“Mom, you just saw her yesterday,” Ross protested, but his heart wasn’t really in it because Teela’s face actually looked relieved and happy when his mom let her go and it did something all tingly and weird to his stomach.
Every time he heard her talk. Every time he heard her laugh. Every single time he looked at her, breathed in around her and inhaled her fresh scent, he felt that same pinching in his stomach.
Every time his mind wandered, he pictured her naked and he’d swallow and still taste her on his tongue, it wasn’t his stomach doing the pinching. It sent a straight shot of hot lust straight to his groin.
It didn’t help that she’d worn something modest, a black maxi dress, and he’d popped a hard-on as soon as he saw her. He’d told it to behave but apparently his dick didn’t get the listen to commands memo. He’d had to covertly adjust his jeans the whole ride over, right since he picked up Teela and she’d walked out to the car, her breasts outlined, and her hips defined and her ass when she turned…
Fuck. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Stop thinking about it.
“I have dinner almost done. I made roast beef.” His mom paused. “Oh wait. Maybe you don’t like beef. Maybe you don’t eat meat and that’s terribly offensive. Oh… I should have asked first.”
Teela smiled and it brought a little bit of color to her cheeks. Her eyes swept to his face for a split second. “Oh, no, that’s fine. I definitely eat meat.”
“Mom, I was barbequing yesterday when you came over, or did you forget?”
“Oh- well- I was trying to wipe last night completely from my mind.”
His father let out a snort and chuckled as he sauntered off into the living room to indulge in Monday night’s paper and watch the news for two and a half seconds before dinner was ready and his mom yelled at him to get his honey buns to the table. Yes. She actually said that.
His mother scuttled off to the kitchen, leaving them alone.
Teela’s cheeks were scarlet. “Oh my fucking god,” she hissed. “I thought you said they’d forget all about that.”
“They did. You heard her. She’s already wiped it from her mind. Didn’t even remember I was cooking steaks.”
“No, probably because she’s too busy thinking about what my who-ha looks like.”
“Your who-ha? Who calls it a who-ha?”
“What? Should I say my pussy? Would that be better for your delicate sensibilities?’
Ross liked the fire in Teela’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on. We’ll sit down at the table.”
“Shouldn’t we offer to help or something?”
“Oh god no.”
Ross took a chance and brushed Teela’s fingers with his. She didn’t pull away but her breath hitched. He felt that same breathlessness whenever he was near her and it was nice to see she wasn’t unaffected either. Or maybe she was just sighing, trying to gather enough oxygen into her lungs to keep her brain from imploding.
“No?”
“No. Offering to help my mom in the kitchen if you’re company is like sacrilege.”
“Why? My mom loves when people come over and help her cook.”
“Not my mom. She was a librarian her whole life. She has a strict set of standards that must be obtained at all times and company lifting a finger to either cook or clean in her own house is a huge no-no.”
“Does she help at other people’s houses?”
“Sometimes. I guess she’d say that’s different though.”
“How so?”
Ross shook his head. “I don’t know. My brain hurts. Let’s just go sit down.”
Teela nodded but as soon as they got into the kitchen, she dropped his hand and made a beeline for his mom, who was flying around the kitchen like a buzzing gnat, never stopping to land, never leaving anything alone.
“Could you use some help, Mrs. Day?” Teela asked politely. She glanced around the kitchen, which was all new.
Ross wouldn’t have been embarrassed to bring her into the house he’d grown up in but he was glad that his parents were in the new place. The kitchen was nice. It wasn’t large, since neither of his parents believed in excess. His mom was a librarian and his dad was a high school teacher so they didn’t have the money or the time for excess when he was growing up. It was nice though, with white cupboards that curled around, big windows, granite countertops, and stainless-steel appliances. The huge window by the double sink overlooked the backyard and off to the right of the island was the dining area with the double patio doors. It let in a lot of light and was probably the best room in the whole house, even though his mom insisted on bay windows in the living room. They faced the wrong direction though, so the only time it was ever sunny was in the early afternoon.