“Drop the towel.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Drop the towel. I want to see those breasts.” I expect her to argue with me, but she complies. The towel falls, and those perky breasts that I ache to put in my mouth stare back at me. Her nipples are hard, and I close my eyes and picture myself sucking one. I can practically smell her from here. “Bad idea. Now I’ll never get to sleep.”
“Show me,” she orders. “Show me why you won’t be able to go to sleep.” I pull myself out of my sweatpants and drop the phone. I hear her moan. “Yeah, very bad idea. Put that thing away.”
“I want to tell you something before we get off the phone. I know you leave for work soon, so I’ll be quick.”
“What is it?” I can tell she’s stopped breathing while she waits for me to speak. “You’ve changed your mind about those labels?” She chuckles and lets out a dramatic breath of relief as she wipes her forehead. “Thank goodness. You were getting clingy.”
“Not even close, Queen. Can you guess what the opposite of that is?
“No idea.” She starts to wipe white gunk all over her face, and I watch, mesmerized until the white stuff is absorbed into her skin. “Get on with it. I have a life and a job to get to.”
“I want you to spend some time in Alabama with me this summer. I spend about a month there, and I—”
“Colt—” she sighs.
“Queen Vee,” I say back, using the same tone she just did. “Couples make plans, baby.”
“I can’t go to Alabama.” She holds up the phone and says, “I already told you I’m going to be in Atlanta for a month. The main character in one of my books is from there, and I’m going for research. You can come visit me while you’re in Alabama. See? Compromise. Perfect.” She gives me her beautiful smile and waves a hand in front of the screen like she just solved one of life’s mysteries. “You should get some rest. I’ll call you after school.”
She walks out of the bathroom, and I stare into her face until I hear the door to her bedroom open. “You look tired,” she says again.
“I am, dumplin’.” She gives me a blank stare. “Sorry. I meant to say darlin’. And Atlanta sounds nice. When are you going?”
“Mid-July.”
“Perfect. Me too. We’ll fly to Atlanta together, and we’ll go to Alabama for a few days. It’s only a couple of hours drive.”
The line goes deathly quiet. She stares at me, and I look right back, neither of us speaking. She purses her lips and blinks several times.
“What?” I finally ask, breaking the silence.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for Alabama.”
“Oh, really? What specifically are you not ready for?”
She blows out a breath and runs a hand through her hair. She puts the phone down, and I get a view of her naked breasts. She pulls out a black bra and puts it on.
“Pity. I was enjoying the view.”
“Okay, we can go to the coast, I guess. I do like the beach. Maybe Tara, Ethan, and Vincent can join us. That would be fun for the boys.” After putting on a black shirt, she picks up the phone again.
“But I’m not from the coast. I want you to meet my—”
“I’m not ready for that,” she says, interrupting me. “And I’m going to be late for my last day of school. Let’s talk tonight.”
It’s my turn to let out a breath and run a hand over my face. I’m exhausted. I want to climb in that bed and sleep for the next eight hours straight. I miss my son, and if things go right in this series, I’m going to continue to miss him until the season ends. And despite how cagey she’s acting, I miss my Queen Vee too.
“Let’s try something new, darlin.”
“Tonight because—”
“You have time. Let’s try somethin’ new. I was hopin’ to do this in person, but I think it’s time.”
“What is it?” She looks up at the ceiling as if I exhaust her.
