53
“Hey,” she greeted me as soon as she picked up the phone, and I could hear that sultry smile in her voice at once. I grinned. God, I wished she was here with me right now. This desk was getting a little boring, and I knew she’d do something to liven it up if I gave her the chance.
“Hey,” I replied after a long pause, realizing I’d been sitting in silence imagining Amaya on this desk in front of me, butt naked. “Can you get out of work early today?”
She sighed heavily, the rush of static making my ear tingle.
“I can,” she replied, and there was a warning tone to her voice. “But I don’t want to make a habit of this, all right? I’m the one in charge, but I don’t want everyone to hate me for exploiting that.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be doing this again,” I promised her. “I just have something I want to show you in town, all right? I want to meet you there.”
“Fine,” she replied, and despite herself, I could hear the little buzz of excitement at the back of her voice. “Where am I meeting you?”
“I’ll give you the address,” I replied, and even though I had communicated everything I needed to, I found myself lingering on the end of the line. I wanted to hear more of her voice, listen to her talk, ask her to tell me everything about her day. But that would have to wait. I would be seeing her in a couple of hours, no need to get ahead of myself.
“I’ll see you soon.” I finished up, and I hung up the phone before I could make even more of a lovey-dovey ass of myself. Seriously, what had come over me these last few days? Only a few months ago, I would have rolled my eyes at half the shit I was pulling right now. Yet, it just felt so normal, so natural. I wanted to treat her, wanted to show her how much I cared for her and how deeply this thing ran inside me. This was the best way I knew how, and I was going to make the most of that. I had no idea how this shit worked, and I wanted to make it clear to her that I was in this for the long haul.
I finished up work and headed across town, to the address I’d passed to her for the two of us to meet. I was already buzzing with excitement when I got there. I was early, arriving before she did, and I was glad, taking a look at the rings on display in the jewelry store I’d picked out. I guessed I must have given off an enthusiastic vibe because the saleslady closed in on me right away with a wide smile on her face and started asking me questions about who I was buying for and what kind of thing I was looking for.
“Can you bring that one out?” I asked, pressing my finger to the glass and pointing at a delicate silver band with a glimmering diamond held up by intertwined loops of metal. The woman practically bowed as she went to take it out, and that’s when I noticed the price tag. It even made me pause for a second, but I knew it would look so perfect on her. The diamond shone the color of those daisies I’d brought her the night before as she held it up to the light, and I leaned in to inspect it.
“It’s a stunning cut,” the woman murmured, eyeing it with envy.
“Kristo?”
I turned to find Amaya standing in the doorway. She looked surprised, but she had a smile on her face as she made her way over to me and planted a kiss on my cheek. I couldn’t help but grin. I loved it when she greeted me that way, as though it was just second nature to her now.
“What are we doing in here?” she asked, and she held up her hand in front of my face. “I already have a ring, remember?”
“Yeah, but I want to get you a real one,” I told her, pulling her close and pointing to the ring I’d picked out. “For when we get married.”
She flushed a little and shook her head, even though I could see her eyeing the ring longingly.
“I don’t need it,” she mumbled, and I reached down and pulled the ring I’d given her on the night of the fundraiser off her finger.
“There, now you do.” I grinned at her, and I took her hand and tugged it gently in the direction of the woman. “Come on, try it on. You know you want to.”
“May I?” the woman asked. Amaya nodded after a moment, and the woman slipped the ring over her finger. Amaya inhaled sharply as soon as it was placed, and I could tell that she had fallen in love with it already.
“Come on, you can’t tell me you don’t need this even a little bit,” I teased. “It looks incredible on you.”
“Oh my god, it’s so gorgeous,” she murmured, twisting her hand back and forth. And then she dragged her gaze away from it and back up to me. “But I’m keeping the other ring too. It’s the first one you gave me. That’s special, I’m not getting rid of it.”
“Whatever you want.” I held my hands up. I nodded to the saleslady, who discreetly went to ring me up. Amaya was still staring at the ring like she had just fallen in love, starry-eyed and excitable.
“And I want to get something for Jolene as well,” I turned back to her. She glanced up at me.
“You mean it?” She smiled, and she looked around the store. “I don’t think she’s ever had anything this fancy before.”
“Well, I want to get her something,” I told her firmly. “You know her best. What do you think she would like?”
“Pretty much anything?” She laughed, but then she turned her attention to the shop properly and furrowed her brow as she looked around. “Wow, uh, I don’t know where to start.”
We looked for a good long while until Amaya finally settled on something she thought would be perfect for her sister, a delicate charm bracelet in a gorgeous silver with a few pretty charms hanging off it, a heart, a shoe, a pair of clasped hands. I smiled and nodded when she pointed it out to me.
“Yeah, that’s the one,” I agreed, and I slipped my arms around her waist and pulled her in close. “You have amazing taste, you know that?”
“Jolene’s going to love it,” she remarked, her eyes sparkling along with her ring.