Page 44 of Hot and Bothered
Evan chuckled, but his eyes were soft. “You don’t have to learn to bake just for me.”
“I want to,” I said. “I promise I’ll try not to burn down the kitchen.”
“You’ve got some time to practice,” he said. “My birthday isn’t for another six months.”
“Oh,” I said, disappointed. I’d sort of hoped I could do something nice for him soon.
“Don’t look so sad,” he said. “We’re adults, remember? You can have cake for dinner any time you want.”
I put bake Evan a cake on my ever-expanding list of things I wanted to do, not only for him but for myself. After all, what kind of person didn’t know how to make their own favorite food?
“Do you do anything special for your birthdays?” I asked. “Any traditions?”
He concentrated on taking another huge bite of his burrito, chewing slowly and swallowing before answering.
“When I was younger, my mom would sometimes throw a party with my school friends,” he said. “I don’t do much for my birthdays now. Maybe get together with some friends at a bar and have some drinks. It’s not much different than any other night out, except someone else covers my tab.”
I vowed that Evan wasn’t going to have to wait six months to celebrate a proper birthday with a proper birthday cake.
“How old are you, anyway?” I asked him.
“Twenty-six,” he said.
“You’re not that much older than me,” I said.
And yet, it felt as if there was a lifetime of difference between us. I knew it wasn’t a competition. There wasn’t any game of life, no prize for the person who lived it up the most.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling like Evan was halfway to the finish line while I’d barely taken one space beyond the starting point. Or maybe I’d been stuck in the equivalent of Monopoly jail and I had only just now rolled the right number on the dice to set myself free.
I was startled from my thoughts by Evan pecking me on the lips. I resisted the urge to melt into his arms.
“When’s your birthday?” he asked.
“It was two months ago,” I said.
“Damn, we’ll have to wait a whole year to celebrate.”
He had a hang-dog expression on his face and, oddly enough, it filled me with joy that my special day was just as special to him, too. An intriguing thought entered my mind and I filed that one away on my To Do list, as well.
“I’ve got some work to finish on an illustration and then I need to do my workout,” Evan said. “Will you be okay hanging out by yourself for a while?”
“I’ve got my favorite books,” I told him. “I’ll be perfectly fine.”
He gave me another kiss, slower this time, lingering until my body began to buzz with anticipation, then pulled back. It was just enough to send me reeling, and from the smirk on his face, he knew it, too.
Before, I’d been thinking I wouldn’t even know how to begin seducing Evan. After that kiss, my head was now filled with a dozen naughty thoughts.
My mind went back to that bag with silk and lace. I suppressed a smile.
Thank you, Lizzy.
18
The soft grunts coming from the spare room were driving me to distraction. Although the book in my hands was engrossing, my eyes kept wandering from the page to stare off down the hallway.
I knew Evan was just working out, but the sounds coming from that room were almost erotic. The first time I’d heard them I’d thought that he’d brought home a girl, or that I’d perhaps walked in on some kind of, ahem, private moment.
I now knew that wasn’t the case, but it didn’t stop my body from responding in all sorts of inappropriate ways.
