Page 84 of Pining for Pierce
“And then he said something about Dawson Pine warning him off, telling him to stay away from you. He seemed to think I was behind it, which I wasn’t… although I wish I had been.”
“You need Dawson to do that kind of thing for you?” I ask, looking up at him and trying not to smile.
“No.”
I stop walking again, even though we’re almost back at the store. “You say that like it means something.” He shrugs his shoulders. “What happened, Pierce?”
“Promise you won’t think badly of me?” he says, sounding worried.
“Why would I?”
“Because I know a lot of people think my tattoos and my bike mean I’m some kind of bad boy, but…”
“I know you’re not,” I say, shaking my head. “That’s not who you are at all.”
“Then you won’t mind that I introduced my arm to his throat, while resting him against the storefront?”
“Restinghim?”
“Something like that. He’d just asked if I’d gotten inside your panties yet, so I wasn’t in the best of moods.”
“He said that?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you tell him?”
“You mean, while I was resting him against the storefront?” I nod my head. “I told him to shut up… although I might not have been that polite about it.”
“Good,” I say and he smiles, letting us in through the front door. He locks it behind us, and we head up the stairs to his apartment, reaching the top just as his phone beeps. He pulls it out, reading a message, his face lighting up as he puts the groceries on the countertop in the kitchen. “What is it?” I ask, dumping my purse on the coffee table.
“It’s Karl Bowman. He’s asking if he can see me on Tuesday evening.”
He looks across at me, his eyes alight.
“You have to go.”
“I know.”
He nods his head, lowering his eyes to his phone as he types out his reply, before he puts it down on the countertop and comes over, lifting me into his arms and making me squeal as he spins me around.
“It’s a double celebration now,” I say. “Our anniversary, and this exhibition.”
“I haven’t got it yet,” he says.
“You will… and you’ve got me,” I whisper as he lowers me down his body.
“Which is the best prize of all.” I lean up and kiss him, although he keeps it brief, pulling back and looking down into my eyes. “I bought us something special from the deli. Why don’t you go change and I’ll get it ready?”
“I can help, if you want?”
He shakes his head. “This is my treat.”
“Okay.”
I leave him to it, going into the bedroom, where I remove all my clothes, including my underwear, and stand in front of the closet, trying to decide what to put on. The bruise on my leg is a really deep purple now, and although I hate how it looks, I think I know something that will please Pierce, and I pull out one of his hoodies, unfolding it and lowering it over my head. It comes down to the middle of my thighs, so the bruise is still visible, but somehow I doubt he’ll mind, and I head straight back out into the living room.
He’s still doing something in the kitchen, and has his back to me, so I wander to the couch and pick up the remote control, flicking on the TV.
