chapter thirty-six
DESPITE MY CINEMATIC grand gesture, Scott and I aren’t able to gallop into the starry night, hand in hand. He’s obligated to complete his full shift, like a responsible human. But it’s fine, because immediately after his shift ends, he’s at my door, lush green eyes quite literally sparkling, with a brand-new carton of clementines tucked under his arm.
I marinate in the sight of him in his well-fitted T-shirt, biceps prominent like those of a mythical god. He leans against my doorframe with his cocksure grin, as if he’s never even left.
“You know, you don’t have to buy these for me all the time,” I say, even though I never want him to stop for as long as he walks the earth.
“I do. Who else is gonna peel ’em for me?” He flashes me a mesmerizing smile as he strides in, setting the carton on the coffee table. He pauses, waving a hand to the television screen, which has The Godfather, yet another ridiculously long movie, queued up and ready for our viewing pleasure. “I see you already selected our entertainment.”
“Yup. Though I give you an hour before you fall asleep. Tops.” I step toward him, my entire body whirring with suppressed energy, desperate to explode, nullifying all the negativity I’m leaving behind.
He smirks, closing the gap to bring me into the warm, secure blanket of his embrace. In return, I wrap my arms around his torso like a koala, silently telling him I’m never letting go. My knees threaten to give out as I bask in his familiar alluring scent, fresh laundry and soap.
He presses a soft kiss to my temple. “But you still love me.”
“I do love you.” I perma-smile the moment the words tumble out, because I already can’t wait to say them again. Over and over.
His dimples are prominent as he runs the pads of his fingers down my backside, giving me a firm squeeze. “Hey, you’ve been spending some extra quality time with the window rack, haven’t you?”
“I had to do something to fill my time. It was actually nice, having it all to myself. Without you stealing it on me.”
His brow cocks and he treats me to an even firmer squeeze. “Oh, right. My sincerest regrets. I forgot the rack was off-limits to everyone except Crystal Chen.”
“Hey, that day I claimed it fair and square,” I remind him with a teasing poke to the chest. “It’s not my fault you didn’t see my stuff.”
He tries to suppress his amusement. “Okay, confession time. I might have seen your stuff there and stolen it anyway.”
I clap a hand over my mouth, half vindicated, half scandalized at the revelation. “I knew it!”
His chest vibrates with sunny laughter as he splays his fingers through my hair, cradling the back of my head, his other hand settling on my cheek. “I’d shown up at Excalibur twenty minutes before that. I’d never been there before and wasn’t really sure about it. It was almost double the price of the gym down the street. But I was in a rush to squeeze in a workout before my shift, so I thought I’d just pay for a day pass.” He captures me with a serious gaze and continues. “Right when I was about to pay, I saw you. You were cooling down on the treadmill and you were so fucking stunning. I was all flustered like a kid. Pretty sure I tried to tap the credit card machine with my driver’s license. Not my finest moment.”
“I can’t believe that . . .” I manage through the shock of his revelation. He admitted he was attracted to me from the beginning when I visited him at work, but I never knew he’d noticed me before the squat rack incident.
I suck in a breath as he grazes my beauty mark with his thumb. “I knew I’d be a goner the moment I first talked to you. And I was. So, after I finished my squats, I went back to the front desk and asked for the yearlong membership instead of the day pass.”
“Very presumptuous of you.”
He arrows a knowing look at me. “I know my type.”
“And what’s that?” I ask as my fingers trace the hard ridges of his back.
“Strong-willed, confident, kind, and challenging.” A soft laugh escapes him. “My mom says I have a thing for anything guaranteed to be a massive pain in the ass.”
I bury my smile in his chest and inhale his calming scent before sneaking a glance upward. “You know, even if you never went to my gym, we would have met anyway through Flo and Martin.”
He tilts his head, taking it in. “That’s true. It was meant to be. Though I did have fun bugging the shit out of you at the gym . . .”
I playfully squeeze his arm. “How come you never told me you got a membership because of me?”
“Because. I’d just gotten out of a relationship. I wasn’t sure how you’d react back then if I told you.”
“Good point.”
“But I was planning on it. Was gonna save it for when I was really in the doghouse,” he says against my ear.
Heart more swollen than a steroid bro’s biceps, I press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I love you. You know me so well.”
“I also know you don’t really want to watch a movie right now.”
I tilt my head like an innocent lamb as he feathers light kisses over my neck. “I don’t?”
“Nope. I made other plans.”
“Like what?”
“We have an intense full-body workout scheduled. For right now.”
My body tingles in anticipation as I poorly feign hesitation, unable to resist running my hands over his chest, practically clawing at him. “Just how intense are we talking?”
“High intensity. Multiple rounds. No breaks.” He gives me a deadpan look for all of two seconds before his lips curl into a wicked grin. His heated gaze locks to mine as he moves me backward, down the hall to my bedroom, and onto my bed.
I smile, soaking up the splendor as his body molds to mine, as if we’ve never been apart. Like muscle memory.
I’ve never felt more loved than I do right now in this very moment, by myself and by him.
I may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and neither is Scott. We laugh at stupid things. We’d rather die than put on real clothes and leave the house, unless it’s to go to the gym. There are no theatrics. No crazy, impulsive, fairy-tale adventures.
It’s simply us, day in and day out, doing life together. And every day is a new personal best.