Lots of Naughty & A Little Nice - Leigh Lennon Page 0,6
light of the situation, and I’m afraid he thought I was upset.”
He did think that, but then again, Ro may be great at a million things, but reading people isn’t one of them. “Nah, he got it.”
She rewards me with a sweet smile, her radiant whites shining through. She gives me a wink, one I’ll hold onto, because after only ten minutes in her presence, I know she’s someone special.
Our house is immaculate because it’s what others see. However, our garage is an utter pigsty. We’ll never have room to park in it. Between my art supplies and Rowan’s dinosaur toys, I seldom open the electric door but enter the garage through the side. I know exactly where the extra chairs are that I’ve offered to our new neighbors for the night, but I’m not sure how to get to them.
After moving a couple of boxes out of the way—which, ironically, are our Christmas decorations—I know I can’t blame this whole mess on Rowan. When I’d moved into my own gallery, I had grand plans to create a studio in the garage—but reality doesn’t always line up with what actually happens. Looking at boxes marked T-Rex fossils, I hear the door squeak behind me, warning me of my man’s arrival.
My face snaps to his presence in the room. With slumped shoulders, he’s not meeting my gaze. Yeah, Rowan feels like shit because he’s not a social person. He has a love for dinosaurs as I do with modern art. As a child, his love turned into a passion that led to years of study and the PhD he now holds in the subject.
“What are you looking for?” Hearing his voice’s pitch, I know he’s reverting to the past when he was bullied for not being what some coined the normal kid. However, you show me normal, and I’ll show you pigs who fly.
“Ro, baby. Please don’t do that.” Seeing him hurt makes me want to cry. So often, I’ve had to build him back up. Rowan doesn’t understand social cues. He still hurts, especially when he messes up.
“She hates me, right?” His eyes are glossed over. Ro doesn’t have many friends outside of the ones we share together. Never mind the fact his genius level has him inadvertently speaking over people’s heads, but many in his field are envious because he can do more than any of his colleagues can.
“She didn’t seem upset, hon. She’s funny, and it’s what she was attempting to be with you.” He doesn’t pick up on humor unless I’m the one teasing him. “Anyway,” I continue, changing the subject, “I’m ordering her sister and her Thai for delivery. She was quite taken with the bottle of wine I’d given her, and I’m attempting to make my way to the chairs and air mattresses over there.” My fingers point at the metal chairs I’ve used in the past for art lessons.
He’s instantly behind me, helping displace boxes to clear a path to the wall on the other side of the garage where the chairs hang. As he approaches me, my arms circle his neck. He’s taller than me by at least three inches, and I step on my tippy toes, connecting my mouth to his. “I know she hates me.” He rests his head against mine.
“No, not at all. As a matter of fact, she seemed a little upset to know you were taken.” This piques his curiosity. “And she couldn’t keep her stare off me, but who can?” He takes this joke because he’s heard it so many times. Plus, it’s me. He tilts his frown into the beautiful smile I love.
Through his thick glasses, I’m lost in his blue eyes—so clear and so deep with love. “I love you. No matter what, I’m here always.” With my words, he leans into my embrace.
“I love you so much, Knox. You piece me back together whenever I want to fall apart.” These are his exact words every time he melts down about not fitting in with ordinary people.
“Remember, Ro, ordinary was so 1990.” This is my response to him. This, as always, causes him to chuckle, and the pain from his past, which washes up often, subsides in my joke.
Our maze continues until we finally make our way to the wall with the chairs. “See, I couldn’t do this without you, Ro.” From the tic of his jaw, I can tell he’s chewing something over in his mind. “What’s going on in your brilliant and wonderful