Eight Cinnamon Pancakes
E very part of my body is sore when I wake up. My back aches where the stone of the coffin scratched me, my legs are shaky, arms are lightly bruised, and I still feel every inch of Eris’ cock inside of me.
But as I roll over to say good morning to him, I realize he isn’t here anymore. His side of the bed is neatly made, his clothes are gone, and the only thing he left behind was the Halloween blanket he’d given to me in the truck.
So much for not having one night stands.
Sighing quietly, I face my night sky ceiling and wonder if I made a mistake. Eris is charming, thoughtful, funny, playful, and an absolute god in bed. He has a good job, a brain, a vehicle, and doesn’t seem to have a ton of baggage. If everything he told me and showed me is to be believed, he’s a catch. Maybe the last decent catch in this town.
And I basically pushed him out the door.
With dying hope, I reach over to see if he texted me before he left, but he didn’t. I have a few texts from my best friend asking if I’m alive, but nothing at all other than that.
I send her back a thumbs up and lock my phone again.
This is for the best.
Eris isn’t someone you stay casual with. I don’t care what he says, there’s no way any woman was content with a fuckbuddy situation when it comes to him. He’s the type of guy you fall in love with, quickly and devastatingly. If he didn’t get into a relationship, it’s because he didn’t want to.
So where would that leave me if I allowed this to continue? Falling for a man who seems to be emotionally unavailable, taking time out of my life and my business for something that’ll ultimately just break my heart .
Yeah, he did me a favor by leaving, and I’ll do him a favor by never texting him again.
This will just be our own little perfect night, something untouchable.
Yeah.
A little bummed but feeling better, I slide out of bed to make my way to the kitchen. I’m hungrier than hell, and dehydrated too. Multiple orgasms will do that to a girl who isn’t used to it.
It’s just... my kitchen isn’t empty when I get there.
Eris is standing over my stove flipping pancakes and humming to himself.
He didn’t leave at all.
“Uh... hi,” I say softly. “Good morning.”
He’s just as beautiful as he was yesterday — maybe even more so with his messy bed head and light dusting of scruff, but it’s his smile that blinds me.
He changed somehow, now sporting a grey hoodie and black sweats I assume he got out of his truck. For the tiniest moment, my brain tricks me into believing he’s actually mine. He’s comfortable enough in my house that it seems like he’s lived here a while, and when he walks over to plop a messy, enthusiastic kiss on my lips, I freeze. “Morning. Hope you don’t mind I borrowed some food. Figured you’d wake up as hungry as I did. Coffee?”
Fuck. I genuinely don’t know whether to be relieved or nervous that he’s still here and making himself at home. “Coffee sounds great. I thought you left.”
Eris chuckles. “You thought you got rid of me after making me feel that good?”
He reaches back to slap my ass softly, and then pulls out a mug for me without even having to search for it, complicating things more.
Did he snoop through my whole house, or just the kitchen?
“I didn’t mean get rid of you, I just... never mind.”
“Mmhm. So how’d you sleep after round two?”
I swear he looks a little pleased with himself as he checks me out, undoubtedly seeing all the marks he left on me. It makes me squirm. “Like a rock, apparently. I didn’t hear you get up.”
“Did my job then.” He winks and slides over a cup of hot coffee, at least giving me something to do with my hands as I internally freak out.
I had this all sorted in my head. I did. And now he’s here, throwing a wrench into all of it .
“So... breakfast then,” I comment uselessly. “Do you like cooking?”
“I do actually,” he admits. “Especially breakfast food, but I usually cook all my meals at home. I made some extra bacon for you to toss in the air fryer for lunch too. Figured you’d be sore, and tossing together a quick BLT would be nice. Any chance you got a grill? I make a mean ass steak too.”
And he cooks? Yeah, there’s definitely something wrong with him. I’m just not seeing it yet. “There’s one on the back patio, but I honestly don’t know if it works or how to use it. My neighbor gave me his old one when he upgraded.”
“I’ll figure it out.” He dishes up the food and sets a plate in front of me, then makes one for himself. “You look lost in thought. Is breakfast the line?”
He sounds like he’s teasing, but there’s a sadness in his eyes that didn’t exist a minute ago. How the hell did one haunted house get so complicated?
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. I don’t want to placate him or hide the truth, so I don’t. “I was sad when I thought you were gone, but figured it was probably for the best. I guess I’m not awake enough to pivot back to the idea that you stayed. ”
Nodding, he takes a few bites of food before he speaks again. “So if you were sad, does that mean you would have reached out?”
God, why did he have to ask me so directly? This is about to be a really awkward breakfast. “Actually, I’d decided not to,” I admit quietly. “It’s not because I didn’t have fun or wouldn’t want to talk to you again, I just thought it would be easier.”
“I appreciate the honesty. Good thing I didn’t leave it up to you, huh?” He chuckles. “Little miss ‘I can do it myself’ doesn’t need me, but I’m here anyway, Burrito. Eat your food.”
Frowning slightly, I take a bite of the best pancake I’ve ever had. It tastes like he put cinnamon and magic in the batter, and it’s melting in my mouth. “Holy shit,” I mumble. “Eris, this is good. Really good.”
That makes his smile grow. “The recipe is a secret only me and some guy named Google know. Good luck replicating it.”
I’m an okay cook, but even following directions, things never turn out restaurant quality for me. Not like this. Picking at it, I think about what he said before. “It’s not that I think I can do everything on my own and don’t need anyone. I don’t know how to explain it. ”
“I was teasing.” He bumps me lightly with his shoulder. “You make bullying you hard. All I want to do is kiss you and make you come. Your frown is adorable, though.”
That’s not really the kind of bullying I meant, but I get where he’s coming from. I did say I wanted that, I just don’t want to hurt his feelings by making him think he’s not wanted, nor do I want to set myself up for failure.
Clearly, I need more coffee.
He mercifully lets me eat in silence and then helps me do the dishes, and I have to admit, we make a pretty good team. There’s no elbowing, getting in each other’s way or duplicating tasks. It just... works.
But when the kitchen is clean, we’re right back to staring at each other awkwardly. “Do you... want to watch a movie or something?” I offer, but even I know my face is doing something stupid. His phone buzzes to distract us both.
I watch him pull it out and stare at it in disappointment, his fingers flying over the buttons and making me wonder who the hell it is, but I remind myself that it isn’t my business.
I don’t care. I shouldn’t care. I should hope it’s Tinder .
“Shit. I’d love to, but I guess I have to work.” It buzzes again, and he rolls his eyes at it as he shoves it in his pocket, and then closes the distance between us. “I had a good time, Rowyn.”
Fuck. Wait a minute. That sounded like a legitimate goodbye, just when I was coming around to the idea of him sticking around. “Oh. Yeah, I... I did too. Thanks again for taking me last night.”
“Thanks for allowing me to.” He kisses me deeply, tongue sliding into my mouth like he truly doesn’t want to leave, and then he’s backing away. “See you soon.”
He’s gone before I can get my thoughts in order. The door shuts as he takes all the warmth in the room with him, leaving me to wonder what the hell he meant by that.
I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.