Chapter 11
Spyridoula
“Do you give out candy to trick or treaters?” he asked, pausing with me as he looked at pumpkins.
“I do. And I go all out with my Halloween decorations. It’s not my favorite holiday, but it’s one of them. Don’t you enjoy it?”
“I guess so. But not like this. I don’t go making pumpkin stuff and spending all kinds of money on decorations to scare little ones with.”
I rolled my eyes as I linked my arm with Ajax as we walked through the pumpkin patch.
It had been a few weeks since the Farmer’s Market Gala and for dessert, we had this pumpkin pie cobbler-like deal and it was delicious.
I hadn’t been able to find it anywhere else, and I had to ask my boss where I could find the people who had made dinner.
He gave me a name and a number and I was instantly on the phone, getting the recipe.
It was an older lady that I was talking to about it and she was thrilled to know how much I loved it and wanted to try making it myself. She rambled off what I needed and how to make it and I was determined to do it with AJ, for he had loved it as much as I did.
“I don’t scare them.” He gave me a look and I laughed. “Okay, maybe a little. But I’m not looking for pumpkins to carve yet, though that will be later. I got the recipe and thought we’d give it a shot.”
“Spy, I’m a writer, not a baker or a cook.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“Duh, I’m not either. However, we are two smart people right? We can figure things out, so they taste semi-decently.”
“I think you’re giving me too much credit. I’m book smart, creative even. Do not know jack about a kitchen.”
“Oh, that is horseshit. You were the one who made that dinner the other night. And don’t tell me that you bought and plated it, because I’m not that dumb.”
“Fine. Yes, I did.” He took my hand, making me stop in the middle of the field. “You know that we can try to recreate it, but it won’t be the same?”
“I do know. It will be fun, though. And if we happen to make a mess and we’re forced to clean it up, then we will.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked at me, but I only gave him a wink in return before starting back down the path, looking for the perfect pumpkin to use.
“Okay, that’s it,” I said, wiping my hands on a towel and sticking the dish in the oven. “Everything we’ve done so far has been good. I think it’ll be decent.”
“You think huh?” He stepped up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “So, are we just having dessert for dinner or should we order something?”
I looked around my very destroyed kitchen and groaned. The last thing I wanted to do was clean up only to make it dirty again with having to cook something.
“Order. Some chicken would go great with dessert.”
He kissed the side of my neck before chuckling and pulling out his phone.
I stepped out of his embrace, grabbing the dishes to start washing while he ordered. Minutes later, he put his phone down.
“It should be about twenty minutes. Think we can clean it in that time?”
“Yeah, we should. Just don’t distract me,” I told him, waving my finger at him.
“Don’t go there. I’m the innocent party.”
I snorted at that and gave the counters a look. Every time I made something, he had to try it and then make a whole scene of kissing me. We had spent hours in this part of my place when it should have only been minutes.
The idea of cooking together was great, and a wonderful date, but in retrospect, probably not the best idea with him around. Especially since he seemed to have a problem keeping his hands off me.
Not that I minded all that much. I just wish it didn’t lead to a mess.
With a smile, I started the cleaning, knowing that it would still be a fun night.
Three hours later, under the covers on my bed, I laid my head on his chest, another smile on my face. Dinner was good, dessert was better, and it led to the very thing we had been dancing around all day.
Actually, it was really great foreplay and that was pretty amazing sex.
“Damn,” he said, for the hundredth time and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You are a writer; is there not another word you can use? I mean, that’s all you’ve said for the past few minutes.”
“It’s because you were amazing. There’s nothing else I can say. You stole all my thoughts.”
“Oh, that is so cheesy.”
My phone vibrated and I ignored it, instead cuddling closer to him. His arms tightened around me, and I let out a sigh.
“It might be cheesy, but it’s true. You are one hell of a woman, Spy. And your mind, it’s far better than mine.”
“Stop. You don’t need to charm me. You’re already in my bed, there’s nothing else you can do, you know that?”
“It’s not a line,” he said, tilting my chin up to look at him. “It’s the truth. Today was such an amazing day. And I know you didn’t plan on it, but it was. Just being with you was fun and bright. I just have to tell you how much you’ve come to mean to me. Not just as friends, but so much more.”
He brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear and I smiled, feeling much the same way about him. He was someone I could see a future with, not just as friends, but more.
I understood what he was saying without the words and I looked at him, wanting to convey that I was feeling too.
He leaned down, giving me a soft kiss and something about it seemed like we were sealing something that we had been feeling, but not saying.
He pulled back, a grin in his eyes. The spell was broken as my phone buzzed again and I finally reached over for it.
I opened up the app, seeing the request for a dinner with a client that was a friend, but before I could decide, I felt the man beside me stiffen and I looked at him.
“What?”
“You’re thinking about it,” he said, shoving the covers off of him and climbing out of bed. “You’re fucking thinking about it.”
I held the sheet to my chest as I sat up.
“And what if I am?” I countered.
“I thought this meant something,” he said, waving his hand at the bed. “But I was so fucking wrong and I won’t make that mistake again.”
I just stared at him, not sure what the hell was happening.
“I don’t want you to do this,” he told me, his eyes blazing.
“Ajax, I already told you, it’s a job, nothing more.”
“A job you can quit. I can take care of you.”
“I don’t need you to,” I told him. “And that’s bullshit if you think I was going to accept. You didn’t even give me the chance.”
“This is always going to be a thing between us, Spy. And I’ll be damned if you keep playing me for a fool!”