Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
T he light in the living room was bright enough to see Evan’s book, but Mercedes wished it could be softer, warmer.
She loved their sessions, but she knew Evan hated them.
Okay, maybe hate was too strong a word. He did them willingly and never complained.
Much. But she could still see his disgust every time he couldn’t figure out a word or sentence.
His glass of Mountain Dew was full, along with her cup of tea.
The Level Two book sat between them, opened to the middle.
They’d been working on it for almost a month now and had progressed through much of it.
She wasn’t sure how he remembered all the steps for working this equipment.
It had her baffled, but once they went through the procedures, he seemed to recall them easily.
“A lot of the machines have similar knobs, gears, shifts… and use the same startups and shut down protocols,” he explained to her when she’d asked how he could keep it all inside his head, and he said it so casually, like he was making a bowl of cereal.
Yet his confidence still lacked at times when the vocabulary was too difficult.
Evan huffed and set the book down roughly on the coffee table. She had a feeling he’d just hit one of those words.
“Is it time for a break?” she asked, snuggling up next to him.
Since last week, when she’d finally gotten the nerve to ask about the kiss they’d shared, they been doing it quite a bit.
Kissing. Now it was becoming their favorite break time activity.
Evan said he even preferred it to drinking his Mountain Dew.
His face softened at her words, yet he stared at her suspiciously, as if he knew she’d suggested it to keep him from being frustrated. They’d gotten a nice push and pull going, and she’d hate for him to give up when he’d made so much progress.
He pressed his lips to hers briefly. “This type of break? I’m always happy to take one of these.” She slid her hands around his shoulders and tugged on his head to join their mouths again.
After a few minutes of kissing, he glanced at the book with a guilty expression.
“Let’s both look at it. We’re better together,” she told him.
He blew out a huge breath and slumped back against the cushion. “It’s the conversion rates I’m unclear about. Not so much any reading.”
“I don’t know how to help you with conversions. I’m much better at language than math. Is this something you could ask your grandfather about? He did this type of work, didn’t he?”
Evan nodded, though his jaw was tight. “We talked about it when I was down the Cape for your parents’ party.
He gave me some pointers for some of the measurement stuff, but we hadn’t gotten this far in the book yet.
I hate having to admit how much trouble I’m having with the work.
I feel so stupid and don’t want him to know. ”
Heat rose in her chest. “Know what? That you’re human and struggle at times like every other person in the world.
Do you think he learned how to work all that equipment and plan sitework the first time he looked at it?
I seriously doubt it.” It hurt every time he put himself down.
She hurt for him and wrestled with her own frustration that he had so little faith in himself and didn’t see his own self-worth.
His eyebrows slid together. “I’m sure he learned it faster than his stupid grandson.”
She propped herself up on her knees and jabbed her finger into his shoulder. “Stop it. You aren’t stupid. You’ve shown me how much you can learn. Your brain is wired differently than some people.”
A tiny grin peeked out. “Maybe I need a good electrician.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you truly not see all the amazing things you do every day? Fixing the faucet and my car every time it won’t start.
You’re the best player on your baseball team, and that takes skill.
Those two boys you saved on the Cape and how you just knew how to set up the tent, so my dad and brother didn’t look like idiots.
And it sounds like you saved that kid at work from being completely crushed by the drainpipe.
Your boss wants you to mentor a couple of new guys. Those aren’t small things.”
She stared into his incredibly blue eyes and pressed a deep kiss to his lips. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. Like a superhero.”
He made a face and gave a half laugh. “Thanks for the pep talk. I appreciate your defending me and setting me straight. It shows how much you really care. I care about you, too, Mercedes.”
She bit her lip to stop the tears that threatened at his comment. She did care and probably wouldn’t have been so vehement about it if she didn’t.
“I’ll always be your cheerleader, Evan.”
“You’ve got the outfit already. You mentioned the superhero thing before. Do I get to wear a cape and tights?”
She played with the hair at the nape of his neck, then signed, “Do you want to wear a cape and tights?”
His eyes rose to the ceiling in thought. “Not really. I’d prefer armor like Thor or maybe the leather outfit of Star Lord.” His eyebrows waggled in a silly way.
They both laughed, and some of the heaviness melted away. She sagged against him and his arms wrapped around her back, holding her close. It was perfect, though she couldn’t sign to him this way. One drawback of having a Deaf boyfriend.
Was he her boyfriend? Should she ask? Was it too soon? What if he said they were only fooling around? Better to find out now than look like a loser later, right?
“So this kissing that we’re doing … What are we calling it?”
His eyes narrowed. “Kissing? What else would you call it? Making out? Nookie? Don’t the British call it snogging?”
He had to make a joke out of everything. Did he really not know what she was asking, or was he as afraid as she was of giving it a name?
“Are we dating? Seeing each other?” She tensed, waiting to see his reaction.
“We see each other every day. This kissing thing is new. However, we haven’t actually gone on a date, so we can’t call it that.”
“Do you want to go on a date? We kind of did when we went to Boston last month.”
His dimple appeared as he grinned. “I had a really good time in Boston, except when your ex showed up and tried to steal you away from me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, believe me, Callum could never steal me away from you or anyone else. He’s a complete dud. I found that out the hard way.”
Evan stilled. “If we date, maybe you’ll find out I’m a dud.”
Tipping her head, she signed, “I’ve known you for a bazillion years. I think I would have known if you were a dud before now.”
“I’ve never been your boyfriend before. Maybe that’s what I’m a dud at. I’ve never had a girlfriend very long.”
“Who usually breaks up in your relationships?” How anyone could want to stop seeing Evan, she didn’t know.
“I usually do. Mostly, I wasn’t that into them. I want someone who gets me and isn’t only trying to show her friends that she’s cool enough to go out with a Deaf guy. Or a Deaf girl seeing me only because I’m Deaf and available, not because she likes the real me.”
“I hang out with you because you’re fun. Most of the time. When you aren’t teasing me.”
He laughed. “Admit it, you love it when I tease you. Because you tease me right back. That’s what makes it fun. I can be myself with you and not feel like I need to change who I am.”
That was possibly one of the best compliments she’d ever gotten.
They both stopped laughing and stared at each other.
The air grew heavier, more serious, a far cry from the light atmosphere they typically maintained.
Her heart thudded in her chest, and she was glad he couldn’t hear how loud it was.
She’d never wanted to kiss someone as badly as she did right this moment.
His fingers stroked her cheek, then he signed with his other hand. “So soft. I love your skin.” He leaned in, watching her, giving her a chance to back away. She couldn’t if her life depended on it.
This kiss felt different. More serious and emotional.
Perfection. Something swelled inside her as their lips caressed, her thoughts surrounding him stronger than ever.
He saw himself as broken, fractured, and she wanted to make him see that every piece of him was exactly where it needed to be.
She saw him fully and knew exactly how extraordinary he was.
As they ended the kiss, her heart gave a kick.
She was falling in love with him. When had that happened?
She wanted to bask in the glow of it. Leaning back, she pulled him with her until they rested on the couch cushions.
Evan held himself up by his elbows, so he didn’t crush her.
Their lips touched over and over again, nothing wild but deeply personal.
He propped himself on his side and smirked. “So, leather pants, huh?”
She laughed, but inside she trembled, knowing this wasn’t simply a crush anymore. He wasn’t only a friend, or roommate, or even the guy she helped with lessons. He was the man she loved.
After shutting off his light, Evan slipped into bed and pulled the covers over himself. Would he even be able to sleep after the night he’d had with Mercedes? Not that they’d gone much further than kissing, but for them, it was beyond anything they’d done before.
The woman was incredible. Besides the sessions they were doing, where she basically translated the written word into ASL, she was his biggest cheerleader.
Tonight, she’d gotten hot under the collar and told him off.
It had been a bit of a turn on, seeing her all passionate and spunky.
She didn’t take any crap from anyone, certainly not him, but it had helped to see himself in a different light, the way she saw him, or so she said.
He still had a hard time believing a woman as intelligent and beautiful as Mercedes could be interested in a construction worker who was covered in dirt daily, but she wasn’t the type to say something that wasn’t true. Being fake was not in Mercedes’ makeup.
It was totally adorable how she wanted to learn all about the heavy equipment he worked on.
Her questions were relevant and in depth.
Was she really interested in the construction vehicles or was it only to make him feel better?
Or perhaps it was exactly as she’d said, so she could help him interpret the book and get to know what he did better.
It was amazing that she wanted to connect with him that way.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t connect with her job in the same way.
Maybe he could find another way to relate to her career.
The best thing that had happened tonight was feeling like he could be himself with Mercedes.
When he’d said it, she’d nodded and smiled like he’d given her the biggest compliment.
They’d had that close camaraderie ever since they were kids, but their relationship had altered a bit lately.
It was nice to see it hadn’t altered all that much in some ways.
Except those kisses. Man, those kisses were different from anything they’d ever done before.
Right now, he wanted to go and kiss her some more.
Honestly, he wanted to do much more than that with her, but moving slow was a better option, and he knew it.
She wasn’t the type of woman you rushed into a more intimate relationship.
They needed to take their time and really ease into it.
Would they get there? They seemed to be on the right track, but what if something came along to spoil things?
He’d never known anyone like Mercedes. Such class, along with smarts and grace.
Never mind her stunning looks. She made him feel like he could take on the world.
He’d do anything for her, to be with her and care for her.
Protect her. He trusted her with all his little secrets, the worst being his reading ability.
He was so thankful she was someone to trust.