Where Would I Be Without You - By CJ Hawk Page 0,35

And I'll be here." As soon as he took the step back out of my doorway into the hall, I quickly slammed the door shut before he answered. Whatever he had been cleaning all day obviously got on his work boots and the smell soaked into his clothes, because he stank. I heard him yell behind the door. "Thanks love. See you in a bit."

Thanks love. See you in a bit. Those few words, especially the first two replayed in my head several times while I danced around the kitchen pulling a dinner together. I opened a bottle of red wine and let it sit. I dashed into my room and put on some sexy lingerie under a tight blue tee shirt and a pair of fresh jeans. I slipped on a pair of four-inch heels in leopard print. I was being sexy. Then I freshened up my makeup, put on a pair of cute earrings and a gold necklace all while thinking of those few words he shouted through the door.

Forty-five minutes later, a freshly showered Mason stood knocking on my door. He had a six-pack of bottled beer in his hand and a smile on his face that told me he was thankful I had dinner waiting for him. "Smells good." He took a whiff in the air as he stepped inside. I closed the door behind him and took the beer out of his hands.

"Want to eat in front of the TV or at the table?" I offered.

"Let's eat at the table." He followed me into the kitchen as I pulled the chicken casserole out of the oven and set it on top of the stove. As soon as I closed the oven door and laid the hot pads off to the side, his arms were wrapped up around behind me, and he was kissing my neck.

"What a day. That smells really good. You smell really good. If I wasn't so hungry for food, I would start with you." I turned in his arms, wrapped my arms around his neck, and laid a huge kiss on his lips.

When I pulled back, I could not hold back the earlier fears that I held in all day. "I worried when you didn't text me back today. I didn't want to be a stalker girlfriend, but I wondered how your day was going. Seeing you standing there after I got home, I won't doubt what kind of day you had. Sorry about slamming the door, you stank. You smell nice now." I leaned my lips against his neck and took a quick smell of his freshly showered skin, and then I dropped a kiss on his neck.

When I pulled back, he had his hands wrapped up in my hair and a look in his sultry eyes that made me want to dive right in. It was a serious look, and his voice spoke just the same. "This job is going to have some crazy moments. Believe me when I say I am counting the days to wearing a suit and tie again, but if I don't text back, it's not because I don't want to. You don't know how good it felt to know I was coming back here, freshly showered to a home-cooked meal." Then he let his lips drop to mine, and our tongues quickly got involved as they felt a bit left out. When we finished kissing, I pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"Anytime you want; I'll cook you a home-cooked meal." I kissed him quickly and then turned to shut off the buzzer that was now sounding off loudly throughout the tiny kitchen.

By the time I finished watching him polish off three servings, I had only eaten a small portion of casserole and a huge glass of water. I was not hungry all day because I was thinking about him and our time together last night. Every time I looked over at the flowers he sent me and no text back, I worried. As I sat in my kitchen watching him eat rapidly, I realized I had worried myself for nothing. I had to realize that he had a job that can give him some freedom here and there but could also make a day go crazily awry. That thought made me think about what our time would be like when I started these online courses. I needed at least eight hours a week to complete the schooling and log on for tests. I was