Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
“Thanks for letting me stay with you,” he said in a low voice.
“You’re very welcome. I think all in all this impromptu living-together situation has been a success.”
“Yeah.”
I smiled.
“Though I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said, staring at the ceiling. “Would you mind putting some of your skin care and makeup away? There’s no room on the bathroom counter for my shaving stuff.”
Huh. “I’ll take a look.”
“Thanks.”
“Anything else been bothering you?”
He made a noise in his throat. “Not really.”
I raised myself up on one elbow. “Not really doesn’t mean no.”
“It sort of does.”
“Come on. You’ve been living here for four days now. What else?”
He smiled. Lars after sex was chill. “I’m very grateful that you let me stay and take such good care of me without getting all up in my face. Even if you did yell at me as soon as you walked through the door today.”
“You were being an idiot.”
“I knew what I was doing.”
“Let’s agree to disagree,” I said. “It’s funny the things you learn about someone when you live with them. I was surprised to find how much of a morning person you weren’t. Considering your chosen profession requires early starts. You kind of bumble around like a big sleepy bear for the first hour or so. Half the time I wonder if you’re going to walk into a wall or something.”
He grunted.
“Though I appreciate your lack of interest in wearing shirts. Because ogling you is a favorite pastime of mine.”
He smiled and smoothed a hand over my head, stroking my hair.
“Though the stubble in the bathroom sink I could do without.”
“We’re giving each other feedback?”
“Sure.”
“Okay,” he said. “I love watching you get dressed. The way you make yourself look all perfect. I’m scared to touch you because I don’t want to rumple you. But then I get sad because you’re wearing clothes and I really like it when you’re naked.”
I smiled. “That’s nice. Now what about the things that annoy you?”
“Is this a trap?” he asked. “’Cause it feels like a trap.”
“I swear it is not a trap. I’m just curious.”
He sighed. “Well, you leave coffee mugs and water glasses everywhere. You never remember to turn off lights and your shoes are always scattered all over the damn house.”
“But I have really great shoes. Don’t you think they deserve to be on display?”
“Almost tripped on some the other day.”
“Sorry.”
“What about me?” he asked. “What do I do that annoys you apart from the stubble?”
“Nothing. You’re perfect.”
He just snorted.
“Though you did murder the toothpaste by squeezing it from the middle. And you didn’t just squeeze it, you throttled it.” I made the coordinating hand motions. “I don’t know where all of that anger came from, but it was seriously misplaced. That toothpaste never did anything to you. Then you left an empty toilet roll on the holder when there’s a trash pail and a basket full of toilet paper right there. And what’s with the kitchen cabinets and drawers being half-open all the time? Do you have commitment issues about fully closing them, or something?”
He just looked at me.
“You also ate all of the good snacks and left me none. But I’m going to let that slide because you were bored and in pain.”
“Thank you,” he said drily. “That’s big of you, Susie.”
“You’re welcome.”
He went back to staring at the ceiling, then said, “Of course, the weirdest thing you do is sniff me when you think I’m asleep.”
I choked on a laugh. “Never would I ever.”
“Then you gently press your face into my arm and just stay that way for a minute or two.” He gave me side eyes. “Want to explain that to me?”
“I like being close to you. What do you want me to say?”
He grunted.
My face felt a little hot, but oh well. There were worse things to be busted doing than searching for intimacy with someone. “Does it bother you?”
“No.”
“So you tolerate my weirdness?”
“I like your weirdness,” he said. “You think maybe you divorced me because I kept eating all of the snacks? Or do you think it had more to do with me mangling the toothpaste?”
“I thought you wanted to ignore the divorce certificate.”
“You’re probably right that it’s not something we can ignore.”
“Relationships are hard.” I squished my cheek back against his bicep. “One thing I know, I’m going to miss you when you move back home.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
“Thank you for the designer shoes and the orgasm. You made my day much better.”
“You’re welcome.”
* * *
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes.” Lars pulled himself out of my car in slow motion. Being careful not to do himself any damage. Easier said than done, since I drove a Mini Cooper. It was one of the larger four-door models, but still. The dude was tall. It was a week since the accident and he was doing much better. But still. You could tell by the way that he moved that he was in pain. “My parents want to thank you for looking after me and to get to know you better. Why are you so worried?”