to notice what he was doing.
Chuckling, he started rinsing the dishes and loading them in the dishwasher. The girl definitely needed a keeper. He had nothing else to do and it sounded like it’d be a while before she’d be ready, so he figured he might as well help out. After the dishes were done and the machine started up, he took a look in the fridge.
A ketchup bottle, a few
pieces of bread, a half a stick of butter, and a little bit of milk. He opened the container and sniffed.
“Ugh.” After dumping it
down the drain, he walked to the living room where Emerson was still swearing under her breath.
“What have you been eating?
Ketchup sandwiches?”
“Huh?” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Oh. Uh. I don’t know. It’s been a while.”
He rolled his eyes. The girl needed a maid. Maybe a cook too.
He took the phone from his pocket and scrolled through his favorite take-out restaurants. “You like Chinese food?”
Her reply was to throw her hands in the air and start ranting.
“Ever since OSX Maverick, this machine has had a huge memory leak. I wish they’d just patch the damn thing already! If the kernel was open source, I'd patch it myself...” Then she mumbled under her
breath
something
about
switching everything to Linux tomorrow.
He stared for a moment.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” After dialing up the place down the street, he ordered a variety of his favorite dishes then plopped down onto the couch.
Something
hard
pressed
against his ass cheek, making him jump up in surprise. What the hell?
He looked down at the couch.
“Seriously, Em?”
The tone of his voice
must’ve
caught
her
attention
because she spun her chair around and looked where he pointed. A giant green dildo stuck straight out from between the cushions like some kind of perverted leprechaun, eager
to
impale
unsuspecting
visitors.
“That’s not mine.”
“Let me guess. You’re
holding it for a friend.” He grimaced.
“It’s clean. She just bought it.”
Staring
down
at
the
monstrous thing, he mumbled, “At least there’s that.” He heard a chuckle behind him. He turned to find Emerson with her palm over her mouth, clearly trying to hold back laughter.
“What?”
She lifted her hand. “Did you, uh…” Her eyes lit up with mischief.
“Get
raped
by
Frankendick there?”
He scowled at her. “No!”
Laughter broke free and she
didn’t bother to hide it. Holding her stomach with her hands, she laughed loud and long. And then he was laughing too. Not because he’d almost gotten butt-raped by her couch, but because the super-focused and stoic Emerson had completely lost it.
Her hair swept back from her face, revealing a dimple on one side of her smile he hadn’t noticed before. Rosy lips stood out against her pale skin. Her eyes crinkled at the corners – not at all like the serious girl he’d met at Starbucks a couple weeks ago. She was cute when she hid behind her glasses and talked nerdy. But when she laughed, she was stunning.
He must’ve been staring too
long because when she stopped laughing, she pulled her navy sweater closed around her chest and glared. “What?”
“Nothing.” He shook his
head. “You’re just pretty when you smile.”
She blinked and stared for a long moment then cleared her throat. “Uh, thanks. Anyway…” After swiveling the chair to face the computer
again,
she
started
punching keys.
Seeing
her
slightly
embarrassed was almost as fun as seeing her laugh. There was nothing sexier than a woman blushing, especially from a compliment.
Hope’s Facebook profile
popped up on the screen. He used to get flutters in his chest when he saw that picture – the random beach sunset. It was so cliché he’d have ignored it anywhere else, but now it equated to happiness. Guilt found its way into his head. He’d just told Emerson she was pretty, right as he was about to talk about Hope – the woman he was committed to. That
Chuckling, he started rinsing the dishes and loading them in the dishwasher. The girl definitely needed a keeper. He had nothing else to do and it sounded like it’d be a while before she’d be ready, so he figured he might as well help out. After the dishes were done and the machine started up, he took a look in the fridge.
A ketchup bottle, a few
pieces of bread, a half a stick of butter, and a little bit of milk. He opened the container and sniffed.
“Ugh.” After dumping it
down the drain, he walked to the living room where Emerson was still swearing under her breath.
“What have you been eating?
Ketchup sandwiches?”
“Huh?” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Oh. Uh. I don’t know. It’s been a while.”
He rolled his eyes. The girl needed a maid. Maybe a cook too.
He took the phone from his pocket and scrolled through his favorite take-out restaurants. “You like Chinese food?”
Her reply was to throw her hands in the air and start ranting.
“Ever since OSX Maverick, this machine has had a huge memory leak. I wish they’d just patch the damn thing already! If the kernel was open source, I'd patch it myself...” Then she mumbled under her
breath
something
about
switching everything to Linux tomorrow.
He stared for a moment.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” After dialing up the place down the street, he ordered a variety of his favorite dishes then plopped down onto the couch.
Something
hard
pressed
against his ass cheek, making him jump up in surprise. What the hell?
He looked down at the couch.
“Seriously, Em?”
The tone of his voice
must’ve
caught
her
attention
because she spun her chair around and looked where he pointed. A giant green dildo stuck straight out from between the cushions like some kind of perverted leprechaun, eager
to
impale
unsuspecting
visitors.
“That’s not mine.”
“Let me guess. You’re
holding it for a friend.” He grimaced.
“It’s clean. She just bought it.”
Staring
down
at
the
monstrous thing, he mumbled, “At least there’s that.” He heard a chuckle behind him. He turned to find Emerson with her palm over her mouth, clearly trying to hold back laughter.
“What?”
She lifted her hand. “Did you, uh…” Her eyes lit up with mischief.
“Get
raped
by
Frankendick there?”
He scowled at her. “No!”
Laughter broke free and she
didn’t bother to hide it. Holding her stomach with her hands, she laughed loud and long. And then he was laughing too. Not because he’d almost gotten butt-raped by her couch, but because the super-focused and stoic Emerson had completely lost it.
Her hair swept back from her face, revealing a dimple on one side of her smile he hadn’t noticed before. Rosy lips stood out against her pale skin. Her eyes crinkled at the corners – not at all like the serious girl he’d met at Starbucks a couple weeks ago. She was cute when she hid behind her glasses and talked nerdy. But when she laughed, she was stunning.
He must’ve been staring too
long because when she stopped laughing, she pulled her navy sweater closed around her chest and glared. “What?”
“Nothing.” He shook his
head. “You’re just pretty when you smile.”
She blinked and stared for a long moment then cleared her throat. “Uh, thanks. Anyway…” After swiveling the chair to face the computer
again,
she
started
punching keys.
Seeing
her
slightly
embarrassed was almost as fun as seeing her laugh. There was nothing sexier than a woman blushing, especially from a compliment.
Hope’s Facebook profile
popped up on the screen. He used to get flutters in his chest when he saw that picture – the random beach sunset. It was so cliché he’d have ignored it anywhere else, but now it equated to happiness. Guilt found its way into his head. He’d just told Emerson she was pretty, right as he was about to talk about Hope – the woman he was committed to. That
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