Chapter 8 Taylor #2
arms like she weighed nothing. Taylor let out a startled scream. “What are you doing? Put me down.”
“I will when you tell me what you were going to say.” He tossed her in the air.
“Austin!” She looped her arms around his neck and held on tightly. “Are you out of your mind? You could’ve dropped me.”
“I’m not going to drop your little lightweight butt. Never have, never will.” He made a show of getting ready to toss her
in the air again. “Well?”
“It was nothing.”
“That’s okay. I already know. You were thinking it would be weird for us to start looking at each other as more than friends.
Like me allowing myself to acknowledge how sexy I think you are and how much I want to run my hands all over your body. It
may be a little strange at first, but I believe it’s a good thing.”
“Sometimes I wonder if the attraction was there all the time, but we never allowed ourselves to let it rise to the surface.”
“Probably. Oh, and don’t think I didn’t notice you checking me out earlier.” Austin nuzzled her neck. “I hope you like what
you see, because I love what I see.”
Taylor couldn’t utter one word. She’d forgotten that he could read her as well as she did him. She finally found her voice.
“Yeah, I like it. A lot. And I like you too.”
“Tay,” he whispered as he lowered his head.
The first touch of his lips on hers sent heat spiraling through her.
His tongue delved in and out of her mouth with a slow finesse that would’ve melted her on the spot had she not been in his arms. Finally, he lifted his head.
Her heart raced, and desire hummed through her veins.
She rested her head against his shoulder and drew in several deep breaths.
“Yeah, baby. I like it a lot too.” He placed her on her feet. “I’d better go change. Help yourself to whatever you want.”
She stood there watching as he pivoted on his heel and strode out of the kitchen. Taylor spun around, went directly to the
refrigerator, and grabbed a bottle of water. She ran the bottle across her forehead, hoping it would cool her down. It didn’t.
Neither did draining the ice-cold liquid.
While waiting, she went to the family room and noticed his movie collection. With everything available to stream, she found
it cool that he still had so many DVDs. Perusing them, she saw several of her favorites. She recalled them watching Coming to America at his parents’ house one weekend and how much fun it had been with Austin and Tariq acting out some of the funny scenes.
Taylor chuckled.
“What are you laughing at?”
She whirled around, bringing her hand to her chest and nearly dropping the DVD. “You scared the crap out of me, Austin. I
didn’t hear you. What are you, some kind of panther now? Sneaking up on people and whatnot,” she grumbled. He’d changed into
a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.
Austin came toward her, moving across the wood floor without making a sound. “It’s called stealth, baby.”
“You know, it’s going to take me a minute to get used to you calling me all these names—baby, sweetheart. I’m not saying I
don’t like it, though.”
“Good, because I’m going to be saying them all the time.” He angled his head thoughtfully. “I think my favorite name is going
to be ‘my Tay.’”
Taylor was going to be in love with this man before the weekend ended if she wasn’t careful.
Not that she had that far to go, given their friendship.
So if Austin asked you to marry him tomorrow, you’d say no?
Melanie’s words filtered through her mind.
Not wanting to dwell on them at the moment, she pushed them aside and turned back
to the collection. “Anyway, I was just remembering that time I watched this movie with your family, and how you and your brother
were up quoting scenes.” She held up the DVD.
“We had a good time. How about we watch it tonight for old times’ sake?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Did you decide what you wanted to do for dinner?” he asked, going into the kitchen.
“I’d rather eat in tonight. Maybe we can go out tomorrow.” She replaced the case and followed him.
“I figured you’d probably say that, so I picked up a couple of steaks.” He removed the plate holding two seasoned pieces of
meat from the refrigerator and placed them on the counter.
Taylor grinned and launched herself at him and kissed his cheek. “Yes! Nobody cooks steak like you.” Both he and Tariq cooked well, and she used to love being his tester for all the recipes he’d
try. By far, her favorite meal of his was grilled ribeye steak, sour cream mashed potatoes, and sautéed broccoli. “And with
it we’re having?”
A slow smile inched across his face. “You already know I’m making your favorite. How about we do it together?”
She rubbed her hands together with glee and did a little dance step. “I’ll help with the potatoes and vegetable, but I’m not
touching the steak because you are the king.” She did a fake bow.
Austin let out a short bark of laughter. “Say my name! Girl, you know how to make a brotha feel good.”
Taylor shrugged. “I’m just telling the truth. But you know I will call you out too.”
“No doubt.” He pulled out pots, pans, and the utensils they’d need to prepare the meal. After putting on some music, he said,
“Let’s get this party started.”
While cooking, they laughed, danced, and sang, and she couldn’t recall the last time she’d had so much fun with a guy. But
it had always been this way with them. More and more, she began to believe that she’d wasted a lot of years on guys who’d
meant her no good, and like Austin had said, maybe it was because the guy she’d been looking for was right in front of her
face. Taylor studied him while he stood outside at the grill tending to the steaks. He was intelligent, compassionate, and
funny, and he always went out of his way to help someone—everything any woman would want, including her.
“I hope you’re not burning anything while you’re staring at me,” Austin said without turning around.
“So now that you’re a Marine, you have eyes in the back of your head or something?”
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “I’ve always had them; you just didn’t know it.”
Taylor searched for something on the counter to throw at him and settled for a cherry tomato sitting in a basket. She opened
the sliding glass door and sent it sailing, then screamed with hilarity when it hit him squarely in the back of his head.
When he slowly faced her, his expression said he’d be looking for payback, and she planned to stay on guard. Giving him a
tiny wave, she went back to the stove to check the potatoes. Austin came in as she drained them. “Good timing. You’ll have
to show me how much of everything you put in them.”
“I don’t really measure. I just add and taste until it’s how I want it.” Austin placed butter, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper on the counter next to her.
After waiting a couple of minutes for the small amount of remaining water to evaporate, he stood behind her as she added each
ingredient. His being so close made her want to lean back against him, and it took everything in her to concentrate on her
task. When she finished, he grabbed a couple of spoons and handed her one.
He scooped out a portion and, instead of tasting it, fed it to her. “What do you think?”
I think that it’s getting a little hot in the kitchen. “You tell me.” She fed him from hers. The way his mouth slowly closed around the spoon, then slid it out with his gaze never
leaving hers, sent a wave of desire through her. Yeah. Hot.
“It’s good,” Austin finally said. “We should cook together more often.”
The kiss that followed was so sweet and gentle, it brought tears to her eyes.
“My Tay,” he whispered, kissing her again, this time deeper. Austin slowly ended the kiss. “I’m going to check the meat.”
Taylor stood there, eyes closed, body shaking. It took her a moment to remember what she was supposed to be doing. Broccoli. Sautéing the broccoli. A short time later, they sat at the table to enjoy the meal, and just as she’d said, his steaks were the best. After eating
dinner and then cleaning the kitchen, they sat outside listening to music as the sun dipped below the horizon.
“So what’s on the agenda tomorrow?” she asked.
“Whatever you want to do. We can go to the beach here, drive to San Diego. Doesn’t matter as long as I’m with you.”
“I’d like to do both, if possible.” She’d never been to Oceanside and didn’t realize they had beautiful beaches until she
saw them from the highway leading to the base.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“What if this doesn’t work out?” Taylor blurted. She’d been vacillating between excitement and apprehension with this new
change in their relationship. “I don’t want to lose my best friend,” she whispered.
Austin reached over and grasped her hand. “You won’t lose me. Ever. What can I do to help you with this, Tay?”
“Just don’t change. You probably think I’m crazy with all this back-and-forth.”
“I don’t think that at all. And you don’t have to worry about me changing anything, because I love you.”
She nodded, a sense of calm coming over her.
Austin stood and gently pulled her to her feet. “Ready to watch the movie?”
“Yep.” Inside, she stopped. “You do have popcorn, right?”
“Yeah, girl, I do,” he said, smiling and shaking his head.
“I want to shower first and get comfortable. I won’t be long.”
“Take your time, Tay. We have all night, and we don’t have to get up early.”
She nodded and sauntered down the hallway. In her borrowed bedroom, Taylor dropped down on the side of the bed. Her emotions
were all over the place. One minute, she still had a few reservations about how everything would play out, and the next, she
wanted to throw caution to the wind and drag him into whichever bedroom she reached first. She needed this adjustment period
to hurry up and straighten itself out.
Rising, she got her clothes and toiletries and headed for the bathroom. Taylor smiled when she saw the towels Austin had left
on the sink for her. She took a quick shower, dressed, then went in search of her host. She found him shirtless in his bedroom