Page 35 of Waiting on Life
“Good. Now, go sit down. Oh, and you should prepare to be grilled by my sister at some point.”
I left him gawping as I went to find something to clean up the mess.
Chapter Ten
Kyle
“How’s the burrito?” Toby asked me.
“It’s good.” And it was. Tofu scramble with vegan cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla. It was better when it was fresh and hot, but still good reheated. “You’re not eating.”
“I was waiting to see if you wanted the rest,” he said, his cheeks ruddy.
“No, I want you to eat,” I insisted. “When’s the last time you actually ate?”
He tilted his head up and peered at me through his thick lashes. “I had some mozzarella sticks yesterday afternoon. I think.”
And I’d screwed it up by dropping breakfast. That sucked. It was getting near seven, and our time together had been great. He told me about Tammy, why she would want to talk to me, a bit about his childhood, and a few other tidbits about his life. I have to admit, I was a little jealous. His sister obviously loved him to bits. I was an only child. His parents were still married and got along. Mine were… divorced, and though friendly toward each other, they didn’t go out of their way to talk.
“I should get going,” he said, pushing his plate toward me. “Eat. You need to keep up your strength.”
No one but Pete ever worried about me, and it was strange, yet nice.
“What about you?”
“I promise I’ll grab something when I get to work.”
Which meant he’d be eating deep-fried snacky foods.Sohealthy. I had to ask myself if it was up to me to worry for him. I mean, we’d been… whatever we were for a whole five minutes, so surely that didn’t entitle me to have a say in anything. Right?
No, not at all. I could have practically swooned over the fact that he cared for me. And that kiss? Oh, don’t even get me started. In my life, I’ve kissed a lot of frogs, but never before had I been kissed by a prince. Toby was more than I thought he could be. Gentle, but at the same time, commanding. An impressive combination, to be sure. And when he pulled me against his body, oh God. I’m surprised he didn’t comment about my boner being pressed into his leg. Shit, I’m surprised I didn’t start humping him like a horny puppy.
“Eat, Kyle. You need to get some meat on your bones.”
At this point, I’d like to say that any other guy who’d said that would get a snarky remark, but Toby was saying it not to be sexual, but to be caring, and that stole the words on my lips.
“I think you should eat it,” I said. “I can go home and make myself something.”
His lopsided grin turned down. “Let me take care of you,” he said, his voice husky. He reached for my hand and squeezed my fingers gently. “I want you to get healthy so you can come back to work.”
“And is that the only reason?” I asked, doing my best to sound sweet and alluring, and knowing I wasn’t coming off as anything but awkward.
His lips flattened out, and I had the urge to grab the lower one and give it a tug. That was now up there with my desire to stroke my hands over his beard. I wanted to explore Toby, to get to know what drove him crazy. Funnily enough, my thoughts didn’t go to sex, but to holding and touching each other. God, I had to be sick if I wasn’t thinking about getting him in me.
“What’s wrong? You’ve gone pale.”
And I knew why. I was thinking of Toby as a fuck, not a friend, not as something potentially more.
“My bump is gone,” I blurted out. I pulled his hand to my head and rubbed it over where the mailbox had left its mark. “See?”
His touch was gentle as he stroked his fingers over my scalp.
“I wish you hadn’t cut your hair,” he whispered. “I liked feeling it slide through my fingers. I’ve never felt anything as soft.”
“Good conditioner,” I said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. From the way his gaze lingered on my face, I had no doubt Toby was seeing inside my head, and I got the distinct impression that he was going to pull all my secrets out of me. And the weird thing? I didn’t mind.
“Do you want me to reheat the burrito?”
His voice startled me, but the look on his face undid me altogether. “N-No, I’m okay.” I picked it up and took a bite, fearful I might blurt out something foolish. Because I’d never done that before.
