall into her side.

“This is nice, Alex,” she said softly.

“I don’t have a television, and the Internet works but is spotty here. If you’re bored, we could pull out your computer and see if we can get a movie or something.”

“I’m not bored,” Bexley replied. “Nothing about this is boring.” She snuggled into Alex’s side and breathed in her woodsy scent, which was likely due to the fire roaring in front of them.

Alex kissed the top of her head.

“I like when you do that.”

“You do?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” she said, smiling into Alex’s chest.

“I do, too,” Alex said.

“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Bexley asked, tugging Alex closer to her by the hand over Alex’s middle.

“More of this,” Alex said softly.

Bexley smiled and asked, “Anything else?”

“We can take the boat out.”

“You have a boat, too?”

“It’s just a small sailboat. I don’t take it out too far, and it’s way too cold, so I don’t know that we should. There’s nowhere to keep warm.”

“You seem pretty warm,” Bexley replied. “I could stand next to you.”

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