Waiting on Aubrey to get back from work is more difficult than I thought. I filled my days with sleeping or shopping while she’s at work, not the most glamorous tour break I’ve ever had, but it’s been the most rewarding. Our connection keeps getting better, even after day four with her—I’m still not annoyed. Matter of fact it’s the opposite. I want to spend every second with her, which is so unlike me.
I begged her to blow off the rest of the week and spend all her time with me, but she’s too responsible for that. Center Stage is a huge advertising firm, and she explained how she’s lucky she even has a foot in the door considering how competitive it is to even get an internship there, let alone a job. She’s a secretary to some young, hot-shot type. From the way Aubrey described him, he sounds like an uptight pain in the ass.
I could never work for a douche like that without telling him to shove his memo corrections up his ass.
I plop down on the couch in the living room after all the stuff is stored and flip on the television. Some afternoon celebrity tabloid show pops up on the screen. It catches my eye immediately because Noel and Lanie’s faces fill the screen in a kiss while a jagged line cuts down part of the screen and shows Sophie walking with her head down. The words home wrecker flashes and my fingers tighten around the remote.
These fucking tabloid shows never get their shit straight. The shit they tell the world is half-truths at best.
A text message chimes into my phone. I grin as I read Aubrey’s words. “Miss you. Be there in a few minutes.”
Never in a million years did I ever figure I would feel like this. For once in my miserable life I don’t feel like a completely evil being all the time. And Aubrey didn’t go running for the hills when I came clean about my past, which was a relief. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost this feeling so soon after getting a taste of what happiness feels like.
The door opens and Aubrey steps through it. Her auburn hair styled into loose waves over her shoulders stand out against her gray sweater-dress. Even after eight hours of work she still looks amazing.
“Hey,” she says with a smile. Her bright green eyes focus on me as she sets her bag down and plops down next to me on the couch and snuggles into my side. “I missed you.”
I comb my fingers down her silky hair and then kiss her forehead. I don’t even want to think about how much I’ll miss her when I head back out on tour. I know distance is the true test of all relationships.
“Do you want a break from cooking tonight?”
I pull back and she peers up at me through her sexy, long eyelashes. “Why? Are you tired of my cooking already?”
She shakes her head. “No. I thought maybe you wanted to take a break and we can go out to eat.”
I shrug. “I’m okay with cooking, but if you want to go out, we can do that, too.”
“There’s a place around the corner that I love—really low key, and has my favorite pizza in the whole world.”
“Sounds good, Kitten. Anything you want.”
She kisses my cheek. “I’m going to go get ready.”
An hour later, she comes out of her room in jeans, a black top, and tall heels. She stops and grins as she does a little turn so I can check out her entire outfit. The black blouse dips down so low I can see the small of her back. “Jesus. Are you sure you want to go out. I’m sporting a half-wood just looking at you.”
She grins. “Then this is perfect. I like making you wait because I don’t think you’re used to that.”
I stand and wrap my arms around her, pressing myself against her. “I’m not used to anything like you.” A blush floods her cheeks. “I like that you can’t hide emotions. Your fair skin gives you away every time.”
She giggles and kisses my lips. “I’m glad I stand out.”
“You have no idea how much.”
The restaurant is tiny, almost to the point that if I weren’t aware of it, I would’ve never found it. Ten small, two-person tables fill the dimly lit dining area and the rest of the space is brick ovens and kitchen. Customers picking up carryout orders stream in and out of the door in constant revolution. The heavenly aroma of melted cheese and simmering sauce surrounds us as we take out seats.
“It smells good,” I say.
Kitten smiles as she opens the sticky menu. “That’s because it’s awesome. Once you try it, you’ll see.”
The dark-haired waitress wearing a red and white checkered apron pops over to our table. “What’ll it be?”
“I’ll have a Coke,” Aubrey answers.
“Make that two,” I add.
The server yanks a green notepad from her apron pocket and cracks her gum. “Do you know what kind of pizza you want?”
I glance over at Kitten. “I can eat anything, so order whatever you like.”
“We’ll have a pepperoni with extra cheese, please.”
The waitress scribbles the order down and says, “It’ll be out in a few.”
The girl scurries off in the direction of the kitchen and once she’s out of earshot I turn towards Aubrey. “Did you have a good day at work?”
She shrugs. “Same old same, you know. I did get to type up a couple memos for the Black Falcon account, so at least I was allowed to think about you all day.”
I bite my lip and rake my eyes over her. The idea of her having dirty thoughts about me all day at work is nearly enough to make me say fuck the pizza. “What exactly was I doing in these daydreams?”