“I can feel you staring at me.” He sets his knife down after tossing the peppers into the sauté pan. He turns around and gives me a smirk. “Do you want me to lose a finger? You’re making me nervous.”
I take another sip from my wine glass. “Sorry, I guess I never knew you could cook.”
He smiles again. “I had an Italian babysitter who used to bribe me if I helped her make dinner.”
“How did she do that?”
“Well,” he says, pausing to adjust the burner. “It probably won’t come as a surprise that my parents didn’t trust me to look after Mack when they went out on the weekends.”
I laugh. “No, it does not.”
“So, they hired a lady from down the street to come over and keep an eye on the place until I was like fifteen. She made a deal with me that if I helped her in the kitchen, I could do whatever I wanted and she wouldn’t tell my parents.”
“Every teenage boy’s dream. She must have known what a little shit you were.”
He nods. “Yep, she sure did.” He gives the pot another stir and then turns back to me. “The funny thing is, I actually liked it. It even got to the point where I looked forward to it.”
I like the fact that Perry thinks stories about him being a good person will surprise me. I’ve known him for most of my life and I can be absolutely certain he is one of the best people I’ve ever known.
“Well, I’m starving so it better be good.”
He winks at me before turning back to the stove again. “Oh, you know it’ll be good. I’m making it.”
Smiling to myself, I take another sip of wine. I should try not to drink too much. It typically ends up going straight to my head and I say things I probably shouldn’t.
Perry puts a lid on the pot and walks over to take a seat across from me at the table. “Twenty more minutes and it should be done.” He steals my glass and downs the rest of my drink, making a face after he swallows. “This tastes like shit.”
I laugh again, reaching for my now empty cup. “Well, I think it tastes good.”
He shakes his head. “Nope, I’m getting a beer.” He gets up from the table and walks over to the fridge. I always keep a six-pack in there even though I don’t drink the stuff. Old habit I guess from when Walker was here.
When he returns to the table he cracks the top with a grin. “That’s much better.”
The question that’s been burning inside of me since he left is on the tip of my tongue, but I hold it back. Instead, I choose a less sensitive subject.
“So, do you think you’re ready to start taking clients?”
He looks thoughtful for a moment and then takes a long pull from his drink. “I guess so. It’s going to be hard to live up to the reputation you two have, but I’m going to try.”
I give him a playful shove in the arm. “Oh, you’re being modest. You know you’re amazing.” My heart starts to beat a little faster when he smiles back at me and I’m already regretting the second glass of wine.
“I try,” he says with another smirk.
I’m staring at his lips again and I can’t stop myself. I keep thinking about how soft they were and how much I really want to kiss him again. The thought that directly follows is that he never said anything about it. He actually kind of pretended it like it never even happened. Maybe girls just kiss him randomly all the time and it seems normal to him?
The oven timer buzzes and he stands from his chair. I watch him remove a tray of bread and set it on the counter. It’s been a long time since someone tried to take care of me the way Perry is now. It brings up emotions I’ve long pushed aside. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be ready to be with someone again, but now, I’m reconsidering that.
Without thinking, I stand up from the table and move to lean against the counter beside him. His eyes meet mine and he raises an eyebrow.
“Something on your mind?” he asks, wiping his hands on the towel hanging from my stove.
“Why didn’t you say anything when I kissed you?”
His eyes widen a little and he fights a smile. “What did you want me to say?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Something.”
“I kiss you all the time.”
I shake my head. “Not like that.”
He plays with his tongue ring, moving it across his bottom lip. I’m starting to think he didn’t know what to say. It’s not something I’ve ever done before.
My eyes cast down to the floor and I feel him move closer. His hand is in my hair, brushing it from my face. When I look up at him, my breath catches in my throat.
“Did you like it?” he asks.
I nod. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as he moves his hand to cup the side of my face. Only inches are separating us from being flush against each other.
He wets his lips, studying my face. His thumb trails down my cheek.
“Do you want me to do it again?”
Does he really expect me to answer that? I can barely form a complete thought at this point. Instead of words, when I open my mouth a mixture between a sigh and some sort of moan comes out.
He laughs against my mouth and then whispers, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
I close my eyes before his lips even touch mine. They’re warm and soft like before, but this time—he kisses me slower. His tongue slips inside my mouth and I grip the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. He backs me against the fridge and the handle digs into my side. I don’t really mind though—other parts of him are digging into me as well. Just when I think he has stolen all of my air, he pulls back and kisses me once more softly.
“Was that better?” he asks in that deep, sexy voice.
When I’m sure the butterflies in my stomach won’t spill out everywhere, I lean forward and kiss him again.
“Yes.”
Perry didn’t spend the night after we finally ate dinner. I think he thought that if he did it would mean something different than it had before. I’m pretty sure he would be right.
We didn’t talk about this kiss either. The entire time I’ve known him we’ve been skirting the line between harmless flirting and full-on declarations of love. Somewhere along the way, we came to a silent decision not to act on any of those feelings. Now that we have—I’m not sure what happens from here.
The fact that he literally proposed to Sloan last week is still fresh in my mind. Perry never does anything half-assed. If he said it, he meant it. I know he loves her, but I also know he loves me too. The only thing I have to figure out now is if the love he feels for me is the same.
There’s a difference between loving someone and being in love with them. A very big one. If I’m being honest, a part of me has always been in love with Perry. I remember sitting in the grass at the playground watching them play basketball for hours and never getting bored. Sometimes I would play too—but mostly, I just liked to watch him. He’s always had this outward confidence that was irresistible to me. Girls always flocked to him, but the moment he saw Sloan, it was all over. She took that confidence from him with one flip of her bleached, blonde hair and he’s never really gotten it back.
My internal obsessing is interrupted when the bell above my door dings. I step out to the front and smile when I see Perry walking toward me. He’s carrying a small paper bag.