A female that he wasn’t dating. I wasn’t expecting that. “So you don’t want her to stay?” I asked him, getting the feeling his coming over here made more sense now. He was getting away from his cousin.
“I like Rachel, in small doses. She’s loud and bossy. She talks a lot about herself. I needed some peace. I brought dinner with me, hoping you’d let me stay,” he said with a hopefulness in his tone that made me laugh.
“Sure. Who am I to turn away a warm meal. I’m exhausted from work and cooking didn’t sound appealing.”
He let out a dramatic sigh of relief and I laughed some more. Creed was grinning at me then he winked before turning back around to his pot of mystery meal. I was happy he was here. Not being alone was much better than my previous few nights.
“What are we eating?” I asked him as I took out another wine glass from the cabinet.
“Clam chowder,” he replied.
“You can make clam chowder?” I asked impressed and unaware his culinary skills were so good.
He glanced over his shoulder at me. “No. But I can order takeout.”
That made me laugh and he smiled again. I loved that smile. Wait. No. I didn’t need to love anything about Creed Sullivan. That was wrong. Wasn’t it? I shouldn’t be loving something about another man unless he was related to me.
“Where’s the bowls?” he asked, opening a cabinet that held my Gran’s baking dishes.
“Here,” I said, walking over to the other side of the stove and opening the correct cabinet for him.
I took out two bowls and handed them to him. “Did Rachel eat already?” I asked.
“Rachel doesn’t eat. She drinks her calories or at least that is what she told me when I asked.”
“Sounds like a health freak,” I joked as I got us both a soup spoon and took them to the table.
“She’s fucking nonstop female chatter. Do I look like I want to know when she starts her period or how bad her cramps are?”
I laughed out loud again then covered my mouth and shot him an apologetic look over my hand. He smirked and sat a bowl of chowder in front of me then set his down. “It’s funny. I know,” he said with a sigh and pulled out his chair to sit down.
My kitchen was small but cozy and with Creed there to give me conversation, it felt like home. We ate and he shared some more of Rachel’s drama with me to make me laugh. He had no interest in her female problems, but he was using them to entertain me and I appreciated it. I needed to laugh. The chowder was delicious, and before I knew it, we had finished the entire bottle of wine.
When he stood up from the table, I thought he was about to leave and I didn’t want him to go. Not yet. I liked having company and not feeling so lonely. “Do you want to watch a movie?” I asked, hoping that didn’t sound desperate.
He put his bowl in the sink and turned back to me. “Yeah, I would,” he replied.
I knew he was staying just to get a break from Rachel, but I would take whatever I could get. We moved to the living room and Creed went and sat on the sofa. I picked up the remote and glanced over at the chair.
“I don’t bite. Besides I’m also warm,” he said and patted the space beside him.
This was innocent and harmless. We were old friends and the idea of getting to snuggle to someone was so very appealing. I missed human contact. I didn’t let myself think about it much longer and went over to sit down beside him.
Creed reached over me and took the blanket I had thrown over the side arm then covered both of us with it, before putting his arm on the back of the sofa and with his hand moving me against him by nudging my shoulder gently.
I inhaled deeply and he smelled amazing. He felt hard and he was right, warm. I wanted to sigh with pleasure of being near someone again and I refused to think it was because it was Creed that it felt so good. I was just affection deprived. That was all this was.
Creed took the remote from my hand when I did nothing with it to find a movie. He scanned the channels and settled on Lost in Translation. It was just coming on and I hadn’t seen it in a while. Good choice. Although, I’d probably be happy with a horror flick if I got to watch it like this. I hadn’t realized how much I missed being near someone else.
Creed began slowly stroking my upper arm and my eyes felt heavy. He chuckled at something happening on the movie and I soaked up the sound of his chest rumbling. I knew I was falling asleep and I wanted to enjoy this longer, but my eyes wouldn’t stay open.