Teddy faced him. Wearing pants that hugged his thighs and a blue shirt open at the collar, he looked both casual and good enough to eat. Teddy curled her fingers in her hands to keep them from reaching out and touching him. She knew that body, knew the hardness of his chest, the strength of the muscles in his arms and the tenderness they could enfold. She knew his mouth, the way it fit perfectly over hers. The way his tongue felt sweeping into her mouth and removing everything from her mind except him.
“You brought me a rose,” she said, placing her hand on one of the buds in the vase.
“Sleeping so soundly, you reminded me of a delicate flower.”
“So you drove home, picked a flower and drove back.”
“It was on the way to work.”
She knew he was making light of his actions, but she appreciated it. Teddy went to him and kissed him on the cheek. “I liked the rose.”
“You’re easy to satisfy.”
“Am I?” she questioned, knowing the innuendo in her voice.
Adam darkened, but recovered almost immediately. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to try it again just to make sure.”
She kissed him again, this time on the mouth. “Now?”
He let out a long breath. “I would sure like to, but we’ll miss your father’s lecture and your mother will never let us live it down.”
“True.” She pouted.
“We’d better go before I change my mind. And if we don’t leave now, we’re bound to get caught in traffic.”
“Right,” Teddy said.
“Would you hand me the phone in that drawer?” He indicated an end table. Teddy hadn’t seen the drawer when she looked around the room. She heard Adam exhale a long breath when she was no longer looking at him. The thought that she affected him made her feel good.
Pulling the drawer open, she saw a phone lying in the bottom. The only other thing in the drawer was a charger the phone was connected to. She didn’t see how it fed out the back or bottom of the drawer and connected to an outlet. Reaching inside she disconnected the phone. The password screen came up as she handed it to him.
Adam slipped it into the pocket of the leather jacket he’d added to his wardrobe.
Lifting Teddy’s coat from the chair, he held it as she slipped her arms inside. For a brief moment he squeezed her shoulders. She wanted to step back into his embrace, feel the warmth of him, but she knew where that would lead. Where she wanted it to lead. But they didn’t have time for that now.
“We’ve been invited to a Christmas party,” Adam said.
“Really?”
“One of my VPs holds a holiday party every year. Since we’ll still be together then, would you like to go?”
“I haven’t been to a party just for pleasure in a long time,” she said. “I’d love to.”
“Good. I’ll let him know we’re coming.”
“Now, we’d better get to this party.”
With his hand on the small of her back, the two went through the front door. Teddy opened her car door and slipped inside. The decision of who would drive had been solved without discussion.
As an honored guest, Teddy had a pass to park on campus. They entered the lecture hall several minutes later and took seats near the middle of the auditorium.
“What’s your father speaking about?” Adam asked. “I know it has something to do with journalism, but I didn’t get the specific topic.”
“I’m fuzzy on that,” Teddy said. “He told me, but I wasn’t paying close attention. My mother was trying to get into the discussion and I was blocking her. It has something to do with the future in the digital arena of journalism.”
Teddy turned her attention to the program, looking for the topic. She didn’t get to read it due to the interruption.
“There you two are,” her mother said, coming to where they sat. Her voice sounded like a proud parent on the night of her daughter’s first date. “I thought you’d like to sit closer to the front.”
Teddy shook her head. “If we sit up there, Father will embarrass me. This is fine.” They were sitting in the subdued light halfway up the hall. Teddy wasn’t sure they could be seen from the front.