9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Morgan
Morgan was brushing her teeth before turning in for the night, being mindful of her bottom lip, which was still a bit sore.
She still had no idea how that injury had even happened.
Just as she finished, her phone dinged with a text message.
Picking it up, she silently prayed it wasn’t Doug asking her to come help with Gracie.
Of course, she would drop everything to go help with Gracie if it was needed, but she really wanted to go to bed and read for a bit before falling asleep.
But the text message wasn’t from her brother, it was from Cody.
Cody: So………….I just finished reading chapter twenty-three.
Morgan laughed to herself as she walked into her bedroom and flopped onto her bed. She hadn’t thought Cody was actually going to read Wonderfully Mr. Wrong, but apparently, she’d been wrong.
Morgan: Yes and…?
Cody: Why the fuck does this book have such an innocent-looking cartoon cover? There was nothing innocent about Chapter twenty-three. LOL
Morgan: A lot of spicy romance books have cute cartoon covers nowadays.
Cody: Weird.
Morgan: But are you enjoying it?
Cody: …yes? I don’t hate it. Wouldn’t mind less descriptions of Aiden’s ‘amazing abs’ blah blah blah and I don’t understand the logistics of a dick that she ‘can’t wrap her hands around’. wtf.
A giggle escaped Morgan as she rolled onto her stomach to type back.
Her skin felt flushed and she could feel her heart beating strong and steady in her chest. Even though Cody had broken her heart ten years ago, every time he smiled at her, talked to her, texted her…
another piece of her heart got stitched back up.
Plus, she had been young and dramatic back then.
She’d been a teenager and shouldn’t have been pestering him about getting engaged only a few months after they’d officially started dating.
No wonder she had scared teenage Cody away.
She smiled to herself as she typed in her response.
Morgan: Well, if I remember correctly, you’re doing just fine in that department.
Cody: Yep. ;)
Morgan: Wait! Please don’t send me a dick pic. I was not hinting. Just stating a fact.
Cody: I wasn’t going to!
Morgan was typing her reply, but another message arrived.
Cody: plz send nudes
Cody: Also: I’m kidding.
Morgan couldn’t help but laugh. But…
Morgan: You’re sure you’re kidding?
Cody: I mean…
Morgan spent the next five minutes trying to snap a tasteful picture of her boobs while lying in bed and lifting her shirt.
She only had her night lamp on, so it was ‘romantic lighting’.
And she purposely kept her head out of the frame.
When she was finally happy with a photo, she hit send.
And then instantly broke out in a nervous sweat.
He did say he was kidding…And they weren’t actually dating again. Not yet, anyway.
Cody: Well, fuck…I really was kidding, but I’m certainly not complaining. Just as amazing as I remember. <3
Morgan: Why thank you. I grew them myself.
Cody: You want a dick pic now? Did you change your mind?
Morgan laughed, shaking her head at her phone screen.
Morgan: I’m good, but thanks. So…anyway, I got my new work schedule and I’m free on Tuesday. And I don’t have to watch Gracie.
Cody: Hmm…Let me think. Yeah, I’m busy that day. Super busy.
Morgan huffed. She already knew Cody had ‘retired early’ and had a completely free schedule.
The fact that Grandpa Sam had enough money to allow Cody to retire was still a surprise.
Cody hadn’t given her an exact number, and she didn’t really want to ask.
If she was being honest with herself, it wouldn’t matter if it was a million dollars or a million pennies in his bank account, because talking to Cody was making her feel alive again.
Way too many heavy things had happened lately, one after another.
It was like she hadn’t even been aware she was trudging through a rainstorm until Cody showed up and offered her some sunshine for the first time in years.
Falling back into their silly, sarcastic conversations was a welcome reprieve.
Morgan: Fine. I’ll find some other cute guy to go fishing with instead.
Cody: You’re going fishing? Hmmm…maybe I can rearrange my schedule and pencil you in.
Morgan: Nope. Too late. Now I’ve made other plans. You lost your chance.
Cody: What if I offered to bring cupcakes from Corner Pieces?
Morgan: The chocolate ones with the peanut butter frosting?
Cody: If that’s what you want, then yes. Cupcakes and fishing.
Morgan: Okay. You’re on. See you on Tuesday. <3
Morgan spent way too much time getting ready for her first date with Cody, especially since it was only a fishing date.
Her closet didn’t have many options. Even so, she tried on every pair of shorts she had, settling on basic denim cutoffs, and decided to pair them with a little pink crop top.
She told herself it was hot outside, so the fewer clothes the better.
To keep cool. It had nothing to do with wanting to show off for Cody.
But she actually knew it had everything to do with showing off for Cody.
There was no denying that she enjoyed the way he looked at her, his eyes lingering on all the right places.
He always seemed to appreciate her curves.
She kept her makeup simple and natural and made sure to lather sunscreen on her pale skin.
Being a redhead and spending time outside in the summer was no joke.
But she did take some extra care with her hair, blowing it out and making sure it was extra soft and wavy.
She put on her glasses and applied one last coat of lip gloss before heading out.
She lived above the grocery store, with the apartment’s door opening to the back of the building.
Her car was parked back there, but she had enough time to walk to Cody’s place.
It’d be less obvious that she’d gone out if she left her car.
It was hard to think up reasons for her to go out and do things when she’d been doing next to nothing the past couple years and Doug knew her schedule.
The dating prospects in Cornerstone were non-existent.
And while she was friends with Lexi the librarian, their schedules rarely lined up.
Things would be a whole lot easier if Doug would accept that she had forgiven Cody and wanted to give their relationship another try.
The closer she got to Cody’s cottage, the more nervous she got.
But it was a mix of nerves and excitement.
She wanted this date to go well. She was pretty confident it would, but there was still a very small inkling of doubt that she might do something stupid, you know, like propose, and scare him off again.
Kissing. Just kissing. She was allowed to kiss him. Or maybe a bit more than kissing, if things were headed in that direction. But she was going to purposely remind herself to not say anything about their future, marriage, and babies—no matter how good the date was going.
She rounded the bend, heading down to the beach.
Cody was already there, getting the canoe ready.
A gentle breeze chose that exact moment to lightly fluff up her hair, which she was pretty damn happy about.
It made her feel like she was a model in a photoshoot.
Time seemed to slow as their eyes met across the distance.
So many happy memories of spending time with Cody came flooding back to her.
Yeah, he’s mine, Morgan thought to herself. And she was never letting him leave her ever again.