35. Parker
35
PARKER
T he steaks are sitting on my kitchen counter, seasoned and ready to be cooked. The wine is poured, and my favorite jazz playlist is playing throughout my apartment on my speaker. I’ve got candles lit and even invested in a room spray so that Dylan won’t think that my apartment is the typical bachelor’s pad. It is, but anything helps.
We’ve only been in town for a few days since the end of the tour, which means she’s not gotten the chance to come over yet. Her seeing where I spend a lot of my free time makes me anxious for some unknown reason. Probably because the last time we dated, I was a naive college student whose idea of decorating was music posters and navy plaid sheets. I’ve come a long way since then.
There’s a soft tap on my front door, and the sound brings a grin to my face. I grab the bouquet I picked up at the flower stand on my way home and hide it behind my back before opening the door.
Dylan’s standing on the other side, looking as beautiful as ever. She’s wearing a light pink floral slip dress and a denim jacket. The neckline gives the perfect peek of cleavage, and I push my need to claim her aside. There’s time for that later.
“Hi,” she whispers, her cheeks pinched, eyes wrinkled from her million-dollar smile that stops my heart every time I see it.
I pull the arrangement of wildflowers from behind my back as I whisper “hello” back. The grin that she’s wearing grows, and she throws her arms around my neck, causing me to lose my balance. I grip the door frame with my free hand, catching myself from falling. When I’m steady again, I wrap both of my arms around her waist and pull her to me. I take a deep inhale, savoring her signature sweet yet spicy scent.
I take a step back, usher her in, and hand her the flowers. She brings them to her nose to smell and hums joyfully to herself. Once the door is closed, I turn around and find her studying my apartment in wonder.
“Welcome home,” I say as I help her out of her jacket. I place it on one of the barstools that sit up against my kitchen counter and make my way back to the stove. As she’s making herself comfortable in the same seat, I stare at her, waiting in agony to see what she thinks. All I’ve ever wanted to do in life is impress this girl–now more than ever.
“This place is beautiful. You’ve really come a long way, haven’t you?” She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. “It even smells incredible. Who are you, and what have you done with the Parker I knew five years ago?”
I chuckle and throw my kitchen towel over my shoulder.
“He grew up. And thank god for that because I needed to.” I’m brimming with satisfaction as I place the flowers in a vase with water–yes, I even went and bought a fucking vase for the girl–and pour her a glass of wine. “You alright with steak for dinner? I’ve got Parmesan-crusted potatoes and asparagus to go with it.” Her brows fly up in surprise, causing me to snort out another laugh. “What?”
“You can cook now, too? Maybe all those years apart weren’t such a bad thing after all.” She lifts her now full glass of wine up for a toast and takes a sip. I halfheartedly roll my eyes at her and throw butter into the piping hot cast iron skillet I’ve had heating up on my stove. Once it melts, I place the two steaks down.
After a few minutes, I flip them and, with a quick glance at my watch, pull the potatoes and asparagus out of the oven. Dylan is watching me in silence, and I bathe in the way her undivided attention makes me feel.
“How was your day?” I ask, cutting the silence.
“It was great. You’re not the only one with exciting news to share.” She takes another sip of her wine, trying and failing to be as nonchalant as possible. I can tell she’s practically bursting at the seams, and her excitement is contagious.
“Oh, is that so?” I question as I baste rosemary-infused butter over the steaks and take them off the heat to rest.
“Yes! But I want to hear yours first.” She’s wiggling in her seat, so I hurry to plate our food in a way that I’m damn proud of. All of those episodes of Chopped I binged paid off.
I plant a kiss on her cheek and bring the food and flowers over to my kitchen table.
The long, gray, concrete table is set with silverware and more candles. I place the flowers in the middle as a centerpiece and take a moment to admire my work. It may just be dinner, and she deserves far more than something this simple, but I put a lot of thought into it. When I look up, she’s still sitting at the bar, watching me with soft eyes and a hand to her chest.
“This is so romantic,” she coos. She glides over to me and wraps her arms around my waist, holding me from behind. “Thank you for all of this. It’s beautiful.”
I turn to face her and take her jaw into my palms, rubbing my thumb across her silky skin. “You deserve it. You deserve more than this, actually. But this is just the beginning.” I lift her chin up to me and press one more kiss to her nose. As much as I want to get lost in her tonight, I pull away. “Let’s eat before the food gets cold.”
She lets out a small grumble of disappointment, which pulls a chuckle from my chest. I shake my head and pull her chair out for her. After getting her situated, I take my place across from her and pick up my wine glass one last time. “Cheers to us, Lucky. We’re just getting started.” We gently hit our glasses together with a clink and take a small sip.
“I love you so much.” She jumps in before I can get a word out, clapping her hands together. “Now tell me that the good news is. The suspense is killing me.”
I take a bite of steak and chew slowly, reveling in the explosion of flavor in my mouth with my eyes closed. I did good–I did so good.
I peep an eye open, and she’s shaking her head at me, clearly annoyed. I love riling her up. “Parker! I’m serious! What’s the news?”
I make a show of swallowing and wiping the corners of my mouth with my napkin. I wash the bite down with some water and finally give in.
“Evelyn made the New York Times Best Seller list.”
Dylan lets out a high-pitched shriek, and I cover my ears to keep my eardrums intact. “You did it!” she crows.
“We did it,” I correct her. “I just helped make sure the book was ready to hit shelves. Your marketing helped garnish interest. You’re the one who helped put together the book tour and brought in those audiences every single day.”
“We make a good team, don’t we?” She rests her chin on her knuckle, tilting her head. The twinkle in her eyes, paired with that question, makes the urge to ditch dinner and make love to her almost unbearable. The quiet rumble of my hungry stomach stops me, which means I need to hurry so I can show her how much better we are together.
“We do. Your turn. What’s this good news you’ve had waiting for me?” I throw her question back at her, and she shifts to sit taller.
“I got promoted. My new title is officially Marketing Coordinator, and I’m going to be working under Scarlett.”
I push out of my chair, abandoning my food, and run to her side. I pull her up and out of her chair and into my arms, spinning her around. Her arms wrap snugly around my neck, and she lets out a melody of laughter that will forever remain ingrained in my mind. I set her down and rest my forehead against hers, cupping the back of her head.
“Congratulations, Lucky. I don’t know anyone more deserving.” I croon, brushing my nose against hers. Her hot breath hits my lips, and my gaze falls down to hers. They’re perfectly plump and only inches away from my own.
“Thank you,” she utters breathlessly. My breath hitches when she licks her lips, and I succumb to the temptation, closing the distance between us.
She lets out a small moan into my mouth, and I greedily swallow the sound that makes my entire body buzz. Her hands go from my neck up into my hair, and she gives it a light tug. A groan escapes from me against her lips, and I latch onto her hips, pulling her tighter against me so she can feel the growing bulge hiding beneath my jeans.
She breaks us apart, leaving me winded, my chest heaving. My eyes rest on her swollen lips, then trail down to her chest. Her dress shifted while we got carried away, giving me a better view of her supple cleavage. She follows my stare and grins, fixing herself. “That’s dessert. The quicker you can eat, the sooner you can have it.”
With a pat on my chest, she sits back in her chair, and I rush back over to mine. I’m ready to down this food as quickly as possible so we can resume that .
We sit in silence, both with stupid smiles on our faces that we simply can’t seem to shake .
Once we’re both finished, Dylan leans back in her chair and rests a hand on her stomach. “That was incredible. Looks like you’re going to be doing all of the cooking in our relationship from here on forward.”
I mimic her stance and cross one leg over the other, folding my arms over my chest. “Oh, is that so? What do I get out of it?”
“Unlimited dessert.” The wicked flare in her eyes is a reminder of what we stopped only moments ago, and my cock twitches at the sight.
“You drive a hard bargain, but you’ve got yourself a deal.”
I stand and stack our plates. As I’m heading to the kitchen sink, I catch Dylan sneaking off toward my bedroom out of the corner of my eye. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I think it’s time for dessert, don’t you?”
I drop the plates in the sink and race after her. The dishes can wait until the morning.