20. Coochie Flutter
Bailey
When I emerge from my bedroom in a dry outfit and a clean pair of underwear, Sacha already has dinner cooking on the stove. His back stays to me, even though I’m sure he heard me walk into the room.
“It smells wonderful,” I announce.
“Thank you.” He glances over his shoulder with a polite nod before turning back to the pan grilling on a small gas stove.
I double check my appearance for any evidence that I was rubbing one out to him a few minutes ago, but I think I’m safe. There’s nothing suspicious about my outfit. Sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt, covering my least sexy sports bra and a gross pair of underwear. All of it was carefully selected for being far less provocative than my previous outfit. The flirty swimsuit almost got me in trouble.
He’s in different clothes too. Dressed up rather than down, in a pair of pressed slacks, a button down shirt, and a blazer.
“Should I change?” I ask, feeling self conscious.
“No,” he doesn’t even turn around when he says it. “You look perfect.”
His curt tone surprises me. “Can I help with anything?”
“The silverware is in the drawer here.” He nods to one of the two drawers in the small kitchen.
I step toward it, and he jerks out of my way like I’m made out of hot coals.
So much for pretending nothing happened.
I set the small table with plates and cutlery. Then, with a loss for conversation, I sit quietly in one of the Bigfoot-sized chairs, to wait for him to finish cooking. My toes barely graze the ground. I swing my feet idly, wondering if I should apologize for everything that happened earlier. I knew he’d get sick of me eventually, but I didn’t think it would be this quickly, and not because of a silly sexy game of chase through the woods.
Dinner turns out to be grilled salmon and kale salad. It’s the most beautiful home cooking I’ve seen in a long time. He’s clearly familiar with the kitchen.
“I know it’s not much,” He sets two perfectly plated meals on the table.
“Not much?!” I exclaim. “This looks fantastic.” I slice off a bite with my fork and slip it into my mouth, the fish is grilled to perfection, it practically melts on my tongue. “My god, this is fucking amazing!”
His face flicks into a small smile before it drops again. I hate that everything feels different. We were having such a nice time. I felt like I was really getting to know him.
“Sorry,” I say.
“Please, Ms. Thorn, don’t apologize for enjoying yourself.”
“Oh.” I set down my utensils.
“Something wrong?”
“Are we back to Ms. Thorn?”
He drops his gaze, pushing his food around his plate with his fork. “I’m very sorry about losing control earlier. I shouldn’t have let my baser instincts get the better of me. It wasn’t the right way to treat you—to treat a human.” His grip around his silverware tightens, while his eyes remain glued to his plate.
“Who told you that?”
He finally looks up. “I know Bigfoots have different relationship habits than humans.”
“Yeah? So?” I ask.
He leans away from the table. “Human women don’t enjoy being chased through the woods.”
“We don’t?” I ask. “This is news to me.”
His eyebrow raises. “You don’t need to pretend for me. I want you to be comfortable. The humans I’ve dated in the past?—”
“If you want me to be comfortable, then you shouldn’t bring up women that you’d dated in the past,” I grumble.
He swallows hard, but continues anyway. “They didn’t appreciate my more monstrous ways.”
“Ahh… I see. Is that why you are wearing the—” I gesture to his outfit.
“It makes me feel more human. I thought you liked the way I look in a suit?”
“I do like the way you look in a suit. I like the way that you look in most things.” I shake my head, shocked I’m admitting these things out loud. Even if we aren’t going to stay together, it still feels important to get it off my chest. I don’t want him to think he did something wrong. “I don’t mind if you don’t act human. You aren’t human. I want—shit.” My brain jumbles up all my thoughts the way it always does when I just need to get words out. “You know. I Googled you, after you offered me this dating deal—thing. I looked you up online, and I saw pictures of you with the other women that you’ve dated. They didn’t exactly look like me.”
“I’ve dated human women before.”
“They were human women, but they were all—” I inhale, knowing that I’m about to open a can of worms that I might not be prepared for, “they were all skinny. With perky little breasts and low BMIs. Beautiful women, certainly. It’s fine, of course. They all had good jobs, money, and status.” The words fall out of me in a rush.
“What does that have to do with anything?” He scowls.
“If I were to follow that thought to its natural conclusion, I’d assume that you don’t find me attractive.” I adjust myself in my seat, sitting up straighter. “I’m comfortable with my body most of the time, but why would you want to date me when you usually date women who are much thinner and richer than me?”
His fist closes tightly around his fork. “Beast, you are perfect. I wouldn’t change a single thing about you or your body.”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“Of course not. I like you exactly the way you are. I think you are perfect. Just because of something you saw in my past, you shouldn’t assume—” he pauses, “I see.”
“You shouldn’t make assumptions about what people want. You don’t want me to change, and I don’t need you to change.” I point at him with my fork. “And fuck those women for making you feel like you couldn’t be yourself around them. We will both be ourselves, in our own skin. I will let you know when you have made me uncomfortable.”
There is finally something almost like a smile creeping across his lips.
“Would you like to ask me anything about today?” I point to myself. “Like if I enjoyed myself?”
“Did you enjoy yourself today?” he asks.
“I had a lot of fun. A lot. I learned how to fish with my hands, that river rocks can be very slippery, and that I should not run away from a Bigfoot unless I am ready to deal with the consequences.”
He freezes. “Bailey, I will never?—”
“And, when I am ready to deal with the consequences, believe me, I will let you know,” I say quickly before he can finish. It’s a terrifying thing to promise. It may be a bad idea, but my brain is determined to try it before I leave him.
His face relaxes a little. “Thank you, my beast.”
There is a long moment of quiet, which is broken by the scrape of his chair legs across the floor as he stands before removing his suit jacket, folding it neatly, and draping it over the back of a chair. The little signal of trust makes my heart flutter.
Then he unbuttons his shirt enough for some of his copious chest hair to peek out, reminding me of the unfettered view I was presented earlier today, and that makes my coochie flutter.
“Maybe you’ll get another chance to teach me to fish?” I suggest.
“I would enjoy seeing you wet again.” He gives me a very small, very promising, smirk.
“That’s probably doable.” I bite my lip, and he looks at me with his big brown eyes that make the room feel lighter. “Dinner was fantastic. Maybe you could teach me how to cook as well.”
“I cooked a lot of meals when we were just a start-up without any money for food. A lot of that was cheap ramen, or beans and rice, but I’m glad the skills I acquired can finally impress someone.” He starts clearing the empty dishes from the table.
I lean back in my chair, watching Sacha carefully roll up his sleeves and starts washing dishes. The night is young, I’m not tired, and I want to spend more time with him. “I only wish that, maybe, we had something for dessert.”
“Check in the cupboard over there.” Sacha nods to a cabinet.
I open it to find a grocery bag with chocolate bars, a box of graham crackers, and a bag of marshmallows.
“Oh, shit. Are you serious? S’mores!” I cannot keep from grinning.
“I thought we could roast the marshmallows over the fire? Outside?”
“Hell yes, we can! You managed to think of everything! Are you fucking perfect, or what?”
“Maybe I’m perfect for you?” He teases me again with one of those beautiful smiles.
He’s very nearly perfect. Except that he’s my boss, and he is technically bribing me to be here. Except that I’m going to break up with him when we get back to the city. Except that I have to leave him before he gets a chance to get tired of me, I just can’t give another person a chance to drop me from their life.