“So why are you acting so weird?” she muttered out loud, covering her face with a pillow. She quickly nabbed her cell phone off the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. There were no calls or messages from Tank. I’m hopeless.
She owed her bestie a text. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, filling Fe in on all the dirty details while she processed the fact that Tank’s clothing no longer lingered on her bedroom floor. But neither of them had a serious conversation on what they expected from each other. Wait… there were expectations. Remember? I’m too busy and freaked out about what’s going on with those lowlifes. And I needed last night. It was a perfect distraction—no ties, just sex. But something other than sex had happened. Not wanting to deal with it at that moment, she pushed the thought out of her mind.
Anyway, it was better to play it cool. So what if Tank didn’t stick around? Neither of them had discussed what this meant for them, and there was no required lingering time for a booty call.
Lena threw the phone onto the bed and went into the bathroom to get ready for the day. She refused to lie around moping, and regardless of whether or not Tank would even text her after the fact, her growling stomach wasn’t going to wait for an answer. She also didn’t want to deal with the flood of texts from Felicia without some carbs in her system.
After showering and dressing, Lena padded into the kitchen and came to an abrupt halt. Tank stood shirtless behind her flat top griddle, flipping pancakes. A plate of cooling bacon and poured orange juice sat on the table.
As if sensing her, he looked over his shoulder and grinned.
“Morning, sleepyhead.”
“What are you doing?”
“Making you breakfast.”
“Besides my mom, no one’s ever made me breakfast.”
He laughed. “Then you’re damn overdue.”
“I thought you left.” Leaning against the doorway, she watched him work in her kitchen as if they did this kind of thing all the time. “I didn’t expect you to still be here.”
“Really?” The grin on his face widened. “Good to know what you think of me.”
“But I don’t have much in my fridge. I’m just confused.”
“No, darlin’, you’re still dazed from last night.” The heat in his eyes as they ran over the length of her body made her stomach flutter. “I went to the grocery store. They have food there.”
She swallowed a nervous giggle. “I know that.”
They both laughed as she went to one of the higher cabinets and took out a plate while he finished flipping the pancakes. She put the plate onto the counter next to the griddle and stole a piece of bacon sizzling in the frying pan.
“Thanks. Looks like I have a little help now.”
“Yeah, no. I’m quite enjoying watching you putter around in my house like you belong here.”
“I guess you gotta get your kicks where you can. I gotta say, cooking in this kitchen is like working in Barbie’s Dreamhouse.”
“Well, I didn’t have you in mind when it was built.”
“You had this custom done for you?” He raised his eyebrows in an exaggerated manner and whistled. “Fancy.”
“Says the man who secretly owns a business.” Lena came up behind him and goosed his butt before she perched on the countertop behind him.
There was a lot to admire in her kitchen, and she took full advantage of the fact. If she could sneak some photos without him knowing, she knew her best friend would die. But there was no way to hide that she was taking a blatant picture of him cooking shirtless, and there was no way Tank would let her live that down.
“You’re staring at me a lot. You want to get out your camera to save the memory?”
Her mouth fell open, shocked that he had practically read her mind.
“You’re feisty in the morning,” she said.
“I had a helluva night with an amazing woman.”
Heat radiated across her cheeks, and she looked away.
“Don’t get shy on me now, especially after last night.” Cupping his hand under her chin, he lifted her head and pressed his mouth on hers. “You look gorgeous in the morning.” Breaking away, he turned back to the griddle.
“So do you. .” She crossed her legs. “I gather you’re a morning person?”
“Yep—morning works for me—always has. I’m guessing you’re not?” He flipped another two pancakes on the griddle and pointed his spatula toward her coffeemaker. “I would have made some, but that thing is a little intimidating. I didn’t want to break anything.”
“I’m forced to be a morning person, but I love the night.” Lena hopped down from the counter. “I’ll make the coffee. This machine is amazing—it does a lot of things.”
“From the look of it, with all the buttons and shit, I figured that out.” He pointed to the stack of flapjacks on the griddle. “We’re about ready to eat, so work your magic, and I’ll keep working mine.”
She laughed. “He says to the chef.”
The next several minutes were spent making coffee, bantering, and joking back and forth with each other as Lena made herself a latte and finished making a black iced coffee for Tank. The interaction between them felt so comfortable and familiar.
“Finished with everything?” she asked, sliding his coffee glass across the countertop as he plated their pancakes at the table.
“Almost.” He came around the island and snagged her around the waist. “I didn’t give you a real good morning kiss.” He looked into her eyes, a small smile playing on his lips. Leaning forward, he kissed her until all the breath left her lungs.
God, he wasn’t even supposed to be here. The fact that he was, and pulling out her chair for her as she sat down to a delicious meal cooked for her, nearly made her brain melt into a puddle on the floor.
“You know, I’ll be critiquing this meal the whole way through.”
He leaned over and brushed his lips across hers. “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.” Pushing back, he gripped the bottle of syrup and poured it on his pancakes, cut off a large piece, and shoved it into his mouth. “If one night made you lose your ballbuster exterior, I think that would play to my ego way too much. Give me your review.”
“You got it.” She put the first bite into her mouth and chewed, expecting a consistency of rubber or concrete. “Wow.”
“Good wow or bad wow?” Tank took a sip of his black coffee, eyeing her over the rim of his glass.
“Actually, damn good. What did you use—”
“Nope. Not gonna happen. My secrets stay secret, Master Chef.”
She giggled. “Ah, I see.”
They ate in comfortable silence.
“You thought I’d be gone this morning?” Tank side-eyed her with an unreadable expression. “I can’t lie, that’s my normal MO.”
“What changed?” she asked quietly, as if she was nervous about the answer, knowing full well whatever happened between them that morning might alter a whole hell of a lot from a professed casual relationship to something more. “Something did.”
He made a small noise and paused over his food. “I like you. You challenge me. You don’t act like I shit gold because I own my business and go to the gym. And you’re different from the women I meet. I don’t know… I enjoy being with you. Let’s leave it at that.”