Page 135 of Love, Luck & Clusterf*ck

“No, it feels good.” It was one of those rare low-humidity hot August days. The kind of day that calls for the windows down.

“So, what did you do while I was gone?”

“You know what I did, silly. We talked every single night.”

He smiled. “Yeah, but I want to hear it from you while you’re sitting beside me.”

I turned sideways to face him. “Well, basically I worked, missed you, spent time with Emily, missed you some more, decorated my apartment, missed you a whole lot more, hung out with Jills a bunch of times. Your sister’s awesome, by the way.”

He gave my hand a squeeze. “Yeah, I think you’ve mentioned that before. Although, I’m still not used to your nickname for her. I keep thinking you’re talking about someone else.”

I shrugged. “It was one of those things that just stuck.” The atomic cherries mixed with stomach acid splashing up my throat when I’d first called her that wasn’t exactly pleasant, but the way she had treated me was. It was a memory I wanted to keep. I squeezed his hand back. Some things were worth keeping.

I stared out the side window, watching each exit pass by. “Where are we going?”

“Some place where we can be alone.”

“Um, didn’t we just come from a place that fit the bill?”

He veered towards the lakefront, and I tried to recall which festivals were currently going on. Irish Fest? But then I ruled that out. A festival wasn’t the place to go if you were hoping to be alone.

We parked near the beach and he pulled out a basket from the back. “I hope you’re hungry. I thought we’d eat first.”

“Sounds great.” I’d been too keyed up to eat all day, and it was finally catching up with me.

He led me through the grassy area to a more secluded spot. We weren’t entirely alone, but close enough. There were a couple bikers on the path and a few walking couples, but being that it was the middle of a workday made it way less crowded.

We sat at a picnic table and he began unloading the basket. “What is all this?” I asked, picking up the containers.

“Well, I can’t take all the credit here. Except for the bouquet.” He gave me a big smile. “That was all me.”

“Hmm. I was wondering about the wicker basket. It didn’t look like the kind of thing you’d have lying around your house.”

“It’s my mom’s. Jillian picked me up from the airport, and we made a stop to get Frank’s lasagna.”

“Aww, thank you.” My stomach was getting all grabby just thinking about it. Ever since I’d tasted it, it’d been my new favorite.

He pried off a lid. “And Jillian also made me send some of this along.” He handed me a bag of pretzels.

“Beer dip too?” Oh my God, I was going to have to be rolled out of there. It was a really heavy meal for a hot summer day, but I couldn’t have been happier with the choices. I’d just load up on veggies the next several days to balance it out.

“I’ve been keeping it cool enough to stay good, but the lasagna should still be warm.”

“I’m sure it will be perfect.”

“And I have iced tea, water, Sprite.” He pulled out bottles, along with plates and forks.

“Water’s good.” I hopped over and sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Thank you so much, Stephen. And that was also really thoughtful of your family.”

He gave me a long kiss, his tongue reminding me of all the things he could do with it. I squirmed just imagining it between my thighs again. He nipped my bottom lip, then set me aside so we could eat.

“I’d like to bring you over sometime, have you meet my mom and Frank.”

“I’d really like that too.”

I dug right in, and everything was as delicious as I’d expected. Sitting with him was so peaceful. It was such a beautiful feeling. I wasn’t looking for anything or anyone else. I had it all right there.

After I’d had more than my fill, we took a walk hand in hand along the shore, sat and watched the waves for a while, walked some more. We didn’t talk a whole lot. I didn’t feel like we needed to; just being together was more than enough after our absence.

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