Page 72 of Touch Me

He opens a text from Max, and it’s a picture of a dark-haired, blue-eyed little girl and Henry. Henry’s in a pink tutu and tiara, and the little girl is standing next to him in a full, pink princess gown, complete with a scepter and crown.

“Oh my gosh. This must be Mattie. She’s adorable. And Henry in a tutu? Is that what you bought her for her birthday?”

He looks so proud, chest out and preening from the praise. “I knew she’d get a kick out of it.”

Oh, my heart. Or is that my ovaries?

Can you spontaneously ovulate?

I think that just happened.

“Well, you did a wonderful job. It looks like it was the perfect gift.”

Smiling from ear to ear, he pockets his phone. “Thanks.”

“When can we see Henry again? I miss the big guy.”

“I’ll ask Max. I’m sure it won’t be a problem if we go and see them or bring him home for a few days.”

“Oh, that sounds great.”

“Alright, I’m gonna take a quick shower.”

While he's gone, I resume my work making dinner. The kitchen is soon filled with the delicious aroma of freshly sauteed chicken, onion, and peppers. My mouth waters as I set the table, placing tortillas, salsa, sour cream, and cheese out for us to easily assemble our fajitas.

“That smells amazing.” Jace takes a noticeable sniff of the air.

The last month or so has been both more and less comfortable. On the one hand, Jace opens up more, even initiating conversations. On the other hand, I’ve caught some suggestive looks coming from him, and I’m not sure what to do with that. I know the touching experiment went all wrong, and there’s no chance I’ll broach the subject again. I’ve also been more mindful of my proximity at all times. I don’t want any accidental occurrences, as those seem to be more traumatic.

But sometimes the way he looks at me...gah!I just want to rip his clothes off. On a completely unrelated topic, did you know you can get a twenty-four-pack of batteries online for half the cost than the grocery store?

Just as an aside.

“There should be enough for leftovers. Or we could make a plate of nachos later if we watch any TV.”

“Awesome. So how was your day?” Jace asks, around a mouthful of Mexican cheesiness.

“Funny you should ask. It was weird. There’s this floor supervisor, Mark, who really gives me the creeps. He got all up in my bubble today.”

Jace freezes mid-chew, hands poised halfway between his plate and his mouth. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he leaned over the back of my chair, and boxed me in. I had to slither down in my seat so he didn’t actually touch me.”

Jace resumes chewing, but with a little more aggression this time.

Crap.

The last thing I meant to do is upset him or put him in a bad mood when my future pretty much rests in his hands. There’s no way I can ask him now.

“It’s no big deal. He’s just the resident weirdo. Everyone knows to stay away from him. But he has close connections to the Arts Department, so he could make or break my career at some point. Like, if I upset him in any way, he could blacklist me. There’s this gallery opening I really want to cover, and he has a hand in who’s chosen.”

With every word I spew, Jace’s face gets redder and redder and a sweat breaks out on his upper lip.

Abort, abort.

“I need to be careful, is all. Make sure I don’t put myself in a position to need anything from him.”

Ding, ding, ding.

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