Connected (Connections, #1)(65)
Raising an eyebrow, he jokes, “That’s not the kind of luck I want.” He presses his warm body against mine and continues, “First, I’ll get you coffee, then we need to hit the stores, and then I’ll let you mess with me.”
“You want to go shopping?” I ask, surprised at his plan for the day.
He laughs softly and twists to sit on the side of the mattress. “No . . . not shopping, nothing even remotely like shopping, I promise,” he says, crossing his finger over his heart.
Leaning back toward me, he chuckles against my mouth and pinches my ass. “Just quickly stopping in a few retail establishments to pick up some necessities.”
“Yeah,” I respond, gently slapping his twisted arm before grabbing it.
Sitting up, I lean against his back, keeping his body close to mine a little longer. “I’m pretty sure that is the definition of shopping.”
As I lean over his shoulder, his head turns toward me and I kiss him. I caress his tongue with mine and taste him thoroughly before pulling away. Sliding over to the other side of the mattress, I stand up and stretch.
Still sitting, twisted with his feet on the floor, his eyes roam my body and my skin begins to tingle. I bite down on my lip at the sight of him and try to focus on what has always been my morning priority, coffee. But even the thought of my beloved morning coffee can’t suppress my insatiable desire for him.
He stands up and lets his unyielding gaze weigh on me for a moment longer. “We should probably take a shower.” He has a look on his face like he’s trying to convince himself that he should leave the room.
As he stands there, grinning at me, he’s completely naked and absolutely sexy as hell. Without saying another word, I grab my bag and saunter off to the bathroom, pushing my shirt off my shoulders and letting it fall off my body, knowing he’s watching me. Shortly after I reach the bathroom, I hear his feet padding across the wooden floor, and I know he’s headed in my direction. Game on, I win.
Having opted to wear the jeans and t-shirt I bought yesterday since they were my only clean clothes, I pull the jeans over River’s Pac-Man boxers and slip the t-shirt over my white bra with the black bow. Sliding my arms into my black leather jacket and tying my Converse sneakers, the ones I luckily threw in my overnight bag before I left home, I’m ready to visit a few retail establishments.
I haven’t been shopping in so long that I am actually a little excited. My excitement only grows as I walk out of the bathroom and see River texting on his phone. He’s wearing worn jeans, a black Ramones t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and black work boots. When he smiles at me while slipping on his black beanie, I am transported into the past, to the first time I laid eyes on him, and he’s just as sexy now as he was then.
While we’re driving, I check my many emails and listen to my voicemails. Both Grace and Aerie have left messages. I send Aerie a quick text and call Grace. I hang up just as my phone battery dies and I mention to River that I should be getting back to Laguna Beach by Wednesday. His eyes flicker to mine, and he very quietly says, “How about we take it day by day?”
I want to argue that I really need to get home, but don’t because I couldn’t care less about getting home. I just really like being with him. So instead, I smile over at him and respond, “I can’t stay with you forever, you know.” Poking him in the ribs underneath his jacket, I add, “You’ll get sick of me and all my games soon enough anyway.”
We walk into what appears to be almost a town unto itself. I have been to The Grove a handful of times. It really does have the best shopping. It hosts all of my most favorite stores including Nike Goddess, Pottery Barn, J. Crew, and H&M.
Coincidentally, the first place we hit is Pottery Barn. I’m quickly learning that shopping with River is rather comical. As we enter the store, he approaches the more-than-willing-to-help young brunette, who instantly bats her eyelashes at him. She blinks at first, as if trying to place him, but blows it off as soon he mentions the wares he’s looking for. I laugh as he jumps on one of the mattresses and tries to take me with him. In a matter of no more than thirty minutes, we have selected neutral bedding, soft towels, and fluffy pillows. We also select a mattress, box spring, and a black leather tufted headboard. The flirty salesgirl didn’t have to bat her eyelashes to convince him to add the coordinating nightstands; he would have done it anyway. He quickly pays and arranges delivery for later today.
As we walk among the stores, his arm slung over my shoulder and my hand in his back pocket, he tells me that he wants to take me to a place called Smitten’s tonight. It’s a local neighborhood bar that The Wilde Ones have been practicing at every Tuesday night for over five years. He informs me I’ll get to meet his brother, sister, and bandmates. That makes me a little nervous, but I’m more excited to finally see him perform with his band.
Our next stop is Williams Sonoma where we select the newest Starbucks coffee pot and purchase coffee pods, cookware, modern white plates, and silverware. Once again, as he pays, he arranges for it all to be delivered later today.
As we walk through the very festive outdoor mall, we pass by an H&M. “Mind if I duck in and grab a few things?”
Nodding, he motions with his head to the side and says, “I’ll be over there. I have a few calls to return,” then he kisses me, slides his nose to my ear and whispers, “So take your time.” He knows what that does to me. I smile at him and run my fingers up his stomach. “It won’t take that long.”