Chapter 10

Drew

Bowing my head, I close my eyes and let the hot water drip down my neck, hoping it will bring back some of my sanity. Bella. Bella. Bella. What has she done to me? I can’t get this woman off my mind, and all she had to do was play a board game with me yesterday. A board game that I’d refused to play with anyone else because I didn’t want to taint the memories I had with my dad. But, per usual, Bella just has to throw me one slanted smile, and I do as she asks.

Like a faithful little dog, I again throw away everything for her. I admit things I know I shouldn’t. I told her about my dad and how I wanted her throughout high school, although I still don’t think she gets it.

She didn’t seem to grasp that I still liked her, and no matter what she did, I’d always be rooting for her. Come to think of it, maybe it’s a good thing she didn’t, because that might have come off a little too strong.

She has no idea that I knew she was watching me in the gym this morning before I burst her bubble by saying her name. What can I say? The way her mouth dropped and her eyes widened as she looked at my thighs had my cock stirring. It’s twitching right now at the mere memory of her. She was hot and bothered by me. I did that to her. I made her body shiver, and I stupidly want to see if I can do it again. Preferably while I’m lapping at her delectable pussy.

I’ve got a raging hard-on, and I can’t do anything about it. Sure, I could jerk one out while thinking about Bella, but that feels wrong and a little creepy, considering she’s in the kitchen making me ‘breakfast.’ I’m probably going to need to get my stomach pumped after eating the food, but if it makes her smile, I’ll eat whatever she wants to give me.

Getting out of the shower, I quickly shove on a pair of gray sweatpants and a t-shirt. My hair is still wet, so I grab a towel and dry it as I head to the kitchen.

I stop as I feel the cold, wooden floor under the bottom of my feet. Taking a few sniffs, I bend my back to look down the hallway to the great room.

Is that bacon I smell?

And eggs?

When Bella said she was cooking me breakfast, I was expecting cereal and toast, if I was lucky. But bacon and eggs? Does she know how to cook that? Now that I know she’s cooking for me, I need to think of something equally thoughtful for her gift.

As I take a few more silent steps, Bella’s long blonde hair comes into view. It cascades down her back to the edge of my shorts, which she’s been borrowing since her nightie got ruined in the snow. They’re rolled up, hugging her ass just the way I like, and I smile because seeing her in my clothes makes me feel good. She’s happy to be covered in me, and I’m more than happy to be covering her.

She lightly hums a tune to herself, but I can’t tell the song because she’s always been a little tone-deaf, but that doesn’t matter. Watching her is cute, nonetheless. She hobbles around my kitchen, doing more walking on the hurt leg than I’ve seen her do since she sassed her way out of hospital, which means it must hurt less. My chest tightens when she turns because she’s wearing my ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron, and, I want to do a hell of a lot more than that.

Damn it.

I’d just started getting her naked body off my mind, perfectly okay with knowing nothing would ever come of it. I considered myself lucky that she didn’t whack me over the head with her cast afterward. But now, seeing her in my shorts, making breakfast for me is making me hungry, and not for the two tit-shaped eggs she’s tending to.

Her breath catches when our eyes meet. “He-hey,” she stammers out, looking bashful.

“Smells delicious.” I scrub the towel in my hair to hide my jittery hands. I don’t have the heart to tell her that I can smell burning, which is probably the eggs because it’s the thought that counts.

“Thanks,” she replies bashfully, poking at them until it looks like one of the yolks might bust. Sliding around the island, I grab the spatula and subtly take over tending to them. A house fire in the snow isn’t something I’m interested in dealing with right now.

I lift up one of the eggs, noting the perfectly crisp lines underneath. They’re not the thing burning.

My eyes flit around the kitchen, looking for the source as I say, “When you said you were going to cook me breakfast, I didn’t expect a fully cooked one.”

She straightens a little as I walk to the oven and check it. Relief washes over me when I’m greeted with bacon, hash browns and sausages. Nothing seems to be burning yet, but as I haven’t had bacon from the oven before, I shut the door, leaving it to cook a little more. “You know, the only other woman that’s ever cooked for me is my mom.” I laugh.

Bella starts to tend to the eggs again, and I admit, I’m pleasantly surprised. Maybe this is a hidden talent of hers. “Well, I can’t guarantee this will be as good as your mom’s, or the eggs won’t be burned, but I hope it’s better than toasted waffles for the second day in a row.”

Standing behind her, I realize how perfectly we’d fit together. Her head is the perfect height to relax my chin on, and her hips would meld perfectly against my body. As much as I’d like to grab her hips and move her body against mine, I stop myself because that would be weird.

“You make a valid point, but it also means my standards are low. The sausages could look like charcoal, and I’d still be happy.” I look down at the eggs grilling away and place my hand on the small of her back. She doesn’t flinch but leans into it. “Do you need my help with anything?” I ask lowly by her ear.

There’s a small lift in her lips, and I can feel her relaxing into my touch, something I’d never expected a few days ago, but here we are, stuck in the snow with each other, and I’m not nearly as mad about it as I was.

“Umm.” She bites her bottom lip, assessing the kitchen. “I think I’m okay. How was your shower?” Her eyes roam my chest, taking in my freshly washed, white shirt.

“It was good but not as entertaining as other showers I’ve been involved with recently,” I say lightheartedly with a wink.

Her face flushes, but she tries to hide it. We haven’t talked about the whole naked shower incident since it happened, so I figured someone needed to break the ice. Better than me telling her how much I liked seeing her naked and wanting to kiss away any wounds. I knew that kind of response wouldn’t go down well the minute I saw her shocked face when I walked back into the house after that long, sobering walk.

“Well, at least you smell better now. I was worried you were going to stink the place up earlier.”

“I can’t be that bad. You stayed watching me long enough this morning.”

She purses her lips, not knowing what else to say. “So I was thinking…” she starts, and I look over my shoulder. Bella’s tending to those eggs like they’re her firstborn child, but at least they aren’t burning.

“Uh oh, I think I’m in trouble,” I joke, and she pops her hip out before catching my eye with a grin. Surprisingly, I was expecting some sarcastic response and some jittery hand gestures. I’ve never gotten a smile, let alone a sexy little grin, in my almost decade of knowing her.

“I know a woman thinking is your worst nightmare, but now that we’re stuck together, you’ll just have to deal with it.”

I lean against the counter, watching as she dances on her toes. “What makes you think I hate women thinking?”

“Well, if the girls you date are anything to go by, they aren’t exactly hanging out in the physics department.”

I drop my head, pressing my fingers into the counter. “And there you go again, talking about my apparent dating history.” I take a chance and move into her space, leaning my tall frame against the counter by her side. We’re hip to hip, and her elbow grazes my side when she flips the eggs over. They’re a little crispier than I’d normally like, but I don’t mention it because I don’t want to discourage her. “There are plenty of girls I’d like to date, but unfortunately, they’re too smart to get involved with a jock like me.”

She snorts, raising her chin to the sky. “Oh, stop with the fake ‘woe is me crap.’ I’ve never seen anyone reject you, QB1.”

“QB2, actually. Jacob’s the number one guy around here. But that alone just proves you haven’t been paying attention.” I stare at her a little longer than necessary, but per usual, she doesn’t pick up on the hidden meaning behind my words. She never does. For a smart girl, she can be a little dense.

Narrowing her eyes, she pouts her lips out in annoyance. “You do know that I have my own life? Stalking you isn’t my number one priority, I’ll have you know. Can you get the plates out?”

“If that’s true, then why’d you come all the way back from London just to attend college with me?” I swipe back teasingly as I get the plates from one of the cabinets and place them on the kitchen bar.

“Told you yesterday. My decision had nothing to do with you and everything to do with our failing economy. But anyway. Before we got distracted by your extremely long dating history, I was going to say that I’ve looked through your kitchen and have enough ingredients to make lasagna tonight.”

“Tonight? You’re going to attempt dinner, too?” I take a seat as she slides an egg onto my plate. Maybe I should try this before committing to any more Bella-made meals.

“Yeah, I mentioned it earlier. Since it’s Christmas and we can’t have turkey or anything more traditional, I thought I could make the only thing we have enough ingredients for. It also happens to be the only thing I’ve seen my mom make a gazillion times, so it can’t be that hard.” She mumbles out that last part and busies herself with getting the food out of the oven. Can’t be that hard. I’m going to have to watch over her.

“If I had known you cooked, I wouldn’t have been using all of Jacob’s meals.”

“I don’t.” That’s when I notice the crispiness of the egg has turned to black and looks hardly edible, but I’ll eat it anyway because Bella looks damn proud of herself. “Lasagna can’t be that hard. If it’s something you’d like, I can call my mom and get her recipe. I still haven’t found someone that makes it quite like hers.”

I chuckle. “You’re right about that. I remember those from high school, and every Friday, I hoped she’d make enough for the whole team. Sometimes I’d take an extra plate home and bring it back to my mom for after her night shift. I loved that stuff.”

She stays quiet, but I notice a small smile as she bends down to get the rest of the food out of the oven, no doubt the food will be as burnt as these eggs, but I’ll eat them. It’s a sad realization that I’d risk carcinogens just to get another smile out of Bella.

“Then it’s settled.” She drops the plate of meat and hash browns on the table. “I’ll make us lasagna. Consider it my Christmas gift since we didn’t plan on celebrating together.”

Gift?

The idea sends a shiver up my spine because that puts me in debt to her. “Thanks,” I drawl out. I was hoping she forgot about this gift thing. “Shall we watch some Hallmark movies to get into the spirit too?”

She flicks an errant hair out of her face and smiles. “I’d really like that.”

“Dinner and movies. Sounds like a good plan.” Now all I need to do is think of something for her that doesn’t involve an orgasm for a gift.

As she sits and pulls her hair into a high bun, an idea comes to mind. “What’s wrong? Have I got something in my teeth?”

I shake my head. “No. You’re fine. There are a few things I need to do after we eat, but I’ll be ready for movies after.”

“Okay.” Another small, flirty smile, and my heart squeezes a little. Oh yeah, she’s going to love this gift.