Happy Sunday!
I've had a bit of a hellatious weekend, so I plan to do a whole lot of nothing today, but you know I still gotta get this out for you guys!
Big thanks to all my usual team. 3
-74-
Our bowls are empty, the Thai noodles Bella cooked mixed with vegetables and chicken making me full and sated, but only in the sense of my physical hunger. There's still plenty for me to be hungry for, and one of the main things sits on the other side of the couch with her feet in my lap.
I love that she's so comfortable with me—with herself. She's so confident and so sure, and it's fucking intimidating. I'm only confident when it comes to work. Otherwise, I'm a fucking mess.
She was right; the noodles were spicy, but not in a way that hurt. More in a way that warmed me up with their gradual heat.
Or maybe that was just her.
One of my hands rests over my full stomach, the other casually on top of her foot, and I'm more content than I think I've ever been. If this were all we did tonight, I'd be happy.
But there's still more there, simmering under the surface. A rolling boil of desire waiting for a catalyst to set it off.
Slowly, my thumb traces up the arch of her foot, pressing to massage. She lets out a low groan, one that goes straight to my cock, and if it weren't for the fact that the Original Nightstalker is on the TV, I'd be jumping her right now.
No one wants to fuck to the Original Nightstalker.
"How about I do up the dishes, so you don't have to worry about them later?" I ask, running my thumb across the ball of her foot.
"A foot massage and an offer to do chores? Can I keep you?" Bella sighs, tilting her head against the back of the couch.
My stomach flips with the look she's giving me, and I feel one corner of my lips tilt up. "Yeah, I'm hoping you do."
"I still have a few things I wanna test drive before I decide, but your ratings are pretty high," she pulls her foot back, leaning up on her knees to kiss my cheek, then my lips. It's more chaste than I would like, but since when do I turn down kisses? "How about I wash, and you dry?"
"Sounds perfect."
Standing at the sink with Bella feels...domestic.
It's not something I ever pictured for myself, but fuck if it doesn't make me want more. More of her, more of this, more of everything. I want to discover all the things I've missed out on all those years I wasn't in a serious relationship.
"I won't say that's the best meal I ever had, because somehow my mom would hear it and come skin me alive, but it was the best I've had outside of her cooking, that's for sure," I tell her, enjoying the modest smile that graces her lips. It's not a look I'm used to seeing on her, and it's nice knowing I put it there.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. My mom would be very glad to hear it."
"Is she who taught you to cook?"
She nods, putting the stopper into the sink to run some water now that the dishes have all been piled in.
"Mostly, yeah. Though my dad is no dummy in the kitchen. I always really admired how they shared that responsibility growing up. They both worked, they both cleaned, they both cooked...they both disciplined," she laughs. "It was really nice."
"Sounds like it. My mom always did the domestic stuff for Rose and me; that's my sister. Rose is kind of a genius in the kitchen, which is good considering she has five kids and a husband that puts away more food than I can even begin to fathom. But alas, I'm hopeless. I live on takeout and coffee when I can't make it home."
"That's nice too, though. The more traditional gender roles. Whatever works, right?"
We fall into a sort of unspoken rhythm with the dishes, like it's an old habit ingrained in us that we didn't know we had. She washes, I rinse, dry, and put away.
Luckily she doesn't question how I know where things go.
"Mhm, yeah, whatever works," I nod, smiling. "What works for you?"
"Hm?"
"I mean...what can I look forward to if I decide to make you mine?" I can't hold back anymore. The plate in my hand slides into the cupboard, and when I turn back to her, rather than taking the next dish she offers, I slide my fingers underneath her hair at the base of her neck and fucking finally press my lips to the shoulder that's been teasing me all goddamn night.
My words make her blush, but my actions send goosebumps erupting all over her skin, and it's too fucking cute that I have the same effect on her that she has on me.
"Hm, let's see," she looks off into space as if she's looking into our future. "I think a lot of good things. A partnership. A teammate. Someone to navigate through this crazy thing called life, so you never have to do anything alone ever again."
She looks back up at me and...fuck. That look. I can't even put into words how her eyes literally hold the map to everything I never knew I could possibly want. It's the moment. The one everyone talks about; the exact moment I know I've fallen in love with her.
Maybe it's too fast. Maybe it's not right, or immoral, or what the fuck ever else. Maybe I don't care because it's there, and it's undeniable.
"Oh, and lots and lots of crazy sex, of course," she finishes with a giggle.
Sounds like a dream team in the making...if only there weren't that one pesky little issue hanging over their heads...hmmmmm.
