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“Love you, too.” Penny slaps my ass and winks. “Now finish cleaning up and get out of here.”
Once I finish wiping my booth down and everything is back in place, I snatch my purse and say bye to the guys. Before leaving, I give Penny one last hug. “Thanks again. See you tomorrow.”
When I release the hug, she narrows her eyes before tossing out another wink. “Have a good night,” she singsongs.
* * *
“You ready to go, pumpkin?”
Clementine comes barreling out of the bedroom with a tote bag hooked over her shoulder. Shortly after I got home, and Iliana left, I told Clementine we would stay at Jonas’s house tonight. Not a second after the words left my lips, she bolted from one corner of the apartment to the next. When I started packing an overnight bag for us, she asked if she could pack her own.
“Mama, I’m a big girl. I want my own bag.”
How could I deny her sunshiny smile? Too much time had passed since I last saw that smile. And the fact I stole that from her stabbed me center chest.
“Yep.” She pats the overstuffed bag. “Got all the goods.”
“What on earth did you put in there? Looks like it weighs more than you.”
She purses her lips and narrows her eyes. “My clothes, some movies, and some stuff I want to show Sparty.”
I laugh under my breath. Spartan has become her brother, their bond unrivaled. “Okay. If you have everything, let’s go. Jonas is making breakfast for dinner.”
Clementine’s eyes go wide and she scurries for the door. “Come on, Mama. Let’s go.”
As soon as Clementine learns the dinner menu, she rushes us. Has me shoving our bags in the back and all but snaps her fingers for me to start the car. Thankfully, it’s a quick ride to Jonas’s house. Music and singing pass the time faster.
I park in Jonas’s driveway and cut the engine. Clementine hauls her bag from the back and bolts for the front door. I dash to keep up with her sprint. Before either of us can knock, Jonas opens the door with a wide grin splitting his cheeks. Spartan tackles Clementine with kisses. It all just feels normal.
“Let me take your bags,” Jonas offers, taking Clementine’s off her shoulder before holding a hand out for mine.
The start of our evening goes much the same as before. Except now, Jonas and I discover every possible moment to touch each other. In the kitchen, while we eat, when we curl into each other on the couch. His fingers sweep stray hairs off my cheek. Arms around me as he demonstrates how to cut the fruit “easier.” My knees grazing his over and over as we eat our meals. And now, his fingers splayed on my belly, thumb drawing small circles, reminiscent of the movie night we shared in the park.
The movie plays on the screen, but I don’t see or hear any of it.
Eyes closed, I focus on my breathing. His breathing. The rapid uptick in each pattern. From shoulders to toes, our bodies mold as one. Heat radiates off him, burning through layers of clothes, and scorches my skin. And a rhythmic cadence I memorized, one I called to mind several times while we were apart, beats fierce in his chest and thumps between my shoulder blades.
A light sheen of perspiration prickles my skin as Jonas skims his palm higher and higher, slow and steady up my abdomen. When he traces the underwire of my bra, I stop breathing. When he kisses the sensitive skin behind my ear, I grind my hips into him. Jonas exhales a soft growl, his breath hot on my neck.
“Cannot wait for this movie to end,” he whisper-growls in my ear.
I open my eyes, peek at the screen before shifting my gaze to Clementine. The movie is almost over, but she is wide awake. Time to offer alternative solutions.
Rolling over to face Jonas, I bring my hand to his cheek and run my palm over the stubble. “She’s still awake. Might need to put on another movie to watch, flip the lights off, and we can go to bed.” He lifts his head to spot Clementine then nods.
For the last fifteen minutes of movie one, Jonas and I kiss and touch and reacquaint ourselves with simpler contact. When the movie ends, I pop off the couch. “Pumpkin, what other movie do you want to watch? Jonas and I are going to bed, but you can stay up and watch.”
“The Nightmare Before Christmas.” I should have known.
“You got it. Go change into your jammies while I set it up.”
She jumps off the couch and bounds down the hall with pajamas in hand. While out of the room, I start up the movie while Jonas sets up the couch for her to sleep. A few minutes later, she plops back on the couch in her movie-themed pajamas with Sally on her limbs and torso. She wiggles her way under the blanket, Spartan curls up beside her, and we kiss her good night.
Jonas and I stroll back to the bedroom, hand in hand. The second the door clicks shut, the energy changes. Grows heavier. Potent. Feverish. I freeze and Jonas steps up to my backside. Hands on my biceps. Fingers traipsing down until they weave with mine. He inches closer. Heat swirls in the air, licks my skin, and blankets me. His breath comes faster, hotter, sweeping across my neck.
He brings one of our joined hands to my abdomen and grazes the skin above the hem of my jeans. Presses me into him. Rocks his hips against my butt. I tip my head back and rest it on his shoulder. A slow moan on my lips.
“Missed you so much,” he growls and trails kisses up my neck. Along my jaw. Consuming my lips.
