Henhouse

20. CHAPTER TWENTY #2

“Top of the list,” Effie asserted, and he believed her. “ I’m curious how you came up with the idea.”

“Between the electric kettle you had hidden behind the register, the teacup drawing at stained glass night, and the tote I ruined, I kind of guessed you liked tea. I figured you might enjoy blending your own.”

“How observant of you.”

“I do my best.” Theo winked, which had her rolling her eyes.

He was happy to see she’d relaxed a bit since she climbed into the Jeep.

Thankfully, he had too. First date nerves were par for the course, but this easeful banter was better.

It took every ounce of his restraint not to pepper her with questions, peel back the layers, uncover what caused the palpable ache that echoed behind her. “You don’t say much,” he observed.

Effie wrinkled her nose as though embarrassed. “Sorry,” she sighed. “If I don’t know what to say I try not to babble.”

Theo hoped that wasn’t for fear of judgment.

“You can babble at me all you like,” he assured her.

He took her hand from across the table and drew lazy circles on the back of her palm with his thumb.

It was a habit of his. Though many found it too intimate a touch for a first date, Theo never had.

Effie didn’t seem to mind either, since she didn’t pull away.

“It’s not that . . . it’s just. Babbling is dangerous for my palate. Following an errant train of thought usually results in some pretty sour, salty words.”

As if in evidence of that very notion she scraped her tongue on her teeth. Presumably to get rid of the sour and salt.

“That must be challenging.” Theo sighed. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle it. Having to monitor his mind and his mouth so he didn’t encounter too much unpleasantness. “You could just say my name on repeat. That’d be okay by me.”

The laugh that tumbled from her was a bubbly glass of champagne.

“Theo, Theo, Theo,” she drawled. The singular thought of hearing her say it as she came consumed him. “What do I have to do to make you forget I ever confessed how sweet your name tastes?”

“I will never forget.”

“Oh fine,” she said, the hint of a pout on her lips before she took a bite of a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich. “That’s delicious.”

“Made them myself,” Theo boasted. He noticed the buzz of the refrigerator in back and the silence around them. “Let me put on some music.”

Effie nearly leaped from her chair. “No, don’t!”

Theo cocked his head to the side, utterly confused.

“This is why I’ve only ever been on first dates,” she growled and rubbed her hands over her face, the poise cracking ever so slightly.

But Theo waited for the explanation he knew was coming.

Effie now hated her synesthesia for the second time in a month.

She loved music, adored it. When it was perfectly curated, prescreened, and full of palate-friendly tunes that wouldn’t spoil the mood or her taste buds.

It grated on her nerves that she’d had to point to her condition twice now on this date as a reason that she was so awkward.

She hoped he’d realize on his own that she often spoke with morsels of her meal tucked into her cheek to stave off word tastes when gum wouldn’t do.

“Your synesthesia?” Theo interjected. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to keep explaining what a challenge it is. It’s just not something I have to think about every day.”

Effie’s heart swelled at the acknowledgment. “If you want something on in the background, maybe something instrumental? Or um, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors album is a safe one. Beyond that, I kind of have to take it song by song. I’m sorry.”

Theo squeezed the hand that he hadn’t let go of for a solid five minutes. “Stop saying sorry. That makes total sense. No music it is. I just wanted the mood to be right.”

“The mood is perfect, Theo.”

She was totally serious. The café lights, the tea, the delicious sandwiches he’d made himself.

Everything was so perfectly wonderful that she contemplated how he had gotten so good at dating.

She wondered how many women he’d slept with.

Effie flushed so badly she wanted to strip the denim jacket from her clammy flesh.

She pulled her hand away and cradled it in her lap. “Whatever happened with Talia?”

“Ah,” Theo sighed as though he hoped it wouldn’t come up. “We aren’t benefiting anymore. If that’s what you mean.”

“Since when?” Effie couldn’t help but wonder what had driven him to Glitter & Glue to ask her out when he had someone like Talia warming his bed.

“About eight days ago.”

“I see.” She didn’t know what else to say. She wanted to ask what had happened, why they broke up, or whatever it was called when you stopped benefiting . She kept a vise on her curiosities and sipped her tea instead. It was delicious. So rich and full-bodied. Delectable.

“That’s not what I’m looking for from you,” Theo said tentatively.

Well, that was a gut punch. Maybe he’d traded in his sexy sidepiece for someone who might impress his mother, pearls and all.

It must have shown on her face because he quickly corrected.

“Fuck, that’s not . . . I do. I mean eventually.

I want to take this slow, and I’m not trying to seduce you or fuck around or whatever. I want to date you. Get to know you.”

“Why? You seemed to have fun with Talia.”

“Because, the sky is blue.”

Was that supposed to make sense, because it absolutely didn’t. Effie thought he might be having a stroke as she furrowed her brow. “If you don’t want that from me, and you don’t want Talia, what do you want?”

“What do you want, Effie?”

“I asked you first.”

Theo leaned back in his seat, pouring more tea into the bone china cup painted with deep-green leaves.

As he blew the steam from its surface, Effie admired the softness of his parted lips.

He was heart-achingly beautiful, and she felt wholly unprepared for how much she wanted him to touch her again, even if it was just to hold her hand.

Out of her depth was an understatement, but it was only because she’d never put her romantic imaginings into practice.

She might have gotten up and locked him in the tea shop forever, so she could stay in this bubble pretending that they were made for each other.

Where they didn’t know enough about one another to decide it wasn’t a fit, but they knew enough to want to try anyway.

He set the cup back on its saucer and spun the silver band around his forefinger. Effie realized for the first time that it was actually white gold, tarnished from years of wear. “You really want to know what I want?”

“Yes.” Effie gulped, anticipation and anxiety burning her throat .

“I want to be here, having tea and talking with you.”

Effie pushed back against every instinct to ask why he would think she of all people was so special, so worth a shift in priorities. Instead, she took Hope’s advice. She shoved back her insecurities and told them to shut the hell up. “What’s the story with your ring?”

“What makes you think there is one? Maybe I’m just fashionable.” Effie raised her brows and Theo laughed. “It was my dad’s wedding band.”

Effie’s heart sank. Was. She instinctively reached for his hand and he didn’t pull away. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Theo’s expression was unreadable, but he blurted, “He’s still alive.

Sorry, I’m hearing how that sounded.” Effie tried to take her hand back, something like embarrassment setting her ears on fire, but he held tight and started tracing those hypnotic circles again.

She hated the disappointment that rolled across her spine that they didn’t share that loss. She wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

“My parents got divorced when I was sixteen,” Theo explained. “As much as they had loved each other, it still didn’t work out. Or they didn’t evolve to let it work out?”

“What do you mean?”

“My mom wanted to travel more. My dad was a homebody. My dad wanted to make plans and budgets, while my mom wanted to be more free-flowing. By the time they filed for divorce, they claimed they’d grown apart.

Don’t get me wrong, theirs has to be the most amicable divorce in history, but the assertion that they didn’t want the same things anymore never sat right with me.

I’ve seen their wedding video. I know their vows by heart.

They wanted the same things. What they didn’t want to do was change when it became necessary to hold on to what they cherished—each other, our family.

So, I wear it to remind myself that when I find my soulmate, I won’t be too proud or too stubborn or too stuck in my ways. ”

“And what about the times when someone is just meant to make an appearance? Spend a season with you and then disappear forever?” Effie wanted to believe in soulmates but had learned instead that not everyone gets a recurring role.

“Then they aren’t soulmates,” Theo said matter-of-factly. “Or they shied away from doing the work.”

“Isn’t love supposed to be easy?” It’s what Effie had always hoped, that somehow her family had failed to keep it by thinking it was hard.

“Love is easy, I think. Choosing to do life with someone can be hard, but I think it’s worth the effort. I wish my parents had seen it that way.”

“Me too,” Effie confessed.

“Your parents split up too?”

“Yeah, but I was much younger.” Effie didn’t feel like washing the evening in her grief, so she didn’t mention that her father was dead. Instead, she smothered a scone in crème fraiche and took a bite. They were good, but hers were better. “Did you make these too?”

“No. I’m no baker. They came from that little spot by the chapel.”

“Oh, they have amazing apple turnovers.”

“But not scones?” Theo asked, amused and watching as she placed the scone on her plate instead of finishing it in one bite like she had with the finger sandwiches.

“No! They’re good.”

“But?”

“Mine are better,” Effie said as though it were a question through gritted teeth, shoulders reaching her ears.

“You can say that with more confidence, you know?”

“I’ll work on that.”

The night passed in easy conversation and even easier silence. It was something Theo didn’t know was a priority of his, but not needing to fill the air with chatter felt right.

It felt even more right to have Effie’s fingers entwined with his as they walked along Prescott Park beneath the stars on their way back to his car.

They had taken the long way, at Effie’s request, and he was glad she didn’t want the night to end after the tea and chocolates were gone. He didn’t either.

A chill breeze blew her hair from her face and he caught himself staring again.

After tonight, he felt like he knew her better.

He learned about her favorite music and how she got into baking by helping her grandma in the kitchen.

She told him about her sisters and nieces.

They went over her astrology—an Aquarius sun, which he could now point to for why she seemed in her head so frequently.

He was even able to goad her into telling him about her romance novels and what drew her to them.

Apparently using fiction to imagine a life beyond your wildest dreams wasn’t just a pastime of his.

He fully planned to make those kinds of dreams a reality whenever she was ready, but he wouldn’t push her.

Not when he was content to hold her hand and learn about how she saw the world.

And especially not when she’d seemed anxious about his reaction when she’d subtly revealed that she was a virgin.

Theo had many anxieties about being her first—if he got to be—because it was so important to her.

But it’s the last that mattered to Theo.

Sex had always been a great way to explore joy and connection and love, but he didn’t believe it was the only way.

He could use Effie’s playbook instead of his own this time.

He’d be happy to, if only because he knew the way his arm tingled at her touch meant something truly special sprouted between them.

Theo was sad when they reached his Jeep parked in the lot at Memorial Bridge.

Effie leaned against the passenger door, playing with his fingers. “Thanks for demonstrating that first dates can be great.”

“It’s a shame no one had shown you that before.”

“Or not,” she said bringing their hands down by her side. “Makes it more special with you.”

Theo stepped in closer, using his free hand to tuck the waves of her hair behind her ear. He brushed his thumb along the soft line of her jaw, as she pulled on their intertwined hands, nudging him closer. A quiet plea.

Theo looked down, letting himself marinate in the bright blue of her eyes before she tilted her head back, inviting him to kiss her.

He touched his lips to hers, softly at first. The warmth of her breath on his mouth sent his spine tingling. Theo moved his hand to the nape of her neck, his fingers wrapped in the silk of her hair as he deepened the kiss.

When she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him closer, her chest pressed against his, he thought he might lose against his resolve to take things slow and fall to his knees right then and there.

Effie’s tongue glided over his and he tensed with eager anticipation. Damn, she was a good kisser .

He lost all sense of time and place as their lips moved with a tender passion.

His hand found the small of her back, a divine warmth radiating from her skin.

He wanted to be wrapped up in it, but he was reminded with her hand on his chest as she slowly, so slowly , pulled away from their kiss that he was not here to do what he’d always done.

They stilled, his forehead against hers, their breathing a bit ragged.

He leaned in once more, softly nibbling her bottom lip before unlatching the door behind her, so she could climb in.

Her gaze was unreadable, but the flush of her cheeks and swell of her lips was enough to have him asking, “When can I see you again?”