KDBookOnline
Share Us
“Don’t. I needed a laugh, and I still think you’re perfect.”
She was quiet long enough that I started to worry. “Something we don’t have to eat right away,” she said finally. “That’s what I want for dinner.”
“Sushi or subs?”
“Like that’s even a question.”
“Two spicy tuna rolls and a California roll?” I asked even though she’d gotten the same thing every time we ordered from the single sushi restaurant in Jericho.
“That’d be great. I’ll see you soon.”
“Oh, and Poppy, I’m down for whatever else you’re in the mood for.”
“You sure about that?” she said with a heavy dose of sass.
“Absolutely.”
Chapter twenty-five
Poppy
I’d just finished tapingdrop cloths to the studio windows when the doorbell rang. Hopefully it was dinner and not someone I had to get rid of before Theo arrived.
I grabbed my wallet and opened the door just as the delivery guy drove off with a friendly honk. Typical Theo. He used to cover everything when we were friends, even though I always tried to treat him. I grabbed the large bag and walked to the kitchen. There was a bottle of ketchup in the fridge and nothing else. I slid the plastic containers of sushi inside, along with the edamame he’d added to the order. He’d also gotten the green tea mochi ice cream I loved. I stashed the mochi in the freezer, which was half full of frozen entrees. If Rowan or Mom saw the contents of Theo’s fridge, he’d be getting a lecture and weekly meal deliveries from our house.
Since I had everything ready in the studio, I decided to set the table before remembering Theo didn’t have one. I opened the cabinets so I could at least have plates ready and took out two of the four basic white dishes he had. I slid open one drawer andthen another. All were lined with ’90s floral shelf paper and bare except for a box of plastic cutlery. Theo hadn’t lived here long, but surely, he’d had time to hit up Target for silverware.
I opened the Notes app on my phone and jotted down a few things I could get him to make the place feel homier. I wandered down the hall to the bathroom and cracked open the closet door. The towels we’d wrapped up in last night were the only ones he owned. He did at least have a pack of toilet paper and a first aid kit.
I worked on my list in the studio while I waited and almost missed the sound of the front door opening and closing. I’d been so occupied, I hadn’t had time to freak out about what I was about to suggest.
“What’s all this?” Theo asked as he entered the studio. He walked around the canvas I’d laid on the floor and kissed me deeply before I had a chance to answer. Yep. Dinner was going to wait.
“Well,” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist. “You made me such a thoughtful gift, I wanted to make one for you. But I’m afraid you have to help me.”
He looked at the canvas spread across the floor and the drop cloths covering the windows. “Are you spray painting something?”
“Nope,” I said. I pointed to the disposable pie dishes and washable tempera paint on the worktable. “You need something for your bedroom wall. Personally, I was thinking gray and an accent color. Red would work well, but it will clash with the carpet until Aiden changes it.”
“I’m still not following.”
I smirked at him. “I’m going to take off my clothes, and you’re going to cover me in that paint. All of me, except, you know. Then you’re going to take off your clothes, and I’ll cover you. Then we paint.”
His eyes widened and a slow smile spread across his face. Playful Theo was back, just like I’d hoped he’d be.
“Do you have green?” he asked, reaching for me.
“Just primaries, black, and white,” I said as he kissed my neck and started unbuttoning my shirt dress.
He left my dress half undone and brought me over to the worktable. “We’ll put the black and white on me.” He grabbed an empty pie pan and started mixing blue, yellow, and white. “Look at me,” he said, his tone urgent. He added more blue and held the spoon he’d used to mix the paint up to my face. “This is yours.”
The man color matched my eyes. I lunged at him and started yanking at his shirt. A few moments later, we were both naked and smearing paint all over each other.
“Damn it, I want to touch you,” he said as he grabbed my ass with a handful of green.
I knew exactly what he meant. I’d had to stop myself from wrapping my fingers around his erection several times. I dipped my hands in the black and white paint and ran them up and down his legs while he poured paint down my back. Glad I’d covered the floor in plastic.
“Good enough,” I said, standing. I grabbed the condom I’d put on the worktable earlier, which I’d bought in Jericho because I wasn’t hitting up the pharmacy in Peace Falls for protection any time soon.