CH 31 - #picture
Riley
AFTER RHYS AND I wrecked his bed, we stayed in it and held each other.
“I smell like the cows, don’t I?” he asked, scrunching his nose.
“No, you smell like my country boy. I love it.”
“I’m glad you do.”
“Are you ready for me to finish cooking our supper?”
“If you don’t mind. I’m starving.”
We went back into the kitchen wearing little clothing. Rhys had on a pair of light blue sports briefs, and I had on one of his white T-shirts and a pair of my lace panties.
While I finished frying the chicken and making garlic-mashed potatoes with melted cheddar cheese on top, Rhys leaned against the counter by the sink, watching and talking to me and sipping on his glass of whiskey.
“Is this the country meal you planned to cook for me at your duplex?” he asked.
“Yep.”
“It looks and smells delicious.”
“Thank you. I hope you enjoy it.”
“Oh, I will!”
“The rolls will be done baking in a minute. I made a salad, too, before you got here. It’s the fridge.”
“I could get used to this.”
“So could I.”
As we were eating, I got tickled watching Rhys devour his meal. He’d always had a hearty appetite, but not just for food—sex, too. Both were his sustenance as a man.
“I—am—stuffed,” he said, sitting back in his chair and rubbing his belly.
“So you’re telling me you don’t have room for a chocolate and peanut butter cupcake from The Cupcake Cottage?”
His eyebrows shot up. “You got me one?”
“Yes. I wanted you to have your favorite of everything for supper. Would you like a glass of milk to wash down your dessert?”
“Please.”
“Be right back.”
I grabbed the boxed cupcake from the back of the pantry, where I’d hidden it, poured some milk into a glass, and returned to the dining room. Rhys took a massive bite of his sweet treat, leaving frosting all around his mouth and on the tip of his nose.
“You are such a big kid!” I giggled.
Then he mumbled, “Yep,” while chewing and wiping the frosting off his face.
“I hope you never lose that about yourself.”
“Not planning on it. Where’s your cupcake?”
“They were out of red velvet. I took it as a sign that I didn’t need one.”
Rhys frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I’ve gained weight since I came home two weeks ago.”
“I haven’t noticed. But you could gain fifty pounds, and I wouldn’t care. You’re beautiful to me no matter what, Riley.”
“Well, thank you.”
“If you keep feeding me like this, I’ll have a dad-bod in no time.”
“You could have one and be bald, and I wouldn’t care because you’re handsome to me no matter what.”
Rhys stuck out his stomach, making himself look pregnant, and placed one of his hands on top of his head. “Sure about that?”
“Yes, I’m sure!” I said, laughing so hard.
He finished his dessert, and then we cleared the table and began cleaning the kitchen.
“Do your momma and daddy know you’re in town and staying with me tonight?” he asked.
“Who said I’m staying with you?”
“It’s understood that you are.”
I grinned. “Yes, my momma and daddy know. So do my girls. I told all of them that I’d see them at the Fourth of July parade tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll see them, too, because you’re not leaving my side.”
“Do you want to go to the fireworks show after dark?”
“Whatever you want to do.”
“I’d like to go.”
“Say please,” Rhys teased.
“Please.”
“I need a little more than that.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
I sighed. “Fine. Pretty please with sugar on top.”
“Eh, just a little more.”
“Okay, you ass.”
Rhys’s eyes crinkled around the corners, and his dimples deepened.
“Pretty please with sugar on top, plus a cherry!” I blurted out.
“And I got yours!”
I threw the dishrag at him, but he dodged it. Not giving up, I grabbed it off the floor, chased Rhys into his living room, and missed nailing him with the rag again. We kept going round and round his coffee table until he let me catch him. Then he scooped me into his arms and gave me the sweetest chocolate, peanut butter, and milk kiss. Afterward, we finished cleaning the kitchen and went outside to lay in the hammock.
“This is so nice and peaceful,” I said.
“Free therapy is what I call it.”
I snuggled into Rhys even more and continued listening to his heartbeat. Then he brought up Macie.
“I meant to tell you that I saw her at the gas station yesterday morning. She seems happy with her new vet-tech job in Longview.”
“She is.”
“Do you think she’ll get tired of the drive?”
“No, it’s only forty minutes. It’ll give her time to gear up each day before she gets to work and decompress before she gets home.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Lots of folks commute to Longview and Shreveport just like in Fort Worth and Dallas.”
“Live in a small town and work in a big city.”
“To make higher bucks, one has to go to a big city for employment.”
Rhys shrugged. “If you keep your life simple, you don’t always need to make more money.”
“That’s true.”
“I think I could live just on you.”
“But it wouldn’t pay your bills.’
“Mine are few. Besides, I have plenty in the bank. I started saving for you and me years ago.”
I lifted my head off Rhys’s chest and looked at him. “I didn’t realize you’d been preparing for our future all this time. Well, until last year.”
“I just paused for a while, but our financial nest is still intact and growing again.”
“Wow. I-I…”
“What’d you expect? Me not to take care of you? I always will, Riley.”
“I know.”
“I want to ask you something, and I hope it isn’t too soon. How do you picture us a year from now?”
“Together, of course.”
“But where are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you still in Fort Worth?”
“Yes. I guess. I mean, I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“I have. Do you want to know what I picture?”
I nodded as my heart pounded.
“I see a beautiful ring on your left hand, you with my last name, and us making a home together,” Rhys continued, his eyes welling up like mine. “That’s what I want. It’s what I’ve never stopped dreaming of.”