Page 60 of Off the Stick
“Come with me so we can sit down and talk.”I nod toward the other room, then let go of her hand and wait for her response.
“Fine.But I have a lot to say.”
“I’m sure you do.”
I gesture for her to proceed and when we get to the couch, and she plops down on the cushion.I take the spot next to her.
“Halle, stop being so stubborn.”
Definitely the wrong thing to say.Her head spins so fast it feels like something out ofThe Exorcist, and she glares at me haughtily.
I throw up my hands in defeat.“Sorry.I didn’t mean it that way.Okay, I should’ve consulted you first…”
She touches the tip of her nose with a finger.“Bingo!”she interjects, tossing me a fiery look.God, what I wouldn’t give to see the heat in those eyes while she was naked and on top of me.
But I digress.
I tentatively place my palm on top of her knee and we both stare at it.Her skin is warm and soft.My fingers itch to caress the silk canvas of her leg.
I see a flicker of something flash in the pools of her teal eyes.
“I arranged it all beforehand because I knew you’d use it as an excuse not to go out with me.But it wasn’t on a whim.Give me a little credit, here, Hal.”I give her my boyishly charming smile and bat my eyelashes, going in for the kill shot.“You already know Helena and trust that her nanny has been vetted.And Lenni will have fun playing with her new friend, Elise.”
And there it is.I see the moment she relents.Her entire body sags, the tension loosens from her stiff shoulders, and her facial muscles relax.
She avoids my gaze, so I lean over and look her in the eyes.
They are a shimmering sea of blue-green ocean.
“Well?Do you forgive me for being so—what did you call me?Infuriatingly presumptuous?”
Halle rolls her eyes and fights a smile that quirks up on the corners of her mouth.
Finally, she speaks.“I’m still mad at you.But I can forgive you, even though I think you only did it for your own benefit.”
I snort loudly and crash back into the sofa cushions.She shushes me, and I remember that Lenni is asleep down the hall.I still have a lot to learn.
“Oh please,” I whisper.“We both know you get the biggest benefit of all.”With my head pressed against the top of the couch, I slowly turn it toward Halle, offering her a cheesy grin.“You get to hang with me.”
“Gah!You are so full of yourself.”She smacks a palm over my chest, and I snag her wrist in my grasp.Then I raise her hand to my lips and kiss the top of her knuckles.
“But you love that about me.”I kiss her hand again and then turn to place a kiss at the top of her head before I stand up and walk myself to the front door.
When I turn around, I think I see something in Halle’s eyes I haven’t seen in a long time.
Longing.
And it gives me hope.
“Good night, Cherry.See you tomorrow.”
30
Halle
After running our Saturday morning errands to buy groceries for the week and do several loads of laundry—because there is always laundry—Lennon and I spend some time down at the neighborhood park.They have a newly updated kids’ play area, and my daughter literally turns into a monkey, climbing and sliding down all the chutes and ladders.
When we get back to the house, there’s a manila envelope with my name on it propped up against the front door.
