He's got water boiling in a pot while he browns meat in a pan, and if I had to guess, he's making spaghetti.
"I'm impressed," I say loudly, so that my voice carries over the music.
He spins around quickly and grabs his chest. "Shit, you scared me."
"I didn't know you got scared. It's enlightening." I smirk. "Whatcha making?"
He walks over to a deck placed under one of the cupboards and stops the music. "I call this my 'don't be mad that I have to leave for a while tonight' offering."
"Ahh, so you're leaving me again?" I tease. I already know that there is some party that he has to attend. Marni and Talon had mentioned it yesterday. My feelings aren't even hurt that I wasn't invited because they all know that I can't go. Aside from this circle of people, everyone assumes I've run away. Which, I prefer because come tomorrow, I am running away. I'm technically an adult, so I'd prefer to call it moving.
"It's just for a couple hours and you won't even be alone. Marni said she'd come keep you company."
I've grown pretty used to being alone, and being the introvert that I am, I actually prefer it. But I do know that Lars' friends are important to him and recently Marni joined that list, so there is no harm in trying to get to know her a little better. "That's nice of her."
"Yeah, I figured you two could watch some chick flicks, paint your nails. Ya know, all that stuff chicks like to do."
I've never done those things. I don't even know how to paint my nails without them looking like a toddler took a bottle of polish and slopped it on my fingers. Marni is going think I'm this sheltered girl who just lives in the church and has no life. The truth is, that was my life. I am that girl.
Water begins bubbling over the pot, causing the burner to sizzle. I jump up to help, because one thing I can do is cook. It’s sort of a gift Mom left me when she fled. The responsibility of tending to her soon-to-be ex-husband's needs and desires. Anger begins to boil inside of me, much like the pot of water. Snatching up the box of spaghetti noodles, I push the thoughts from my head. I snap a handful in half and drop them into the boiling water, while Lars stands next to me draining grease into a can. "I'm pretty impressed that you know how to cook. Don't you have people who do that for you?"
"Well, yeah. But it’s spaghetti. Everyone can cook spaghetti and garlic bread. Shit." He snatches an oven mitt off the counter. "The garlic bread." He moves me to the side and pulls the oven open, only to find some burnt bread sitting on the rack. "Ok, everyone can cook spaghetti." He closes the oven back up and shuts it off. "Who needs garlic bread anyways." He gets behind me and nuzzles his face in my neck, tickling me with the short stubble on his face. "I can get used to this. Cooking with you. Kissing you."
His hand sets on my stomach and he turns me to face him. "Everything I want in life is in this room right now."
My eyes widen. "You're surprising me again. I had no idea you could be so sweet."
His neck stretches, and he sets his chin on top of my head. "I'm surprising myself. You make me wanna be better, Willa."
My head presses to his chest, snuggling in and feeling so safe and protected in his arms. This is my happy place. "I'll never understand why you want to be with me. I'm a mess."
"From one mess to another, we've got this." He kisses my forehead and I believe him. Everything is going to be ok. This fairy tale might not last forever. No one falls in love and keeps it at our age. It would be a rare gift that I'd gladly accept, but I have to be realistic. This life isn't going to be easy. We have a lot of bumpy roads ahead. But for now, I'm living in the moment and holding on tight.
24
"How hungry are you?" I grumble into the crease of Willa's neck. Now that she's mine, I can't keep my hands off of her. Pure perfection, inside and out.
"Not at all."
My hands cup underneath her ass, and I hoist her up. With her legs wrapped around me, I carry her into the living room, slightly nervous of how this could play out. She has scars inside, naturally so. She's been tormented by a lion who bared his teeth and threatened to feed on her soul. It's going to take a lot of time and patience on my end before she ever fully lets her guard down.
But the way she's kissing my neck as I carry her through the living room leads me to believe she wants this just as much as I do. "Are you sure?" I ask her, taking the steps upstairs. Her grip around my shoulders tightens. "I won't let you fall." I chuckle.
"If you drop me, so help me God."
"Listen girl, I work out for a living. I've been on break for a couple weeks, but there is no way I'm dropping your one-hundred pound ass down the stairs." When we get to the top, she sighs in relief. "Did you seriously doubt me?"
"Not one bit."
"Liar." I kick open the door to the room she's been staying in and lay her down on the bed. "I don't like to be lied to." My lips slam into hers as I seduce her tongue. Her legs bend at the knees, inviting me between them. I
