Page 90 of Never To Suffer

Theo picks up the box and pulls out the tray of cookies, setting them aside and pointing to an edge of the box. “This represents you, and I’m on the edge opposite you. We both see Xander and Dani, but our edges can’t see one another. Unless we do this.”

He folds the box, collapsing it into itself, flattening it. I take it when he hands it to me, turning it over in both my mind and my hands as what he’s saying makes more sense. He’s not leaving or asking me to leave. But I’m not sure what he’s talking about yet.

“You should stick to food metaphors. But how do we get here? To a place where we can all see each other’s edges?”

“Well, that’s the reason for my trepidation. I couldn’t figure it out, and that bothered me, which led me to baking, which hadme grabbing pistachios, something I rarely use. I didn’t question it; my heart told me I needed to bake for you. The skipped beats, the sweaty palms, the way my mind buzzes around you. You’re not Xander, or Dani, you’re a high school crush I don’t know how to talk to.”

“I’m confused again,” I set the box aside. “Usually, it’s me who confuses people.”

“You shouldn’t.” He holds out a hand, palm up, and gestures toward mine. When he takes my hand, he draws in my palm, like he’s reading it or something. “Skylar, I’m using too many colorful descriptions and bullshit to say something simple. You are someone I don’t know well enough, but I like you enough to cook for you, and I trust you. So, I’d like to ask you out on a date.”

My eyebrows shoot up and for once in my life, I’m at an utter loss for words.

“Romantic chaos offers so much when people open their minds to it. This also wouldn’t be my first polyamorous relationship, although we stopped at three people before. I assumed more people would be too much, but that’s wrong. I’m amazed every day at how much more stable and capable we are together.” He brings my hand to his lips and my heart flutters. It could be the weed, but I doubt it. “Skylar, I’ve watched you and Dani hold Xander up when he’s ready to fall, and a moment later, he’s by your side when you need that tender touch that Dani isn’t comfortable with. You all have a role in this family, and it’s beautiful. I want to be a part of that, a part of all three of your lives, not only Dani and Xander’s.”

“You…do? I’m sorry, I prepared to hear you recite a list of reasons why I am the problem, that my past would eventually bring negative influences on Xander, that my feelings toward them were jaded by trauma to my mind.”

“Those are your inner demons; they’re wearing a mask to fool you into thinking it comes from me. From a professional standpoint, I believe your accident did bring you three together, but not because of mental trauma. You had a massive shift in priorities, and it hit you fast. You’re not the first, although you were lucky enough to know where to go from there. You were afraid to commit to it at the time, also a normal reaction.”

“Would you mind if I show you something?” He follows me inside and I push a shelf to the side, revealing markings on the wall.

“Mural?” He asks, stepping closer.

I trace along the wall with my finger. “Door. It represents the hope that we can all pull together and become one. I also thought Baguette would appreciate having access to two kitchens.”

“So would Dani. I’ve been thinking of doing this. Have you checked the wall?”

“Yep, we should be clear. I did a bit of framing and carpentry work growing up. Dad worked in contracting.”

He steps back, taking it all in. The door would end up just off both kitchens, connecting the dining rooms. “Perfect. Let’s do it.”

“What? Now?”

He checks the time and nods. “How long does it take? Five or six hours?”

“You, uh, don’t do much building, huh?” I shake my head with a laugh. “If I run to the store, we can probably have it done in a couple of hours. Assuming we don’t hit any weird. Electrical wires, plumbing, dead bodies.”

“Okay, let’s hope there’s no dead bodies, but uh, here.” He unlocks his phone and hands it to me, a level of trust clearly established between us. “I’ll work on clearing out anything in theway on my side. Order whatever we need. Get it delivered and put it on my card.”

“You’re serious?”

“I am. About the door, about us, about becoming one. Yeah.”

An hour later, I wrap up the first stages of the new door frame, which isn’t anything more than a big ass, door-shaped hole in the wall. While we wait for the wood and other supplies to be delivered, I peek through to watch Theo working in his kitchen, measuring out ingredients with precision. He’s a machine in there, and I have to admit it’s sexy as hell watching the muscles in his forearms flex while he works. Brains and skills.

“That’s how you handle the stoner snacks? I expected a pizza and a bag of popcorn or something.” His head snaps around, almost knocking over the bowl he’s stirring. “Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you. What are you making?”

“Strawberry jam for a Fraisier cake.” His tongue swipes across his lips as he stares at me, reminding me I took off my shirt a while ago. I duck my head down, trying hard not to blush. “Do you want to try it?”

He beams with pride and pulls a spoon out when I nod. He holds a scoop up for me, his other hand under it to catch anything that drips. The intense flavor that explodes the second it hits my tongue has me moaning before I can stop myself. “Doc! I could eat this all day. This can’t be only jam, it tastes too good.”

“Well, for one, we’re high. But also, those are fresh strawberries, so that always helps.” He grins up at me, and I catch the faintest dusting of pink on his cheeks before he turns away. “The, uh, door looks nice.”

“Thanks.” Now it’s my turn to look away, my ears burning.

He reaches up and my heart slams into my ribcage as he swipes his thumb across my bottom lip, pulling back a bit of the jam. He goes to grab the towel, but I catch his wrist, staring himright in the eye as I close my mouth over his thumb, sucking it clean.

“Wouldn’t want to waste a single drop from you, Doc.” I say after popping his thumb out of my mouth.

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