Page 29 of Falling for Red
Jake kisses the top of my head. “Stop stressing.”
“How do you know I’m stressed?” I whisper, looking up at him.
“You’re not really a quiet person unless you’re deep in thought.”
He’s got me there. Jake orders for us and pays. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” he says, grabbing my hand, leading us to the other side of the shop to wait for the ice cream. “What trashy reality TV show is in our future?”
“I haven’t watched something that isn’t animated in months, so whatever new dating show is on Netflix.”
“Why a dating show?”
“They’re always so bad, and we can make bets about who is and isn’t going to work out.”
He chuckles, taking the ice cream from the worker. Extending it to me, I lick a little and then he bites into it, staring at me. I flinch, watching that.
“How can you bite into ice cream?” I ask, still feeling tingles in my body because my teeth are too sensitive to ever bite into ice cream.
He bites it again, holding eye contact with me. Well, that’s hot. Jake hands me the cone, and we walk outside. Strolling along the sidewalk, stealing the cone from each other as we walk, I love this. Today has been fun. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun.
18
On Claire’s couch, she’s leaning her head on my shoulder watching some dating show where everyone has a British accent. Every time she laughs, I smile. Scanning her living room, I spot the brown teddy bear I bought for Gabby sitting at a play table and chair set across from a doll. I’m happy she’s having fun with it. There are tons of toys in this room. The toy organizer is overflowing with toys all around it. This house feels like it’s well set up for a kid, but it’s lacking personal touches. No decor, no flowers on the kitchen counter. I don’t see Claire anywhere. I can’t imagine how hard it is doing everything on her own.
“Can I give you a shoulder massage?” I softly ask. She nods, and I kiss the top of her head. “Let me get behind you.”
We maneuver around on the couch until she’s comfortably sitting between my legs, still watching the TV. As I start gently rubbing her shoulders, I notice how tense she is—muscles knotted, shoulders tight. She leans back as I press deeper, melting into my touch.
“We’re just going to cuddle and watch trashy TV?” she skeptically asks.
“We’ll do whatever keeps you relaxed and smiling.”
“Well …” A smirk grows on her face before she giggles.
“So needy,” I whisper, continuing to massage her. “I don’t have anything I have to do tomorrow, you know…” I add, letting the thought hang in the air.
“You want to see me tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“That’s three days in a row, Jake,” she says, sounding both amused and a little apprehensive.
I laugh. “Well, it could be four. We’re going to Nicholas’s barbecue on Sunday.” She looks over her shoulder, staring at me skeptically, but then a smile consumes her face. “How about this? What’s your dream ‘me day’ look like?”
“Um, wake up, get a fancy coffee like something I can’t make at home, read my book on the couch until I want to take a bath.”
“Tomorrow. You’re doing that and then, if you’d like, I’ll come over and make you dinner.” I squeeze her shoulders slightly and feel them relax under my hands, like the idea is already relaxing her.
“Sounds good.” Claire leans into me, tilting her head back. “Later … when do you need to leave for work?”
“I should leave here at five. There’s a few things I need to accomplish before work.”
“So …” she hesitates, tilting her head back, searching my face, “we’re just watching TV until then?”
“Tell me what you’d rather do.” My voice is a bit lower than I intended, but I’m curious. I want her to say what she’s thinking.
“You know what I want to do.”
