Page 27 of Joy
“I asked you on the date,” Silas replied. “And there’s… one place.”
“What is it?”
“Seafood.”
“And you don’t like seafood? You ate my tacos.”
“Yes… because you made them.”
“Aww.”
Silas sighed. “I’ll go for you.”
“That makes me feel special,” I said, amused.
Silas reached down and took my hand into his, then wove our fingers together. “I’ll pick you up after your shift at Eatery.”
The morning walk with Ben was relaxing, which isn’t a word I thought I’d ever associate with six in the morning, but New Hampshire was full of surprises. We did pass who I assumed was Mrs. Murphy, but Silas only called her ma’am, and she just waved and kept jogging, so I guess my bed hair wasn’t too startling. And how cool was it that my first thought was my hair, and not that Silas and I were holding hands in a place that, if you had asked me a few days ago, I’d have naturally assumed the locals would go after you with pitchforks?
Take that, drunk guy outside Bucker’s!
When we returned home—Silas’s house—he got in the shower and I put my clothes in the dryer. I made a pot of coffee while awaiting my turn and took a moment to search through his cupboards. Not a lot of ingredients. Pancakes were out of the question, and there didn’t seem to be any jam for toast either. Butthank GodSilas had a huge container of peanut butter and another of marshmallow fluff.
I rolled my eyes and tried the fridge next. Slightly better luck, but not by much. I pulled out some eggs and bacon, an onion and a lone pepper that seemed like Silas was tempted to try and then decided to just leave it in the back and forget about it until it molded and withered. I put the ingredients on the counter, found a bowl, and whipped up omelets. The bacon was crackling and I’d just poured the eggs and chopped veggies into another pan when Silas stepped into the kitchen.
I glanced over, looked back at my task, then jerked my head up again. “Wow.”
“What?”
“The glistening torso and rock-hard abs are nice.”
Silas looked down at himself.
“I thought we were going on a date before the sex, though.”
“We are,” Silas said slowly, confused.
“Then put a shirt on before I burn these eggs because I’m too busy being on my knees.”
Silas blushing was adorable. And he definitely lingered long enough to allow that image to seep into his brain before leaving to finish getting dressed. When he came back, I had breakfast on two plates.
“Go nuts,” I said, grabbing a slice of bacon. “I need to shower.”
“Your food will get cold.”
“That’s fine. But eat. It’s good!” I called.
I grabbed my small bag of toiletries and went into the bathroom. Silas had left a folded towel on the side of the sink for me to use. Smiling, I stripped out of yesterday’s clothes and turned on the taps, then gave it a minute to heat up before getting in. The hot water and steam were nice and a good warm-up after the chilly morning walk.
When I finished and opened the bathroom door, there was a laundry basket on the floor with my clothes folded inside. Did Silas have any idea how cute he was? How domestic and charming he was? He really was just agood guy. Like everyone said.
“I didn’t look at your underwear,” he said from where he was folding my blankets on the couch. Silas glanced over his shoulder.
“Ha, ha.” I crouched down, towel wrapped around my waist as I pawed through the wardrobe options. What was the nicest? Oh, definitely the dark purple checkered pants. My ass was fuckingfinein those. And a black button-down. I shut the bathroom door again and got dressed, making a mental note that I had to wear an apron all day at Eatery or suffer the consequences.
I rolled my sleeves up and stepped out of the bathroom. When I got to the kitchen doorway, Silas offered a cup of coffee in his outstretched hand. “Ah yes, thanks.”
“You look really nice,” he said.
