Page 37 of You & I, Rewritten

“I’m serious,” she giggles. “What do you do for fun? Working out doesn’t count…and neither does reading, because let’s be honest, none of us can read for leisure anymore!”

“Hmm…I can think of a lot offunthings I enjoy doing,” he says, turning to face me.Oh fuck.His hand trails up my leg, ever so softly grazing my bulge with the back of his hand.

“Holy shit,that…doesn’t count either,” Klair adds, throwing another fry in our direction.

Graham smirks, taking his time responding to her very demanding inquiry. But while he’s figuring out his answer, I’m thinking of my own. Is this what getting older is? Working and eating and not really doing anythingfun?

“Um…I like to bake,” Graham says quietly, looking down at his barely-touched food. His demeanor changes, like a bashful child sharing a secret. There are moments when I’m with Graham where he says or does something, moments like this one, where I catch myself wondering how the hell someone like him exists.

The three of us spend the rest of our lunch break sharing stories of the past. Graham spends a significant amount of time interrogating Klair about our high school adventures, which causes me to make a mental note to smother Klair later for going over my “awkward phase” in excruciating detail.

After walking back to the office, full of food and way more laughter than I was anticipating, we all go our separate ways, settling back into the workday. Between the edits I was previously working on and finalizing the favor Graham asked for, my mind keeps wandering to the sweet visual of a certain tall and serious man I know baking in the kitchen.

I concoct a plan for some spontaneous fun, hoping to put a smile on Graham’s face and see him in his element. After wrapping up my tasks for the day, I sneak out of the office to get everything I’ll need to pull this off.

* * *

I ring the buzzer of Graham’s building with my elbow.

Making a quick pit-stop at home to change, my hands are now full from my trip to the grocery store, the canvas totes I brought with me filled to the brim with an arsenal of essentials.

“Hello?” Graham’s voice chimes through the voice box, clearly not expecting visitors.

“Hey…it’s me! Can I come up?” I hear the pop of the door unlocking and shifting the weight of bags, I pull open the door and head to the elevator, taking it up to the twelfth floor. I’m now realizing this is the first time I’m just randomly showing up to his place unannounced.

Is this a bad idea?Probably.

Well, I’m here now, so there’s no turning back. I knock on Graham’s apartment door, hoping my impromptu visit doesn’t make me come across as weird and clingy.

Graham opens the door almost instantly, standing there casually dressed in soft joggers and a plain white t-shirt.Um…he’s barefoot.“Well, hello…I was just thinking about you,” he says with a smile. Okay, thank GOD he’s not totally turned off by my random visit. Seeing the bags I’m carrying, he quickly takes a few from me. “Come in,” he says, stepping aside so I can cross the threshold into his apartment.

Taking my shoes off, I follow him as he leads me into the immaculately clean and spacious kitchen, placing the canvas totes I’d been carrying on the large island.

“What did I do to deserve this fun surprise?” he asks, coming over and wrapping me in a tight hug. He smells clean, like he recently took a shower, but I can still smell the sweetness of his cologne.

“I was hoping you’d be up for a little fun,” I say, kissing him on the neck, his stubble tickling my lips.

“Is that so?” He gives me a questioning look and pulls me tighter against him, the conversation we had with Klair obviously fresh in his mind.

“Down boy.” I push away from him but take his hand in mine, leading him over to the bags I brought with me. “I thought we could do some baking…Maybe bring in a sweet treat for the office tomorrow?”

“Did you buy thewholestore?” he asks, laughing while putting his arm around me.

“Okay, in my defense, I don’t have a lot of experience baking and I wasn’t sure how stocked your kitchen would be…which, thinking about it now is dumb because it’syou.”

He starts rifling through the bags, pulling out a bottle of my favorite red I snagged at the last second, raising his eyebrow at me.

“That’s for me, duh.” I snatch it from him as he pulls open a drawer and hands me a wine opener. After removing the cork with apop, he sets two stemless glasses in front of me, which I fill with the delicious wine.

He raises his glass. “To random…fun,” he says, clinking his glass against mine, his eyes bright and filled with mischief.

“Cheers.” I watch as he takes a deep pull from his glass, his lips parting ever so slightly. A rogue drop of wine remains on the glass which he slowly retrieves by sliding his tongue along the rim, making eye contact with me the entire time that sends waves of desire through my veins. He knows exactly what he’s doing.Lord, help me.Get it together…we’re here to bake!

“Anyway,” I say, putting some distance between us. “I may or may not have selfishly picked out these ingredients?”

Reaching into the bag, I grab the chocolate chips I’d refrained from snacking on on the way over here and toss it to him, which he catches in one hand.

“Chocolate chip cookies?” he asks.

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