“So you’re moving to Crescent Falls full-time to run Poles and Pastries,” Dimitri finished because he was beating around the bush.
I nodded. “Interesting, what inspired this move?”
“Nigga ain’t never been able to sit in one place for too long. He’ll be back, he just doesn’t like to sit down for too long. He gets bored,” Rennix answered, stuffing animal crackers into his mouth.
“Yo, fuck you.” Reminisce flipped Rennix off.
“Did I lie?”
Reminisce waved Rennix off and looked in my direction. Maybe I was wearing my emotions on my face because seconds later he was shrugging and speaking again. “I’ll be coming back and forth but be there most of the time.”
To an extent I didn’t know how to feel about it. We had all just found one another. Now his ass was leaving.
“Bright side? If I don’t like it, I’ll be back here.”
I just looked at him. I was kind of irritated that it wasn’t that big of a deal to him. It was to me though, because I felt like I had just gotten used to them. Sure, Reminisce was always on the go, but he also always came back. Ever since Rennix’s shooting, he had been here constantly. I guess I’d gotten used to that.
“This is a nice ass kitchen,but I know from your lips you don’t utilize it the way you should.” He was standing between my legs while I sat on the island.
I laughed, sipping from the wine glass in my hand. “You’re right, I don’t. I only have this place for the view. I like catching sunsets and rising from my sofa.” I motioned toward the perfectly positioned couch right in front of the floor to ceiling window.
He nodded, backing up and checking on the fish he had put in the oven to reheat. Then he was back standing between my legs, staring at me. His massive hands against my exposed thighs created nothing but moisture between them. As much as I wanted to go straight there with him, a conversation had to be had.
“You ghosted me, why?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t ghost you, but I hate that you feel like I did. But I got some shit with me, and I’m kind of fucked up. I go dark sometimes for my own sanity.”
I just looked at him, common sense in me telling me I needed to leave this man alone because he had literally just given me a whole disclaimer, but I couldn’t. It was captivating, even though I knew emotionally unavailable men were potentially the worst heartbreak a woman could sign up for. “Hopefully one day you’ll feel comfortable enough to tell me what that is.”
No response escaped his lips. Instead, those serious eyes jumped from my eyes to my lips.
I took that as my cue to keep speaking, “Until then, let’s have a code word.”
With confusion clouding his expression, he repeated the last three words of my statement “A code word.”
“Yes, because I don’t let just anybody between my legs, but I like you and I think you like me too. So, a code word will let me know you’re going dark and not ghosting me.”
He was silent and unmoving for a moment before his hands were on my face. “You can have whatever the fuck you want, Jade.” Then he mashed his lips into mine, the most feverish heat against my lips had me wrapping my legs around his waist. When we parted, I couldn’t help but look. With him I did a lot of looking, my eyes making sure it was real and not something my mind made up.
My oven going off made him step from my grasp to check the fish. That fast I’d forgotten all about the fish.
“So, about that code word… What are you thinking?” I asked as he pulled the mitts on his hands to pull the pan from the oven.
“You tell me.”
“Well, it has to be something easy, but not too easy. Something that will stand out no matter what.” I babbled on and on until he was forking a piece of fish with heat rising from it and holding it to my lips.
“Blow.”
With full eye contact I did as he asked, blowing the steam away before accepting it into my mouth.
“It’s pan seared bass. What do you think?”
“I think I need not get used to you cooking for me or I may not be able to go back to my girl dinners,” I joked, but I was so serious.
He laughed. “Do I even want to know what girl dinner is?”
“No. And the code word is lavender.”
