“You seem certain.” What I don’t say is that I call bullshit. This thing between us isn’t just some act of boredom, at least not for me. I’m into this girl. Really into her. I can’t stop thinking about her, and the taste of her lips, or the smell of her hair.
“That’s really the only answer. We’ve been around each other countless times in a group setting, and we’ve never felt… this, whatever this is between us.”
I don’t argue with her because I don’t know if she’s right. My gut tells me she’s not. That this is more, maybe it’s because it’s never been just the two of us. We’ve never really had the chance to get to know one another and explore more. Whatever it is, I’m dreading leaving her on Sunday.
“Look at this.” I hand Aspen my phone. “Owen just sent me that.”
“Aw, look at Carter. He’s hamming it up for the camera.” She hands the phone back to me.
“It’s still surreal to see Owen as a father. Out of all of my brothers, I was certain he would be the last to fall.”
“Fall?”
“Head over ass in love.”
“Is that what you call it?” She laughs.
“You know what I mean. He was always the quiet, stoic one. Hell, I don’t even ever remember him dating anyone. I mean, obviously he did, but he was discreet about it. Now here he is announcing his love for his wife to anyone who will listen, and his son—” I shake my head. “He’s such a good father, not that I didn’t think he would be. It’s just surreal to see him as a dad.”
“Royce will be there with him soon,” she reminds me.
“Yeah.” I nod. “I’m sure Grant will be as well, if he has his say.”
“I’d say you’re right. I know Aurora wants kids. And I know she told him she wanted to be married before they started trying. It won’t surprise me if she gets pregnant right away.”
“Grant would be thrilled.”
“Rory would be too.”
“Have you ever done that?” I nod to my phone. “Built a fort?”
“Yeah. Haven’t you?”
“Sure, we did it all the time as kids, but it’s been years. And isn’t Carter a little young to enjoy it?” I ask her.
“I don’t think that’s the point. It’s more for the memories of it, you know? Owen and Layla will remember it, and they’ll have pictures to show Carter of his first homemade fort in the living room.”
“We should build one.”
“What?” She looks at me as if I might be losing my mind. Maybe I am, but I want this memory of my time with her.
“Let’s do it. It’s just us, so we don’t have to worry about disturbing anyone else, and Mom has a shit-ton of pillows and blankets. Lena Riggins is nothing if not prepared.”
“Are you being serious?” This time there is a light in her eyes and hope in her voice.
“Very. I’ll grab some supplies from the hall closet. You work on thinking out our design. I’ll be right back.” I kiss her quickly because I can, and she has yet to tell me not to and rush off to gather blankets and pillows.
“This will get us started,” I say a few minutes later. Dropping the pile of pillows and blankets to the floor, I help Aspen start moving furniture.
“I think we should push the couch and the loveseat together. We can use that corner for lots of pillows and a base of sorts to lean against.”
“Look at you, my little fort building pro,” I tease.
“This is not my first time, Conrad Riggins.” She winks, and the action has my cock twitching, taking notice of her words and their double meaning.
“Sounds like I could learn a thing or two from you.”
Something flashes in her eyes, but she quickly masks it when she tosses a pillow at my head. “Watch and learn,” she tells me.
Doing as I’m told, I watch her grab a blanket and drape it over the couch and then the coffee table, setting pillows on top to hold it in place. “You need some help?” I ask when the blanket keeps slipping off the end of the table before she can get the pillow there to hold it down. “I mean, as much as I’m enjoying the master at work, I hate to watch you struggle.”
She blows out a breath, making her hair fly all around her face. “Yes, please,” she concedes.
Over the next hour, we build a fort worthy of a king. We managed to make it high enough that when we’re lying inside, we can still have a clear view of the fireplace. We even moved the TV to the floor so we could continue to watch our series from our new fort.
“Do you think we need more blankets?” Aspen asks.
“We have what, three layers?”
“Yeah, but it’s nothing but the hardwood floor underneath. I want to be comfy.”
“You can lay on me,” I tell her without thinking.
“I’ll go grab another blanket.” She rushes off. As her footfalls sound at the steps, I can’t help but feel excited about today—about my time with her and what tonight could bring. The fort is not very big, so we’re going to be close, and if there is anything to make my night, it’s snuggling up with Aspen.
“Look at this one,” she says, pulling me from my thoughts. “I think it weighs like twenty pounds; it’s so thick. This is exactly what we needed.” She drops the blanket at the edge of the fort and then falls to her knees to get busy spreading it out on top of the other three.
As for me, I stand back and watch the show of her ass in the air in those leggings that she wears. I don’t know who invented them, but it must have been a man. Sure, they look like they’re comfortable, but no way would a woman create them knowing how crazy it would make the male population. Then again, maybe it was a woman. Regardless, I’m thankful to those involved. Aspen’s ass in those things is life-changing.
“There,” she says, backing out of the fort and climbing to her feet. “It’s perfect. However, there is one thing we still need.” She skips off to the kitchen, and like the puppy I am when it comes to her, I follow behind.
“What are you looking for?” I ask as I stand back and watch her opening the cabinets.
“Popcorn.” She digs in a few more cabinets and pauses with a smile. “Jackpot.” She holds up a box of microwave movie theater butter popcorn.
“I’ll make us some hot chocolate and grab a couple of bottles of water too,” I say, getting busy. We work side by side in the kitchen, just like we have the entire time we’ve been here. I like it. It feels natural. Everything with Aspen feels that way. Nothing is forced or fake. It’s just us, and I love that a hell of a lot more than I ever thought I would.
“Ready?” she asks, holding a massive bowl of popcorn.
“Let’s do this.” Together we make our way to the living room. “I’m glad you suggested the small end table under there, so we have somewhere safe to set these.” I hold up the two mugs of hot chocolate. “How about you set the popcorn down, and I climb in? I’ll hand you everything.”
“I’m so excited,” she says, the sparkle in her hazel eyes glimmering.
I wait for her to settle in the fort and carefully hand her one mug at a time, the two bottles of water, and the bowl of popcorn. “I’m going to get the lights,” I tell her. Making my way through the downstairs, turning off lights, and checking the door. We haven’t been outside today, but I still check it to make sure it’s locked. I could have done it all from the app on my phone, but I’m not taking any chances of something not being locked up. Not with Aspen. Moving back to the living room, I spy both of our phones on the mantel and grab those, as well as an additional blanket to cover up with.