Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
JACQUELINE
“They finally found someone to take over Zaid’s position!” Signe cheered as she plopped into her seat at the table.
I raised my brows, because I hadn’t received any information about that. I thought that Zaid or Brandon would email me a list of candidates they wanted me to reach out to. Not that they would handle that process themselves.
“Who?” I asked. I was glad Zaid was finally moving in the direction he preferred.
“Leo Turner,” Mary announced, in the most flawless British accent I had ever heard.
My stomach dropped.
* * *
Leo and I still hadn’t had sex again the next week while I waited for my meeting with Brandon. As far as I was concerned, sex was the only thing we had going for us. It was the foundation our relationship was based on, and I had assumed that since I was currently closed for business, Leo wouldn’t be as communicative.
It wasn’t like we got along before we started having sex.
I assumed that after he took me to the rave, Leo would wait around, doing his own thing, until I was ready to be intimate with him again.
But no, Leo was still texting me. He still came over to watch TV with me, bringing us “takeaway” to eat together on the couch. We would snuggle up together, (like we’re doing now) under a favorite throw blanket of mine. It was as if we were in a relationship but without the label of a relationship.
It didn’t feel like he was just waiting for me to give the green light for sex, either.
He seemed like he was enjoying himself, which was good because I was, too.
The episode ended, and while the credits rolled, I stretched my arms out, arching my back. Leo adjusted next to me so I had room to do so.
“That was delicious.” I patted my very full stomach. We had Indian food tonight, and while my tikka masala wasn’t the spiciest dish, I still needed to do something about the lingering mouth feel I was dealing with, “Want a kiss?”
“Always.” Leo leaned forward and started smacking his lips on my cheek.
I snorted, “A chocolate kiss, you dork.”
“I know,” he chuckled, releasing his hold on me and allowing me to stand up to get my post-dinner treat, “What are you doing tomorrow?”
Tomorrow was Wednesday.
Which meant that I had no plans. I would probably read, watch TV, or go to bed at eight thirty. I would bask in my aloneness and lack of ability to do much, other than prepare for work again the next day. Thankfully, adding new employees to my department really helped my workload. I could actually take time on the weekend to do what I wanted.
The newest hire’s name was Hazel. Like Andrew, she was also blonde. They looked like they could genuinely be siblings. So I now had Andrew and Hazel working for me.
“Nothing, why?”
“Want to come over in the evening?” Leo rested his fist against his cheek, his arm resting on the back of the couch as he watched me walk to my pantry to retrieve the chocolate. I tossed the tiny wrapper in the garbage before walking back to him.
“And do what?” I snuggled back into his side, tucking my legs underneath myself as I let him blanket us under the throw again.
“Eat, relax,” Leo sighed, as he settled with me tucked beside him again, “Or we can go do something if you’d like.”
“I’m still recovering from Friday’s rave,” I admitted, resting my head on his shoulder, “So I’d rather stay in.”
“That’s fine,” Leo propped his socked feet up on my coffee table, “I just figured we could do this again tomorrow if you didn’t have plans.”
I bit back a smile, “I don’t. Is this another date?”
Leo didn’t hold back his smile, he let it spread across his face, “Yes.”
* * *
LEO
“Bloody fucking hell,” I grumbled, setting the controller down and resting my head in my hands. It was slower at the office lately, so a lot of us had all ended the day early. I met up at Mary and Jamie’s flat to blow off some steam.
“I can’t believe you actually say that,” Jamie giggled from her reading chair, “It’s so British of you.”
Mary was already standing, completing a victory dance after getting first place in Mario Kart again, before mocking me with her stellar impersonation of my accent, “Oi, why don’t yeh go fetch us some fish ‘n chips?”
“I’d prefer something like jacket potatoes right now,” I replied, rubbing my brow with my fingertips. Fuck, that did sound good. Perhaps I’d cook a meal for Jacqueline tonight, instead of just providing dessert.
“What are jacket potatoes?” Jamie inquired with her gaze back to her paperback.
“Potatoes with more beans and cheese and deliciousness.” Mary replied before turning to me, “Want to make them for us tonight? Consider it your consequence for losing again. Because you’re a loser.”
I flipped her off. Jamie may have softened some of Mary’s rougher edges, but I was grateful Mary still didn’t hold back from “roasting” me, as she called it. It was a unique love language between the two of us.
“First of all, fuck you,” I grinned while standing up to stretch, “I’m afraid I can’t. I have plans.”
That would probably, definitely, involve jacket potatoes.
“With who? We’re your only friends.” Mary frowned.
“He plays rugby with Zaid now; he has other friends,” Jamie defended me, a grin pulling at her cheeks as she read.
“None of your business.” I reached for my jacket hanging on the arm of the couch before shrugging it on.
“Tell me,” Mary demanded.
“No.” I grinned, loving the irritated twitch in her eye. Mary didn’t care about a lot of things, but she cared when I specifically kept secrets from her.
“Are you going on a date?” Mary pressed.
Something burned in my chest, wondering if I should tell her about Jacqueline.
No, I needed to talk with Jacqueline first. The last time we talked about it, she didn’t want Mary to know about us.
“If I was?” I looked around, wondering where my boots were.
“Then I could tell Victoria to get off my ass,” Mary sighed, “She’s been wondering if you’re lonely with just me here to keep you company.”
I finally found my boots, shoving my feet into them and tying the laces. I looked up at the two women, meeting Jamie’s curious glance. Just to fuck with them, I looked over at Mary and gave her a wink.
“You can tell her that I’m not lonely.”
“Leopold!” Mary sat up from her seat on the couch.
“Still not my name,” I smirked as I stood tall to grab my helmet off their kitchen table.
“Are you seeing someone?” Mary’s dark brows rose, which was the last expression I saw before I turned toward the door and started my exit.
I threw up a lazy wave over my shoulder before calling out, “Until next time!” and closed the door behind me.
Mary’s muffled, “Oh my god,” was the last thing I heard before I made my way to the store.
* * *
JACQUELINE
Two very English women were speaking, and it took me a second to realize that their voices were coming from a device of some kind.
“Slowly, slowly!” One woman was cautiously instructing.
I quietly toed off my sneakers before following the sound. I had knocked on Leo’s door, but he never answered. I heard the sound of pots and pans echoing on the other side, so I tested the knob. I had an aversion to doorbells and avoided using them at all costs. Plus, if Leo was busy, I had a feeling he wouldn’t be too irritated with me letting myself in.
His apartment was…much nicer than mine.
I suddenly felt guilty that we had spent so much time in mine. My building wasn’t terrible, in fact, I considered it very nice for someone like me who was single and barely in her thirties. His, however, was a step or two above. I realized right then and there, taking in the modern lines and light, and the warm wooden floors, that Leo was in a very different tax bracket than I was.
He even had large art prints on his walls and warm abstract paintings that felt welcoming.
I turned the corner, finding an open-concept space that revealed an updated kitchen, island, and dining area. Off near the far end of the room was the living space, with a black leather sectional couch and fluffy area rug.
Standing at the island, with an iPad propped up, pouring chocolate onto a pan, was Leo.
“Slowly!” One woman repeated.
“I know ,” Leo smiled as he replied, keeping his eyes on the chocolate pouring from the bowl.
I slowly stepped into the space; my eyes glued to the pan with parchment paper underneath. Leo was currently pouring what looked like chocolate kisses.
He was making them, filling molds with chocolate.
“You can never be too careful,” another British woman replied from the iPad. Leo chuckled before turning his back to me to set the chocolate bowl aside. His apartment had a variety of smells. There was something in the oven, which I assumed was where the garlic and salty smell was coming from. But the smell of freshly poured chocolate was added to it.
It made my stomach growl.
“Are you making kisses?” I asked, taking a few steps closer to the chocolate molds to get a better look.
“Fuck!” Leo jumped, spilling a decent amount of chocolate onto the counter and himself, before catching the bowl and placing a hand over his heart. Oh my god , Leo was wearing an apron . It looked handmade, with a floral pattern on it.
Leo was officially too much.
“Is that her ?” the first English woman asked, “Step closer to the camera, darling!”
Instead, I froze. Staring wide-eyed at a panting Leo, still recovering from the scare my presence induced.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” Leo explained as his eyes traveled up and down my clothing. I wasn’t wearing anything special. After work, I had changed into leggings and a sweater, and some fluffy socks. I was a wimp when it came to the cold, but I also loved bundling up in my favorite layers.
The way his eyes heated on me, though, made me feel like I just walked into his kitchen wearing lingerie.
“Let us see!” both women yelled from the iPad.
Leo rolled his eyes, though he didn’t look annoyed at the request. Instead, he lifted a hand to his mouth—the hand that the chocolate spilled on—and reached his other arm out toward me.
Slowly, I stepped into his embrace, in front of the iPad.
“Oh,” I finally tore my gaze away from Leo’s mouth, sucking the chocolate off of his fingers, to face the screen where the voices were coming from, “You’re lovely.”
An Asian woman with dark hair and eyes was looking at me with a wide smile, along with a white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes sitting next to her, resting her hands underneath her chin.
“Thank you. Um, hi.” I lifted my hand for an awkward wave, appreciating the comforting weight Leo’s arm resting around my shoulders provided.
“These are my mums,” Leo explained, “Victoria and Lisa.”
“But you can call us Mummy and Mama,” Victoria replied.
Something burned in my chest from the immediate inclusivity. My mom passed when I was too young. But Leo had two mothers. Part of me acknowledged the unfairness of our situations, but another part of me suddenly understood Leo so much better after meeting the two women who raised him.
So, I just smiled and nodded at them.
“It’s nice to meet you both.” I found myself leaning into Leo’s body a bit more for reassurance, but my eyes kept falling to the pan of chocolate kisses, “I didn’t know you knew how to make chocolate.”
“He doesn’t,” both women replied, before Lisa added, “But his mums do.”
“They’re chocolatiers,” Leo explained, reaching around me to grab the pan of kisses, before putting them in the fridge to set, “They were willing to instruct me on this.”
“Wow, that’s so cool.” I gave his parents my profile while I leaned to peek into the oven, “Are you making…potatoes?”
“I am,” Leo stood tall, reaching behind himself to untie his apron, “We are going to have a proper English dinner—if you’re up for it.”
I beamed at him, making him hesitate his movements for half a second as he registered how excited I was at the thought. How honored I felt that he was introducing this part of his culture to me.
“Leo, honey, we’re going to hop off,” Lisa chimed in, breaking us from the moment, “It was lovely meeting you, Jacqueline.”
“You, too.” I waved awkwardly again while Leo finally tugged his apron over his head.
“Love you.” Leo blew a kiss at the iPad, which his mothers reciprocated before he ended the call, “I was hoping to have all of this done before you got here. I apologize.”
“Don’t.”
That warmth bloomed in my chest again. The warmth that only Leo had been capable of providing lately. The warmth that terrified me when I was alone, but a warmth that I looked forward to whenever we were together.
“Are you hungry?” Leo asked, tossing the apron aside so he could wrap both of his arms around me and give me a quick peck on the lips.
“Yes.” I reached up to fist his t-shirt, making him come back for a deeper, wetter kiss.
“Excellent,” Leo grinned against my lips, squeezing my waist with his hands and pulling away, “But you’re still not getting any of my magic dick tonight, I’m afraid.”
“Why not?” I asked, leaning a hip against the island while he donned oven mitts.
He paused his movement toward the oven, throwing me a hesitant look over his shoulder. I braced myself, crossing my arms over my chest as I waited for him to speak. He reached up to turn off the oven with his oven mitt, before releasing all the heat from the chamber. Once the potatoes were on the countertop, he removed his oven mitts and placed them in a drawer.
Letting the potatoes cool, he stepped closer to me.
And closer.
And closer.
His front was pressed against mine, and both of his hands gripped either side of the island near my hips. He towered over me, pressing a kiss to my forehead before he let his lips linger there. Leo inhaled, his chest expanding near my face as I uncrossed my arms to wrap them around his waist.
Holding him closer to me.
Waiting for his words.
After a painfully heavy silence, Leo finally spoke against my hair, “You’re not just a warm body to me, Jacqueline.”
I tucked my fingers underneath the hem of his shirt, his hot skin warming my cold knuckles. Using his body to heat my hands, even though he said he wouldn’t use mine for such.
“What do you mean by that, exactly?” I asked. My voice was a nervous whisper, trapped between our two bodies. A conversation only meant for us.
Leo exhaled, his breath fanning over my messy bun, “I don’t know, yet. What I do know, is that I have been looking forward to you coming over tonight. I wanted to impress you.”
I squeezed him, lifting my head so my chin could rest between his pecks. He looked down at me, brushing one strand of my hair behind my ear, “Consider me impressed.”
“Yeah?” He smiled, but it was smaller than normal.
“Very much so. Tell me more about your kisses.” I bit my bottom lip, grinning.
His hand that tucked my hair behind my ear came forward to rest his thumb against my lip, pulling it free from my teeth, “I know you like snacking on a piece of chocolate after dinner. So I wanted to make you some.”
That warmth from before was spreading inside of me.
“Thank you,” I squeezed him to me again, “But full disclosure, I hate cooking. I don’t see myself making you dinner anytime soon—but I’ll think of something nice to do for you as well.”
Leo rolled his eyes, “I’m not expecting some transaction from you, love.” He leaned back to grip my waist and plop me on his kitchen island, “I just wanted to do this tonight. No need to read more into it than necessary.”
I tucked my lips in between my teeth, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Leo pressed his lips once more, lingering there, nipping my top lip once more, “If I feel otherwise, I’ll tell you.”
My shoulders relaxed, believing him, “Okay.”
Leo chuckled before turning back to the potatoes, “Okay.”