Page 48 of Falling Madly
“I’m glad I was here with you,” she finally said, releasing her hair and dropping her hands into her lap. “It’s been eventful, but I feel like I needed a distraction. I needed an elf costume.” She chuckled, shaking her head.
Teresa always had bed hair. Or maybe I saw it that way because I kept imagining her in bed, a dark, curly halo around her face, naked and smiling. If she’d really had sex dreams about me, I had sexy daydreams about her, constantly. Mine didn’tinvolve exciting costumes or locations. I couldn’t really focus on anything but her. And now that I’d gotten a taste of her, my imagination was running wild, visualizing things that before had been hazy. She was every bit as sexy and incredible as I’d always thought. Yet, reality trumped fantasy every time. It was messy, scary, and profound.
That deep dimple on her left cheek, the way her eyes lightened to the color of whiskey in the sun and the way she bounced on the balls of her feet when she was excited. That tattoo on her hip. Everything I knew and didn’t know fascinated me.
“I’m glad, too,” I said, taking her hand across the table. “And I’m not trying to get rid of you, I promise. But I thought you had a lot of work on, so you might want to get back.”
Panic flashed behind her eyes, and I regretted bringing it up. “I’m getting behind. I can feel it. There’s no deadline today, but I need to send stuff on Monday.”
“Sweet. We’ll ask Charlie to swing by the office and bring your laptop. Then you can email updates and whatever you need to do before we head back to Denver.”
“Yeah. Okay.” She relaxed a little.
“Shoe shopping, then?”
“Do you think they sell those pointy elf shoes anywhere?” she asked as we exited the cafe.
“Let’s find out.”
I grabbed her arm to help her over the slippery steps. To my surprise, she hung onto mine and didn’t let go. My heart glowed as we walked down the street, browsing the selection of shops along Main Street. There was a hairdresser, a real estate company, an adorable bookstore, a ski shop… and finally, an old-style shoe shop and repair store with a giant leather boot in their window. At the door, she finally let go of my hand.
“Bingo!” She bounced a little, turning her excited eyes to me.
Emboldened by her move, I slid my hand to her waist, guiding her inside. I never wanted to stop touching her. Her short winter coat showed off her perfect butt, highlighted in red and green stripes, framed by the jingle bells sticking out from underneath the jacket’s hem. She was the hottest elf I’d ever seen.
Would she ever go for it again? Did she think last night been a mistake? I was too scared to ask.
Chapter Seventeen
Teresa
We browsed the shelves full of handmade shoes, admiring their detailing. The smell of leather hung in the air and the noises from the back room told us the shopkeeper was on his way.
I tried to pretend I didn’t notice how Trevor’s hand slid from my waist, grazing my bottom, but it took a lot of effort. My whole body vibrated from that slight touch, sending a very familiar zing into my core. I was hot for him again. I’d thought of last night as scratching an itch—a one-time thing. brought on by wine and circumstances. But I was developing something akin to fever and my whole body hummed with possibilities I was scared to think about.
I’d been free from these feelings for so long I didn’t think I’d have to worry about them ever coming back.
Had I really been free from them? I’d never felt indifferent about him, but I’d been angry and disappointed. I’d kept him inthat too-hard basket, thinking it was the same as getting over him.
I wandered through the shop, browsing the beautiful leather shoes, taking pleasure in the way Trevor followed me, standing so close I felt his body heat and energy. Sensed his gaze on me. I was enjoying myself. That delicious pulsing between my legs was the sweetest distraction he could have offered. If fooling around with Trevor was a mistake, it was still the best thing that had happened during the train wreck that was yesterday. Those moments of pure bliss and that blinding orgasm… I couldn’t exactly pretend I was indifferent about it. If I was honest, I wanted more.Muchmore.
But once was a mistake. Twice was a pattern. Or in this case, a relationship, and I’d only just walked out of one. I couldn’t start another on the same day. That was doomed to fail.
Could I make it a multi-day mistake? An extended one that included several orgasms? Surely that still fell into the scope of a mistake. It seemed Trevor could wipe Richard from my brain, and that sounded like a win. If the delete-memories-of-your-ex service fromEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—incidentally, my favorite film—had been available in real life, I would have instantly booked an appointment.
But if I used a fling with Trevor to sanitize my brain, I had to make sure we wrapped things up before returning to our regular lives. A rebound fling was one thing. A rebound relationship with a guy I had to work with… that would be a disaster.
It didn’t have to go that far, though. Trevor was a fun guy, so I could have fun with him.
A pair of footwear on the bottom shelf caught my eye. They were green, looked like they were made of thick felt, and had pointy, upturned ends.
“Oh, my God!” I lifted them up to show Trevor.
“A local lady makes them for us,” the gray-haired shopkeeper said. “They’re fantastic if you have cold floors. Anti-slip and everything.”
Yep, the soles had textured rubber patches.
“It’s an improvement, I suppose,” Trevor said, taking the boots and turning them in his hands. “She does slip quite a bit. So, they’re only for indoor use?”
