Page 24 of Nice Guys Don't Kiss Like That At Christmas
I round the counter, slow and careful, until I’m standing in front of her.“Then maybe we stay right here.For now.”
She doesn’t move.Neither do I.
The space hums between us.A memory, maybe.Or a warning.
I close the distance and she tilts toward me, barely, like her body’s bracing for impact.
My hand brushes the plate behind her.For a second, I swear she forgets to blink.
If I lean in, everything changes.If I don’t, I’ll regret it for another seven years.
There has to be a middle ground.
So when I speak, it’s low.Controlled.
“Let me make you pancakes, Foster.”
She inhales.
It’s quiet, barely there.
But I hear it like it’s the only sound that matters.
Chapter nine
EVE
Ishouldgoupstairs.
When I came to scavenge some food, I left the girls all happy and quiet.Settled.Dorothy finally curled up like she hasn’t been limping like a rom-com heroine waiting for someone to see her, truly see her.Blanche claimed the bed like she paid rent.And I’m still down here in the kitchen with the guy I ghosted seven years ago, pretending pancakes aren’t a loaded, emotionally risky snack.
The table is warm from where my elbow’s been resting.His foot bumps mine under the table when he shifts.Heat travels up my leg from that single point of contact, unwelcome and electric.He says nothing.Neither do I.
After that penis-shaped walk down my memory lane, we’re quiet.
But it’s not silence.
It’s old.Familiar.Like slipping back into a Christmas Mariah Carey song we all know the lyrics to, but can’t quite reach the pitch.
“So…” I say, poking at the syrup smear on my plate with my fork.“Still loveiZombie?”
His head tilts.“Obviously.”
I glance up, catching his gaze directly for the first time in minutes.My stomach tightens.“Even the last season?”
He nods.“Especially the last season.”
I smile.“Good answer.”His mouth quirks up on one side.That half smile that used to make my heart stutter.Still does, apparently.
“We agreed,” he says.“That finale?That jump in time?Liv and Major!”
I nod, relieved.“I couldn’t have handled aVeronica Marsreboot-style.Not again.”
He grimaces.“Trauma.”
“I needed something to believe in.”
“You needed Liv and Ravi and that fake documentary ep where she eats filmmaker brain.”
