Page 65 of Wrapped Around My Heart
Placing a hand on the center of his chest, I playfully shove him away.
“Food first. Blow job later.”
Dean groans, dropping his head back while snatching my wrist to hold me in place.
“I love when you talk dirty to me, Freckles.” He bends forward, easily finding my lips even with the bump in the way. He gives me three kisses before pulling back with a frown.
“No, wait, that was an odd number.” On his next one, he manages to get just my bottom lip in the kiss. “Mm, I didn’t like that one.” He kisses me again. “Oops, shit, that’s an odd number again, hold on.”
I’m laughing when he pulls away after ten kisses total, my cheeks aching as he finally heads out to get the food.
After emptying my bladder, I find my phone on the counter and impulsively decide to check in on Vivian. Cora follows close by as always, settling right in the middle of the kitchen floor to watch me.
She picks up after the second ring, the sound of music blasting through the speaker while she shouts at me to give her asecond. It takes her almost two minutes to get to a quiet enough spot where we can actually hear each other.
“You didn’t have to answer if you were out with Dylan,” I tell her honestly.
“I’m not out with him. I was meeting with a bar manager to try to get a job.”
“Bartending?You?” I wince at how that came out, but I know my best friend. That girl only knows how to make one type of drink and that’s an over-poured shot.
“Not behind the bar. It was for a server position.”
“Oh, okay. You’re good at that,” I tell her, relaxing slightly at the idea of her doing something she’s familiar with.
“Yeah,” she says dejectedly. Since we text all the time, I know how hard it was for her to finally cave and go for a job as a waitress again. She was really hoping to find something that she’s passionate about, but after jumping around between gigs for nearly nine months, even my friend had to cave and fall back on something more reliable. And since there’s always a need for help in the serving industry…
“Anyway, how are you feeling?” Viv asks, her voice bordering on fake cheerful. I almost feel bad for my answer, but I know deep down that my friend would want to know.
“I’m good. Aside from the diva deciding to use my organs as a dance pad, that is.”
She laughs, the sound a little more genuine. “She’s like you, always gotta be moving. What do you have left to get done?”
I shake my head even though she can’t see me. Putting the phone on speaker, I set it on the counter beside the sink and start putting away some of the bottles I cleaned earlier.
“Honestly, not that much. It’s all just little stuff at this point. Dean is fully moved in now, so it’s been easier to figure out where we want everything, now that his stuff officially has a place. Which reminds me, he still has the condo for another sixmonths since he couldn’t break the lease, so in case you wanted to come meet your niece after she’s born, it’s still fully furnished for now if you need a place to crash.”
“Oh, that’s perfect. I’m gonna try to make it back in the next month, and if Dylan can get time off too, we were talking about making it a mini vacay.”
I roll my eyes, grateful she can’t see me right now. Her boyfriend isn’t winning many points from me with how absent he’s been lately.
“How are things with you guys? Last we talked, he was acting weird.” I stop in front of the sink, gripping my side as a cramp seizes through my lower stomach. The baby kicks at the same time and I send a mental note down to her that it’s time to calm down for the night.
Vivian’s sigh is heavy, and in this moment, I wish it were possible to reach through the phone and hug her.
“Better, I guess? I told him I felt like he was being distant, and he apologized. Apparently, work has been insane. But he texted me a couple hours ago that he had a surprise for me and couldn’t wait for me to get home, so maybe it was just a rough patch.”
“Maybe he finally found a place for you guys to actually live in,” I say, crossing my fingers that it’s that. It could very well be the nesting habits that have a chokehold on me lately, but the fact that my friend has been living somewhere for almost nine months and still hasn’t unloaded her things from the car she drives every day is mind-boggling.
“Oh, that would literally be the best news ever.”
I’m finishing up putting the last bottle in the cupboard when the front door opens. In my periphery, Cora jumps to her feet, a low growl starting as she stares down the hallway to the front of the house.
“Hey, I think Dean just got back with our food. Will you text me when you find out what the surprise is?” I ask, grabbing a kitchen towel and wiping down the counter.
“Of course. You’ll be the first to—” Her words are cut off by Cora barking. I shake my head and shout over her.
“Perfect, love you, Viv.” I don’t even hear her response before hanging up. “Cora!”
