What If You & Me (Say Everything #2) - Roni Loren Page 0,63
She could feel the first fingers of anxiety trying to reach into her brain.
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I don’t need you to do anything. I’m a grown man. I won’t die from a hard-on.” He reached to the other side of the couch and grabbed her shirt. He handed it back to her. “Here, you’re shivering.”
Gratitude moved through her. Somehow he’d sensed she needed some armor back. She tugged her shirt on, not bothering with finding her bra. “Thanks.”
He helped her climb off his lap and found his own shirt hanging off her shelf of DVDs. He pulled it over his head and then joined her back on the couch. He gave her an evaluating look. “You sure you’re okay?”
She lifted her hand and pinched the air between her thumb and forefinger, offering him a small smile. “I may be freaking out just a little bit. But not because of you. You were… That was…great. You’re an excellent…experiment buddy.”
He laughed, his eyes crinkling with it. “Your dirty talk is on point, Lockley.”
She snorted, but the little joke eased some of the tension coursing through her. She didn’t need to overthink this. Hill had made her feel good, and he’d kept his promise, letting her take the lead on things and not pushing for anything more. She leaned over and kissed him gently. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Thank you for trusting me. And for a great movie night.”
“What movie did we watch again?” she asked. “I can’t seem to remember a thing that happened before the last half hour.”
He smirked. “Good. That’s called a job well done.”
“We should do this again,” she said, forcing herself to be brave. “The movie and the making out. And possibly you cooking more things for me.”
He lifted a finger and pointed. “I didn’t cook. You did. Your taco-making skills are top-notch now.”
Her lips curved. “That’s because you’re a great teacher.” She lifted a brow. “You know how I get when I talk about horror movies and books? How I get all fast-talking and excited?”
He gave her an affectionate look. “Hard to miss.”
“Well, that’s how you are when you’re talking about food,” she said. “You’re a complete cooking geek. It’s kind of adorable.”
“Nah,” he said dismissively. “Horror’s your passion. Cooking’s just something I learned how to do.”
“Bullshit.” She poked his shoulder. “You waxed poetic about tomatoes and flank steak. You don’t just like cooking. You nerd out about it. And you like teaching other people about it.”
He grabbed the finger she’d poked him with and kissed the tip of it. “Maybe I just like teaching you. You’re pretty and a very good student.”
She put her hand to her chest. “Well, obviously I am an absolute joy to teach, but I think this has much less to do with my charming ability to start fires in the kitchen and more with your natural ability to teach.” She nodded toward him. “You should do more of that. You could do online videos or something.”
A wrinkle appeared between his brows. “Of me cooking?”
“Yeah, teaching people to cook. Lord knows a lot of people are in need of it.” She gave him an up-and-down look. “Plus, you’d look damn good in an apron. People would watch you.”
He scoffed. “No, they wouldn’t. I’m not a chef. The TV and internet are full of professionals showing people how to cook. I’m just some dude who used to cook for his fellow firefighters.”
“But that’s what makes you perfect. You’re self-taught. You break it down for people like me because you used to be someone like me. And you make down-to-earth food.”
He gave her a skeptical look. “Thanks for the suggestion. But how about I stick to teaching you for now?”
She narrowed her eyes, an idea coming to her, but she tucked it away in the For Later Consideration folder in her brain. “Fine. I will accept my own private chef lessons for now.” She tucked her knees beneath her. “But give it some thought. Life’s too short not to do the things that make us happy. If cooking makes you happy, you should do that.”
He propped his elbow on the back of the couch, leaning his head against his fist and looking at her. “How about right now I teach you how to make the perfect hot fudge sundae?”
“An orgasm and ice cream? This night keeps getting better.” She climbed off the couch and put her hand out to him. “Hell yes. You are definitely the best research buddy ever.”