Page 66 of The One for Forever

We’re both smiling like idiots, and it’s the best thing ever.

Rex asks me to make jasmine rice in the rice cooker, while he slices up steak and assembles the other veggies. It’s not a complicated meal, yet it takes us far longer to finish because we keep taking breaks to kiss, or joke around, or cop feels.

Finally we get our dinner on the table. Rex lights a tea candle in the middle, and we sit side-by-side, our seats close enough that we’re pressed together. He pours a couple of glasses of wine too. Half a glass for me, since I’m trying to avoid alcohol as my concussion heals.

“I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed making dinner that much,” I say. I nudge his knee with mine. “You’re a lot of fun, Easton.”

He lifts an eyebrow and takes a bite of rice. “Am I? A lot of people would be surprised to hear you say that. Especially Cliff. I have a reputation for being the most boring guy in the room.”

“What? You can be quiet at times, but quiet doesn’t equal boring. You’re the strong, silent type. But you can loosen up, too. I always have fun with you. I don’t just mean now that we’re…more.”

“I guess you bring out that side of me. Having fun with you is easy.” He brushes his thumb over my cheekbone, smiling fondly. “What you and I have is different from anything else I’ve had before. But it feels…big. That’s something I recognize.”

I can’t say anything for a few minutes. There’s just too much inside me.

“I know it’s happening fast,” he says.

“Fast?” I sputter. “For me, it feels like ten years.”

He grins and laughs. “Okay, fair enough. What I mean is that this new dynamic between us is developing quickly. But I’m in this with you. I want to follow wherever it goes. For as long as you want it.”

Forever, I want to blurt out. But that seems like too much, even with the romantic, wonderful things he’s saying. “Me too,” I say instead.

We finish up dinner. “I’ve got strawberry shortcake for dessert,” he says. “You always ordered it at that restaurant we used to go to with Cliff.”

“Sounds delicious. But I thoughtIwas the dessert.”

His eyes do that molten-fire thing they do as his gaze travels down my body. “If you want to be. You’re certainly sweet enough. But we don’t have to rush.”

I lean closer, placing my hand on his thigh. “Ten years, Rex.Ten. Years.”

He cracks up. “All right. I’m getting the picture.”

“You said you’d fulfill all my needs.”

“But I didn’t realize you’d be so demanding about it,” he teases. He pecks my lips, then gets up. “I’ll wash the dishes, and then I have a few things to do in the bedroom.”

“Watching you do the dishes sounds surprisingly erotic, but I can pull my own weight. Division of labor. That will be much faster.” He clearly has more planned for tonight, and I’m impatient to find out.

Rex disappears into the master, and I handle the dishes and the mess in the kitchen. I’m about to knock on the door to hurry him up when he steps into the main room. Soft music is playing from inside.

He tilts his head in a silent, beckoning gesture. It’s so quietly commanding. Sohim. Desire tingles up and down my body as I walk toward him. Rex steps aside in the doorway, giving me just enough room to pass by.

The overhead lights are dimmed in the master bedroom, and candles flicker on the tables and dresser. Sultry jazz music plays from his phone. Rex links our fingers together, drawing me closer to the bed, where there’s a vase with long-stemmed white and yellow roses on the nightstand.

“You did all this for me?”

“Sure. You deserve it. I requested the flowers in today’s delivery.” He says this like it’s no big deal. And maybe it didn’t take him that long to set this up, but it means a lot to me. I don’t think anyone has ever bought me flowers. Even my corsage on prom night, I bought myself. Tears prick my eyes.

“No one has ever done anything like this for me.”

Rex pulls me so I’m in front of him, my back to his chest, and he wraps his arms around my waist. “You’ve brought beauty and joy into my life again. It’s like I’ve been asleep for all these years, and I finally woke up and saw what was right in front of me.” He kisses my neck. “I’m thankful you waited for me.” His voice is thick with emotion now.

My heart is so full. “I thought it was hopeless. I tried to stop feeling the way I do for you, but it didn’t work. I’m glad it didn’t.”

“I hate to think you were hurting because of me.”

I turn around and pull him down for a kiss. “It was worth it. So worth it. I get to have you.”

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