Page 42 of The Love Penalty

I move to the kitchen to get a snack and maybe make a coffee if I can be quiet, but not even five minutes later, I hear someone getting up and spin around to see who.

Robbie looks devastatingly handsome in the morning. His dark blond locks are wild and he’s rubbing his eyes with his knuckles while sluggishly moving away from the couch. He thenstretches his arms which makes his shirt ride up so I can see his defined muscles. He doesn’t see me standing by the kitchen island yet, drooling over him, so I indulge myself another moment to unabashedly stare at him. He’s gorgeous.

His eyes meet mine and for a moment we don’t move. We just look at each other. His gaze is contemplative, like he wants to do something but he’s unsure of the results. He starts to slowly move towards me and I notice he’s wearing light gray sweatpants and he’s barefoot. I don’t think there’s anything more attractive than a man in a dark shirt and light gray sweatpants.

Robbie gets so close to me that I have to tilt my head up a bit to look him in the eye. He gives me a soft smile and says, “Good morning. How come you’re up so early?”

I poke the dimple in his cheek and he smiles bigger for me. “Dunno, I couldn’t sleep any longer, I guess.”

He frowns. “But you always like to sleep in.”

I shrug but give him a smile back. “I was trying to make some coffee but I didn’t want to wake anyone. Although, I don’t really know how to use your fancy espresso machine.”

He laughs softly. “I can show you later. I wouldn’t use it now since it can get pretty noisy. But if you still want some caffeine I have cold brew in the fridge.”

“I can wait until later.” I fidget a bit since I don’t know what to do now. I want to go change and maybe take a walk, but I also want to go burrow in his bed some more. But I don’t want to do those things alone. I could go pack. “How come you had me sleep in your room last night?” I ask before I even think it through.

“Oh, um. Sorry about that,” he says, rubbing the back of his head nervously. “I initially thought you and Alice could share the room, but then remembered she likes to sprawl out and would definitely kick you in the face at some point during the night.”

That makes me chuckle. “Thanks for looking out for me then.”

“Always,” he says with more seriousness than the moment warrants.

“How come you didn’t join me?” I ask and then realize what I just implied with that question. So I look away and talk some more in the hopes he doesn’t take it the wrong way. “I just mean, it’s a big bed, I’m sure we could’ve both fit. You didn’t have to cuddle Elias for my sake.”

He’s silent, and when I look back at him I realize he’s staring at my mouth. He clears his throat and quietly says, “If it were up to me, none of my friends would be here this morning.” He takes a slow step towards me and leans down to whisper in my ear as one of his hands rests on the counter next to us, and the other finds my waist, “If it were up to me, I would have kissed you senseless under the mistletoe, fed you dinner I made from scratch instead of takeout pizza, and spent the rest of the night doing whatever you wanted to do.”

He pauses and I bring a hand up to his chest because,holy fuck, I need to steady myself. I feel his hand flex on my waist, his fingers digging in. My palm lands right on top of his heart and I can feel how fast it’s beating. His mouth is still close to my ear and I can hear him swallow before he continues, “If it were up to me, I would have made sure you didn’t wake up alone, because I would’ve been right there next to you the whole night.”

He pulls back and slowly watches my face for a reaction, but I already know what he sees written all over my face. Pure desire that is also reflected in his blue eyes. He takes a deep inhale and I fist his shirt where I am holding it right above his heart. The sound of a door closing breaks us out of our moment and we both look to see who it is. But we don’t completely break apart. Robbie moves away so I can better see the hallway but he keeps his hand on my waist.

Alice stops dead in her tracks when she sees us, facepalms herself, and turns right back around and disappears into the guest bedroom.

“I should probably go and change,” I say with a sigh.

“Okay,” Robbie says and lets go of my waist.

I take a step away from him, but before I can leave, I turn back and say, “For the record, if it were up to me, I would’ve wanted the same.”

The restof the morning goes by too quickly. I change and pack while Alice helps me. She apologizes a million times, and I assure her it’s okay. It’s not like we were going to make out in the kitchen with all his friends sleeping a few feet away. When we emerge from the spare bedroom, Robbie has coffee ready for everyone and even makes breakfast. They must have these hangouts often because his fridge is always stocked like he’s feeding a family of six.

By the time we finish eating and everyone else leaves, Robbie and I need to head to the airport. Our drive is not silent as Robbie tells me about ideas he has for our next hangout in a few weeks. However, we don’t talk about the elephant in the car. We both know there’s something between us and at some point it will give. Whether it's attraction or more on his part, I’m not sure. What I am sure of, without a doubt, is how much I care about him and admire him.

Robbie parks the car and helps me with my luggage. Once I get checked in, he walks me to the security area. I glance at my phone and see I still have a few minutes, so I pull him to the side so we’re not blocking the area and wrap my hands aroundhis neck, bringing him in a tight hug. His hands immediately envelop me and hold me tight.

I can feel the prickle of tears, so I squeeze my eyes shut and tell him, “I’ll miss you.” He lets out a big sigh and brings one of his hands to cup the back of my head. He finds the spot between my shoulder and neck and nuzzles there. Fuck, I really don’t want to leave. Especially since we didn’t get a chance to talk about all the missed moments we had this week.

“I’ll miss you more. But I’ll see you soon, and I promise it will be just us next time,” he says against my neck, then drops a small kiss there before slightly pulling away. He looks about as sad as I feel, so I impulsively move and kiss him on the cheek, while my hand caresses the tiny bit of scruff he has this morning. I linger a beat longer and Robbie closes his eyes and covers my hand with his.

“Bye, Robbie,” I say and turn to walk towards security.

I don’t make it more than a couple of feet before I hear, “Hey, Olive?”

I turn and see him taking rushed steps towards me. Before I can figure out what is wrong, two hands cup my face and tilt my head up, his body leaning into mine. Robbie’s lips slam mine with such fervor it knocks me off kilter and I stumble back a bit. One of his arms moves from my face to my lower back and holds tight. His lips are softer than I imagined and as soon as my lips part for his, I feel the softness of his tongue on mine. He tastes like maple syrup and coffee. Sweet and delicious.

I rake my fingers through his soft hair then grip the back of his neck to bring him even closer. I don’t know how long we stand there and make out, and frankly, I don’t care. I am finally kissing Robbie and it’s everything. He slows down the kiss, but it’s not any less intense than before. He tilts my head to the side, taking the kiss deeper, exploring every inch of my mouth. I getbolder too and scrape my teeth on his lower lip, giving him a gentle nibble.

Robbie loudly groans against my lips and grips my sweater so hard I fear it might tear. That alone makes me stop and realize we’re in public. I can hear some people hollering nearby, no doubt about the show we’re putting on.

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