Chapter 12
twelve
QUYNH
D ressed in a pastel pink dress, Quynh checked her reflection in the mirror by the door.
She rubbed all of her makeup off in the shower.
Her hair was still wet, but she didn’t see the point in getting all dolled up for dinner.
He’d already seen her at her worst. She doubted he would care that she had bypassed makeup for the night.
On second thought, she ran to grab her purse and pulled out her tinted lip gloss. Maybe just a touch of lip gloss to boost her confidence.
Running her hands through her drying hair, Quynh blew herself a kiss in the mirror.
The walk to Griffin’s only took less than a minute. It wasn’t enough time for her to gather her courage. No, by the time she stood on the porch of his home, she was sick to her stomach.
He made her nervous. She didn’t know how to handle herself around him. Her body’s reactions were foreign to her.
Dating was not really a priority for her.
She went on a few dates over the years. She even had some less than memorable relationships.
At her age, most people were already having their second baby.
The dating pool for single men without red flags was woefully small.
Sure, red flags in her romance books were acceptable, but in real life? It was a terrifying prospect.
She didn’t need the drama of being in a toxic relationship. Frankly, she was just too tired and overworked to care. It’s why none of her relationships made it past the second or third date. She hadn’t gotten laid in years.
She didn’t really miss sex. It was not usually worth her time to allow someone in her body who couldn’t even last much longer than a few minutes. There didn’t seem to be any point when she could get more pleasure out of her vibrators.
Quynh owned many different vibrators to choose from. Unfortunately, none of which she brought with her, so she needed to make use of her fingers.
Last night, she tossed and turned in bed. The memory of Griffin’s strong, tanned body ignited a deep ache inside of her. She pictured how he would look on top of her. Her imagination was so vivid, it was like he was in the room with her.
She found she was fantasizing about her generous neighbor/boss all too often. She was so worked up, she brought herself to an orgasm with her fingers in order to sleep.
Teenage Quynh was never this horny.
She needed to get herself together, or dinner tonight would be torture.
Just as she was about to knock on the door, it swung open. She was eye to muscled chest, his pecs pressing against the white fabric of his shirt obscenely. She glimpsed gray sweatpants and nearly swallowed her tongue. Her gaze slowly drifted upwards to find him staring at her intently.
He always seemed to do that. Stare at her with so much intensity that it made her nervous.
Instead of asking her to come in, he stepped aside so she could enter. The narrow entryway made it difficult for her to move without accidentally grazing him with her breast. She could have sworn she heard him take in a sharp inhale.
“You don’t need to take your shoes off.”
She didn’t realize she slipped her sandals off. It was second nature to her. She bent to move them to place them near the door when he placed a hand on her arm. Quynh watched as Griffin grabbed her sandals in his large paw and placed them by the door.
“Thank you.”
“Dinner’s about ready. Make yourself at home. ”
She followed a few paces behind him as he led her into his home. It was furnished with the bare essentials. He gestured to the living room, where the TV was turned on to the local news channel.
“I’ll be in the kitchen for a few more minutes.”
“Do you need any help?”
“No.”
She paused. It was probably rude to sit in the living room while he cooked for her. He didn’t need to serve her.
He noticed her hesitation and turned to look at her.
“You can keep Rover and me company in the kitchen if you want.”
She nodded, grateful for the suggestion. Quynh didn’t watch much TV anyway. A perverse side of her wanted to see how he moved in the kitchen.
Griffin the mechanic was a fantasy all on its own, but Griffin the cook was swoon-worthy.
Whoa, girl, get a hold of yourself .
If her mother were alive, she’d admonish her for acting unladylike in public. Thoughts of her mother were like being splashed with a bucket of cold water. Her posture straightened as she fought to control her facial expressions.
Stoic. I have to be stoic.
Griffin showed her to the center island with bar-top seating.
“You can dice the tomatoes if you want. ”
She gave him a curt nod and went to the sink to wash her hands.
By the time she dried her hands, he had set up a cutting board with the tomatoes in question for her.
She sat down and lifted the sleek knife, admiring how lightweight it was in her hand.
She was no cook, but she could figure out how to dice up tomatoes.
Griffin returned to the stove as he continued to prep dinner. They worked in comfortable silence. The only sounds were the muffled voices coming from the news channel in the living room. Rover lay in the corner, chewing on his bone while his tail thumped against the linoleum happily.
Her tense posture relaxed as she cut up the tomatoes. When she was done, she placed them into the small bowl on the counter.
Since dinner wasn’t quite ready, she cleaned up the counter and washed up. She wasn’t sure where they were going to sit for dinner, but at the very least, she could set the table.
It was all so very domestic, helping Griffin prepare for dinner. She could get used to this.
It’s too bad she wouldn’t be around for much longer.