Just My Type(73)

But out of all the times I’ve been with Ember over the last few weeks, this right here, this is my favorite. As our mouths lazily brush against each other with a slow, proper, good-morning kiss, her body is soft and warm pressed up against me. Her hair is mussed and her eyes are still heavy from sleep. She’s perfect and she’s mine.

I’m so goddamn in love with her that my stomach constantly feels like it’s plunging down the first hill of a roller coaster whenever she walks into the room. It would be nice if I could say this revelation suddenly hit me just now, but I’ve been feeling this shit flopping around in my stomach for weeks. Before I kissed her, before I made her come in a pool with my hand, before I found out what it felt like to sink inside her tight body and hear her moan my name. It’s been building for weeks, since the first time she called me an asshole. The sex is out of this world, but it’s just an added bonus. I’m in love with her.

This was all new to her, being back in the dating game. I didn’t want to scare her and come on too strong. I’ll let her take the lead, and I’ll let her make the decisions, until she realizes I’m not going anywhere and will wait for as long as she needs. I still don’t want to scare her, but she needs to know I’m here, and I’m in this. I don’t want her to ever have any doubts about me.

Ember ends the kiss, pulling back from my mouth to smile at me.

“You know what Lincoln is going to want to name his next pet, right?”

I chuckle as my hands drop from her cheeks and I wrap them around her shoulders, pulling her closer so she can rest her cheek against my chest and I can put my chin on top of her head.

Clearing my throat, I speak in a higher-pitched voice. “Hi, I’d like to make a vet appointment for my beloved pets, Ron Jeremy and Piss Boner?”

I feel Ember shaking in my arms as she laughs.

“I don’t see anything wrong with that.” I shrug.

The muffled sounds of Lincoln digging through the silverware drawer and opening and slamming cupboards fills the silence between us for a few minutes while we stand here in the hallway with our arms wrapped around each other. With a deep breath, I keep my chin where it’s resting on top of her head, and spit all this out before I lose my fucking nerve.

“I’m all in,” I speak softly, staring at a spot on the wall as my hands gently run up and down Ember’s spine. “I was all in the minute I met you, because of how funny you are, and how strong you are, and how you don’t take my shit. I was all in the minute I saw how much you love your son and the people you care about. And I know being all in with you, means being all in with Lincoln. I like your son. He’s a handsome devil, and he’s smart, and funny, and polite, and he laughs at my fart jokes. That’s like, really important.”

Since Ember hasn’t moved or said one word, I felt like I needed to end this thing on a silly note, so she wouldn’t freak out. But she’s still quiet and not moving, and my stupid hands are still running up and down her spine, because I don’t know what else to do with them.

Maybe I should have played this just like the dating thing. Several years down the road, I can just be like, “Um, yeah, I’m in love with you. The signs were all there, God!”

She suddenly pulls out of my arms, and I watch with shaking hands as her eyes slowly move up my chest and over my face until they meet mine. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see her bring her hand up between us and I glance down, my mouth tipping up into a grin and the nerves slipping away like a flash.

Looking back at her, I wrap my pinky around the one she’s holding up in front of my chest.

“You know the rules,” she says softly as we move our intertwined pinkies up and down. “You don’t fuck with a pinky swear.”

“I’m well aware of that. It’s why I’m wearing a sparkly lip shirt and showing off my navel.”

“You know I probably have an old shirt my brother left here in one of my drawers you could change into,” she says, our hands still moving up and down between us.

“Nope. I’m committed to pulling this off now. Have you seen how great the sparkles make my abs look? It’s goddamn magnificent.”

“And yet, I’m still all in, in spite of that.” She sighs dramatically.

She lets out a squeal when I drop our joined fingers, squat down, and quickly lift her up over my shoulder, just like the night at the aquarium. My knee hurts like a motherfucker after last night’s sexcapades, but I don’t give a shit. I push through it and carry Ember out into the kitchen with her dangling down my back, smacking my ass, and telling me to put her down through her laughter, because I can.

And because she’s motherfucking all in.



“Wash your hands first if you’re getting a snack!” Ember shouts after Lincoln as he runs ahead of us through the door and straight into the kitchen.

“I’m not getting a snack. I’m getting Ron Jeremy!” he yells back as we hear the squeaky metal sound of R.J.’s cage opening when Ember and I walk into the kitchen.

She flops down on a chair at the table in the corner, letting out an exhausted sigh as she sets her purse down on top of it.

“The zoo is exhausting. Why is walking around looking at adorable animals so exhausting?” she complains.

Moving to stand behind her, I rest my hands on her shoulders and she lets out a groan of satisfaction when I start gently massaging them.