Make Me Yours(47)

Leaving my work station, I storm down to my bedroom and strip off my slacks and work shirt. I go to the dresser and take out a tee and some nylon jogging pants. In less than five minutes I’m out the door, running down the circle driveway and out to the path leading past our house and through this expansive neighborhood, around the lake.

Every lot in Eagleton Heights is two acres. It makes for a nice, long path for walkers and joggers. I loop past the condos, where I now know Dr. Pak is setting up residence. Without even thinking I pop the bird at the new construction before circling around to where I started.

My legs burn with exertion, and I’m covered in a sheen of sweat when I arrive back at the house. I drop my hoodie in a basket in the laundry room and strip off my sweaty tee. I don’t feel like going upstairs for a new one. Luckily a stack of folded clothes sits on the drier, and I grab a white undershirt from it.

I didn’t eat much after Eleanor dragged out that port. I don’t know what kind of reaction she expected me to have, but I’m pretty sure from her response it wasn’t what she got. My feelings about those days are only good.

I never believed I would get here, but five years out, I look back on my honeymoon and the short time I had with my wife as cherished memories. A blessed time, followed by one of the darkest times of my life.

When I was in therapy, Drew said I would eventually get to this place of peace with the past, and a desire for a future. I didn’t believe her, but now it seems she was right. Those memories will always live in my heart, and I hope I’m blessed enough to have more to come.

My stomach rumbles, and I walk to the refrigerator. Eleanor keeps us on a relatively healthy diet, so I’m not expecting to find much in the way of snacks. Thinking about it more, I decide it’s time to take back this portion of my life as well. I want some fucking snacks in this goddamn house.

I grin, remembering how Ruby made pigs in blankets her first day here. They were delicious, and it sends my mind along a trail of all the ways she’s different from the women my mother-in-law associates with, different from Sandy’s old friends, the women I see when I take Lillie to preschool.

Ruby is fiercely independent, and she has her own unique style. She’s not a follower. She’s not a member of the herd. She doesn’t seem to want anything from me other than honest work, and she’s amazing with my daughter.

A soft noise behind me draws my attention, and when I see her, emotion hits me hard in the chest. My feelings for her have grown so strong over the past week and a half. I don’t want her to date Henry. I want her to stay here with me.

“What are you doing in here?” Her voice is soft, a little flustered, but I can tell she’s trying to tease me.

She’s standing there in cotton shorts and a thin tee with “Dream Big” printed on the front. A robe hangs from her shoulders, but it’s open. I watch as her eyes travel over me fast, her cheeks blushing pink.

“You blush easily.”

“Do I?” Her voice is soft, and she grins, her cheeks growing pinker. “I never did before. I didn’t mean to catch you in your underwear.”

Glancing down, I see the wife beater I’m wearing doesn’t cover much. I’m sweaty, my hair’s a mess, and I’m standing barefoot in the kitchen. “I just got back from a run. I thought everyone had gone to bed.”

“Lillie’s in bed.” She comes closer. “I don’t know where Eleanor is.”

Lifting my chin, I return to the refrigerator, where I’m holding the door open. “I just needed a little something more to help me sleep. I was thinking about Lillie’s leftovers, wishing we had something like cookies or pigs in blankets.”

She almost laughs. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to contaminate Lillie with my horrible food choices.”

“You should have a baking day, make cookies.”

Her voice turns sassy. “Are you saying you want my cookies?”

“I’ll eat your cookies.” I give her a wink, meaning it in every way.

She snorts a laugh, and it makes me smile. I love when she plays with me. Returning to the fridge, I take out a plastic container of what looks like cantaloupe. When I open it, it smells like alcohol.

“Hm.” I study the salmon-colored fruit. “This might be bad. I’m going to need you to taste it for me.”

“I don’t think so. That’s not my job.” She does a hop, and she’s sitting on the bar.

Perfect. I step between her legs, lifting out a cube. “You’re saying you won’t taste this to be sure it won’t hurt me?”

Holding it up, I lightly trace the corner across her full bottom lip. She pulls her head back. “It smells like it’s fermented.”

“Will you nurse me if I get sick?” I pop it in my mouth, imagining her in a sexy nurse outfit. It makes my dick twitch. “Tastes okay.”

“I wouldn’t eat too much of it.”

Stepping to the fridge again, I find a smaller container of strawberries and take it out. “How about this?” I hold a slice of strawberry to her lips. “Don’t you like strawberries?”

“Yes and no—the seeds get stuck in my teeth.”

Parting my lips, I watch as her mouth opens slightly. Her pink tongue slips out and tastes the fruit before she pulls it between her white teeth.