Page 59 of Revelry
“Trust me, please,” I whispered. I could see him waging a war in himself, but I needed him to trust me and allow this little indiscretion. Allow himself to not check, to trust in others and not control everything.
He grunted and shoved the bag under his arm as he carted out the forge. I watched as he loaded up his truck and then he unzipped his tool bag. I wasn’t hurt that he didn’t trust me, it would take time, but he would eventually. He inspected it meticulously and then shook his head when he realized I’d packed each tool away exactly as it should be.
Chapter Sixteen
Tate
For once, I’d come to her house and she hadn’t appeared at mine in a skimpy towel demanding showers like a tiny dictator.
I knocked and waited, pushing out a breath and watching it appear in the cold air in front of me. It was the first week of December and colder than it needed to be considering we were going on a hike today. I figured by the time we were on our way, we’d heat up.
Anxiety churned in my gut. I didn’t know where we were going, what route we’d be taking or how long we would be gone. The unknown was not my friend, and trust didn’t come easy to me, if at all, but so far Gertrude hadn’t steered me wrong. And slowly, I was learning to trust her. The Halloween party, the costume I didn’t even hate, Thanksgiving and even the other day when she’d put my tools away properly. I’d been getting agitated seeing her playing with them. It was a herculean effort to let her continue, to push myself past my boundaries and give up control to someone.
Except Icouldn’tcontrol my impulses. I had checked them. I let myself down when I was working so hard to do better. And I should have trusted her. I couldn’t believe it when I unzipped the case and my tools were all in the correct order. When I saw what she’d done, a weird sense of affection flared to life and it hadn’t left since. Not even when she barged into my house all chipper before the sunrise and used up all my hot water.
Because I actually enjoyed our shower dates.
I would sit on the toilet lid and listen to her babbling away, learn her movements and enjoy the general feeling of having someone around. And obviously I got glimpses of wet, silky skin that just begged for my tongue.
The urge to jump into the shower with her was getting harder and harder to beat. I feared one day soon I was going to give in.
Because by now I knew Gertrude was not a woman you forgot.
Once I had her, there was no way I could forget her like I had with other women in the past.
So I needed to keep my hands to myself which would be totally easy if we were just hiking today. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
God who am I?
My thoughts fled when she opened the door.
“Morning!” she trilled, pulling a backpack onto her shoulders. She was in an oversized navy sweatshirt which fell to midthigh and swamped her. It looked like a man’s sweatshirt and the idea that it could be her ex’s had me fighting back a growl. If she needed a sweatshirt, she could damn well borrow one of mine. Her legs were wrapped in black Lycra yoga pants with thick socks and her feet tucked into her cowgirl boots.
“Do you think that’s appropriate attire?” I grumped in lieu of a hello.
She glanced down at herself as she locked the door. “What’s wrong with it?”
“You’re in thin yoga pants for a start.”
“And?” she cocked her head at me.
“Brambles.”
“Brambles?”
“Yep.”
There was silence as she narrowed her stare. I wouldn’t back down, I wouldn’t be the first to blink.
Dammit, I blinked.
“I’ll just have to avoid them. Anything else, O King of Hikes?” Her sassy brow made me want to pull her into my chest and kiss her. I blinked at the intrusive image, willing it away.
“Your boots.”
“What’s wrong with these? Best boots I own and they’ve lasted me a helluva long time.” She clicked her heels together.
“They’re not hiking boots.”
