“Okay,” I agreed, keeping my hands flat on the table and my eyes on her.
“We can watch it?”
“I said okay, didn’t I?”
Her laughter took me by surprise, but I wasn’t against it.
“Happy?” I asked, smiling back at her.
Her gaze dropped to my lips. “Yes, Jack. Very. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now stop talking and keep eating.”
She had a big smile the entire time she chattered and pulled me into conversation after conversation during dinner. As good as I was at not showing what I was thinking or feeling, I wasn’t sure if I did a good job that night. I was too worried about what the next day would bring and what I would do if something happened to her when she was out of my reach.
Chapter Eighteen
Jack
We got up from the dining table around seven-thirty PM. It had been one of the longest dinners I’d ever had, but since Rose looked happy, I didn’t and couldn’t have complained. She insisted on getting all the dishes in the dishwasher, and I kept her company until she was done. Her smile never wavered, and it made me happy to see it.
I prepared her some tea and made myself a cup of coffee. I had bought her some truffles on Friday because I knew her weakness for chocolate but hadn’t ended up finding the right moment to give them to her, so I took the elegant box with me and set everything up on the coffee table.
I found the Apple TV remote and started to search for the movie she was talking about. When I came upon it, I charged it to my account and pressed play.
“Wait, wait.” Rose jumped up and ran over to get the lights. “That’s better.”
She came back, sat down, and immediately pulled her legs under her as she reached for the big knitted blanket she had brought down from her room. I handed her the tea mug.
She grabbed my wrist with her right one and tugged me down next to her. “It’s starting, sit down.”
I managed to reach for my own coffee mug and her box of truffles.
Feeling a little uncomfortable about it, I thrust the box into her hand and leaned back against the couch. When she glanced at me in confusion, I focused on the movie that had just begun and took a sip of my coffee.
“What is this?” Balancing her mug on the flat surface of the couch, she sent me a quick look then started opening it. “Chocolate? For me?” she asked, her voice high.
“A client brought it on Friday, and it was just sitting in the office so I thought you might want it.” The lie rolled off my lips so easily, I surprised even myself.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could already see her taking a bite out of one of them. “You want one?” she asked when she was done driving me crazy and moaning about it. She held the box toward me. “Don’t you like truffles? Come on, take one.”
I gave her an exasperated look and took one, holding it in my hand. “Will you let me watch this movie or are you going to talk the entire time?”
She winced. “You’re one of those. Be prepared for me to talk. I’ll keep pointing things out you can already see for yourself. I’m just excited because you’ve never seen it. Is it past nine?”
I kept my eyes on the screen as Meg Ryan’s character started running toward her laptop to check her email. “Not yet. I’ll tell you when you need to stop. It’s only eight.”
We sat in silence and just watched the movie. Around the ten-minute mark, Meg Ryan finally made it to her shop. The Shop Around the Corner.
I slung my arm across the back of the couch, toward her.
A few minutes later, I glanced at her. The box containing the truffles looked like it had six missing ones, and she was still holding the tea mug tightly in her hands as if trying to warm them.
“Are you cold?”
“Just a little. Would you like to share?” she repeated, and my brows drew together.
Then I realized she was holding the edge of the blanket up and away from herself.
It wasn’t cold—the apartment was plenty warm—but I took the opportunity to move a little closer to her, and she put it over my legs. When she leaned her head back, it was almost resting in the crook of my arm.
She took a deep breath and let it all out.
Her voice was quiet when she spoke up again. “Thank you for tonight, Jack.”
Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to her temple. “You’re very welcome, Rose.”
At ten to nine, I took her now cold tea mug away from her and put it down on the coffee table. A little more than halfway into the movie, she’d fallen asleep, and her head had dropped on my shoulder. I watched the movie till the end without moving an inch so she could rest. The more she tucked herself closer, the harder it had been for me to not wake her up and take her mouth. It seemed like she had invaded the entire apartment and I could smell nothing but her.
I enjoyed every second of it, both the movie and Rose’s warm body against mine.
Scooping her up into my arms, I straightened up, letting the blanket fall off of her.
She started coming around once we were halfway up the stairs.
“Jack?” Her hands tightened around my neck. “What time is it?” she mumbled.
“A little past ten.”
Sighing, she rested her head on my shoulder.
“Did you like the movie?”
I didn’t have to lie. “Yes, you were right, it was good.”
“They don’t make movies like that anymore,” she murmured.
I opened the door to her room and walked in, gently putting her down on the bed. She curled up on her side and I pulled the already open covers over her.
“Good night, Jack,” she whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll wake you up at six-thirty. We need to be at the hospital at seven-thirty.”
“Okay.”
I was rooted to my spot but didn’t know what else to say that would allow me to stay with her longer, to spend this night, at least this night with her.
“Good night, Rose.” I leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss on her forehead and then her lips. It was such a natural move for me that I didn’t even hesitate. She closed her eyes with a smile on her lips. I was pretty sure she had never woken up fully.
My mind on her, I walked out and headed to my own room.
Later that same night, hours had passed and I was still wide awake. My mind was running in all directions, but it was especially running in the direction of where Rose was sleeping a few doors down, which was why I was surprised when my phone pinged with a new text.
Rose: Are you asleep?
Jack: No.
Rose: Me neither.
I took a deep breath, ran my hand over my face.
Jack: Everything okay?
Rose: Yes. Just can’t sleep.
Rose: Why are you still up?
Jack: Couldn’t sleep either.
Rose: Can I still milk my situation or did I miss my chance?
Jack: Depends on what you want.
Rose: It’s a weird one.
Jack: Try me.
Rose: I was wondering if I could kiss you.
Rose: And before you say no, it doesn’t have to mean anything but that, just a kiss. The truth is you’ve slowly become this adept kisser and I think I wouldn’t mind kissing you right now. I’d like to call it a pity kiss. If that’s not okay since no one would be around to see it, I understand that.