Page 417 of Eternal
Get moving. Don’t think.
Helmet on. The engine roars. I ride away before my head bursts.
“Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls
The moment I step into the apartment, I’m hit with the smell of garlic, tomato, and something else. The smell is familiar…
My chest tightens, not in panic this time, but something warmer.Deeper.
I slip off my boots slowly, like I’ve stepped into a dream, and let my bag slide from my shoulder with a soft thud.
I’mhome.
Not thinking about the man at the hospital, not thinking about tomorrow.
“Hey,” I call out, voice a little hoarse.
“In here,” Damir answers and I follow the sound to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway.
He’s in a fitted black tee and loose grey sweats, barefoot, stirring something in a pan like it’s the only thing that matters, but what freezes me isn’t the food. It’s him.
He’s wearing…glasses.
Thin-rimmed, resting low on his nose as he looks down at the pan. His damp hair curls slightly at the edges, still messy from a shower. He looks soft, and infuriatingly gorgeous.
I blink. “Since when do you wear glasses?”
He glances up with a crooked grin. “I’m getting old,partner. Can’t lose my eyes now. What would I look at all day?”
“They’re new,” I murmur, stepping closer.
“They’re for resting my eyes. Bought them this morning,” he says, turning to face me. Spoon still in hand. “Do you like them?”
It should be studied, the way this man messes with my nervous system, the way the low timbre in his voice curls heat low in my belly, every damn time.
“Your eyes?” I tease, standing toe-to-toe with him. “Or the glasses?”
He leans in, lips grazing mine in a fleeting kiss. “Both.”
I smile. “I do.”
I’m not telling him tonight, not about what I feel, not about tomorrow, not yet.
I want to be here.His.For tonight.
He turns back to the stove, flipping the pan with an effortless flick of his wrist.
“How was… everything?”
“It was… a lot.”
I don’t want to say it, I don’t even want to remember it.
I only want to be with him, nothing else… Nothing else matters.
He smiles and pokes my nose quickly. “Go sit. Dinner’s almost ready. You look tired.”
I shift my weight, swaying on the spot. “I want to watch you cook.”
