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“Mmmm, okay.” I’d act like the biggest brat he’d ever seen if this was the terrible price I’d pay.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in bed, and by dinner we were both starving.
“Do you want some dinner? I’ll go see what I can come up with,” I offered while pulling on a pair of yoga pants.
When Carmen didn’t answer, I turned to face him. “What’s up? Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, I heard you. And yes, I would love something to eat. But if you keep those pants on, I can’t really be responsible for my actions,” he answered while staring at my ass.
“Do you ever get enough, husband?” I teased and wiggled my bottom for him.
“Woooommaan.” He drew out the word while advancing toward me.
But I was quicker for once and took off out the door of our room and into the kitchen, laughing like a lunatic the entire time.
While I was digging around in the freezer, Carmen came up behind me and snaked his arms around my waist. It felt so good to lean back into his body and just be held there. Cold fog lightly billowed out from the open appliance while we stood there entwined.
“This is nice.” I sighed and reached back to cradle his face in my palm. He tugged me away from the freezer and shut the door with his foot so he wouldn’t have to let go of my body. When he didn’t respond to my comment, I turned in his arms and looked up at his very serious expression.
“What’s going on? You look very pensive.”
In the next moment, I was very grateful for his support because his words might have knocked me off my feet.
“I’m falling in love with you,” he confessed. “And it scares the shit out of me.”
Dumbstruck. Speechless. Yep, I was both of those. But I also knew this was one of those defining moments people always talk about. It couldn’t have been clearer if a clown rode through the kitchen on a miniature bike while holding a sign announcing it.
While that image had me about to laugh, I also knew this wasn’t the right time for jokes.
“You’re so brave,” I told him. And admittedly, it might have been an odd choice in the moment.
“Brave? I just told you I was scared shitless.”
I interrupted before he launched into a lecture about paying attention. “You’re so brave the way you talk about your feelings. I wish I were like that.”
“You can be. Just tell me how you’re feeling.”
“That puts me in a very vulnerable situation. I don’t like that feeling. I think too many times in my life I’ve been ridiculed for being passionate about things—or people—or maybe taken advantage of because of my feelings?” I shook my head a bit. “I’m not sure if that makes sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. I’m sensing a theme here, though.” He waved his hand back and forth between our bodies. “Between us.”
I cocked my head to one side, basically urging him to explain.
“Trust. We have trust issues. Both of us.”
“It kind of makes sense, given the timeline of our relationship, don’t you think?”
“Absolutely. But, Storm, listen to me. I’m not going to hurt you. You have to know at this point I’m fully committed here.”
I nodded. “I get that. And hopefully I’ve been doing a better job and reciprocating. I’ve been trying.”
“Does it freak you out? What I just said?”
“No. Not really.”
But instead of being content with my response, he let out a sufferable sigh.
“Was that the wrong answer? I’m confused?—”
