It felt like I hadn’t seen him since Soul’s birthday. The end-of-summer tourist rush at the bar had me going in earlier and crawling in bed an hour or two before one of them woke up.
Last night, Harlow waited up for me downstairs, and I didn’t know how she was functioning at Lyric’s shop right now. But she said it was worth being able to show me what she was workingon and tell me good night. Even though she fell asleep less than five minutes after I got home.
I knew I’d see Soul on his day off tomorrow, and on the weekend.
As entwined and domestic as our lives had become, I still found myself craving more. I missed them when I wasn’t around.
That longing lifted some when Rico rested his chin on my shoulder, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “I haven’t made you breakfast in a while, what you want?”
Just when I was getting used to the feel of his arms around me, he kissed my shoulder and let me go. I followed him to the closet attached to the bathroom and lost my train of thought when he dropped the towel. And I was transfixed when he walked over to his dresser to put on deodorant and lotion.
All of Rico was a fucking work of art, but his ass was a masterpiece. His muscular back and waist tapered to the most mouthwateringshelf. His glutes were toned and round. Perfect. Just like the rest of him. Oblivious to my lingering stare, he stepped into a pair of sweats with nothing else on and turned around, stopping when our eyes clashed.
“Can we talk?”
“What’s up? I’m finna make you breakfast.”
He tried to walk around me, but I closed my hand around his bicep. “Stay right here. Please.”
Warm russet eyes scanned my face until I cleared my throat.
“You remember when I was with your dad last week?”
“Yeah.” He gave me a half-assed glare. “And you still ain’t told me why.”
“I’m trying to,” I snickered, watching his face relax. “Your father wants to rent my condo when he moves back to the island.”
Rico blinked.
“The condo he was looking at that day we ran into him was rented before he woke up the next morning.” My hand dropped from his bicep to the space just above his waistband, my fingertips tracing over his damp skin. “He’s serious about moving back and working things out with Ms. Yvie, but he needs a place to live while he does it. Because apparently she won’t “shack up” with him.”
Our quiet laughs collided in the space between our faces before Rico dipped his head and kissed me. “You’re my father’s landlord?”
“I will be if you tell me it’s cool.”
He shook his head and lifted his thumb to brush the corner of my mouth. “Don’t let me fuck up your money.”
“It’s more than money, Rico. I know there’s…tension.”
“We good. He apologized to me and Harlow.”
Harlow’s mom was a different story. It was the quiet part nobody had said out loud for almost a month now.
He snuck in another kiss and kept his lips on mine. “I care more about what this means for you. You sure you want to give up having your own space?”
“It’s only six months,” I assured him quietly. “But I’ve been thinking about selling.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I like being here.” I nodded. “I mean, only if it’s?—”
The wind got knocked out of me before I could finish my sentence and I laughed when Rico landed on top of me. The carpet didn’t do much to cushion our fall, but I was laughing too hard to care about the impact.
“Fuck outta here with that coy shit, you know we want you here.”
I was pinned down.
My cheeks hurt from smiling.
