Between the Sheets (9 page)

“
How about I make us some
waffles?”

I laugh inside. “Nah. Cereal will
do.”

“
Fruit Loops?”

I smile. Shel called it. “Sounds like
a perfect dinner to me.”

“
How about a movie with our
gourmet meal?”

“
Even better.”

When I’m finally relaxed with a
giant-sized bowl of cereal in my hands—apparently human-sized is
way too small—I glance over at Tyler with a grin.

“
You suck,” he says, and I
can’t help laughing. “I hope you snort a Fruit Loop up your
nose.”

“
Shh,” I tell him. “The
movie is about to start.”

He rolls his eyes.

After much debate, I won the battle of
the DVDs. If he doesn’t like romantic comedies then why does he own
them? Ugh. It just occurs to me that he has them for his female
visitors. Why argue with me then? Is that part of the flirting
game? Argue over film choice and then let the girl think she’s won.
Hmm. Now, I’m skeptical. I reach for the remote and hit the pause
button. “Ty, if you don’t like He’s Just Not That Into You, then
why do you have it?”

He turns his head in confusion.
“Huh?”

“
Why do you have it? If you
don’t like to watch it?”

He laughs. “ScarJo.”

“
What?”

“
ScarJo,” he
repeats.

“
Okay, is that some fetish
you have or something?”

A brow rises on his left side.
“Kinda.” He winks. “Scarlett Johanssen. Take a look. I have all her
films. Just like you have every Bradley Cooper movie ever made.
Even that really bad one. What was it called?”

“
All About Steve,” I answer
for him.

“
Yeah. That was it.
Horrible.”

I press play on the remote, scoot
closer to him, and then pull my feet up to sit cross legged. “Fine,
if I get Bradley, you can have ScarJo. But you have seen this
movie, right? She’s such a scuz bucket.”

“
And your man as the
cheating husband is any better?”

“
A cheating husband is
never a good thing.”

“
Yeah. If I ever see Nick
again, he’s going to understand just how bad it is.”

Oh, how cute. He wants to defend my
honor. “Don’t bother. I’m much happier now.” I lean into him with
my lips puckered.

He looks adorable as he squishes his
lips together making a duck face. “Me too. I should have fought for
you a long time ago and you would’ve never had to go through the
pain he put you through. I’m sorry, Melly.”

“
Stop. You’re gonna make me
get all emotional on you.” I stuff my mouth with crunchy bites so
the tears don’t fall. “Now, really. Be quiet. I gotta get my Brad
on. And Justin too. Oh, and Ben. Got my Fruit Loops and a screen
full of studs. This is what I call a vacation.”

“
You’re nuts.”

I lean over again, feeling the need to
kiss him one more time before the flick starts. “Now,
shh.”

I’m startled awake when I’m lifted
into the air. “What are you doing?”

“
I’m taking you to bed,” Ty
says.

I’m fully awake now and could walk to
the bedroom on my own, but being in Ty’s arms is just too damn good
to pass up. I rest my head on his shoulder as he walks down the
hallway. He places me on his bed and my eyes trace his body from
his waist all the way up to his gorgeous green eyes as he stands to
his full height.

He is pure man. All tall and hunky,
like a cover model from one of my romance books. If I could just
get him in a cowboy hat, an open plaid pearl-buttoned shirt
displaying his taut abs, with a rope hanging over his shoulder, my
ultimate fantasy could be fulfilled. Yeehaw, I want to say even
though he’s standing before me in some soccer shorts and a Hurley
t-shirt. My imagination is wild enough that it doesn’t
matter.

“
What’s going on in that
head of yours?” He cups my chin in his palm, and tilts my head
up.

A smile spreads over my face. “I’m not
tired anymore.”

“
No?”

“
No.” I reach out, grasping
the back of his knee and dragging my fingernails under his shorts
and up the back of his thigh. “I’m wide awake. You?” My hands
travel around his legs to his rock hard quads. My breath quickens
when the length of his shaft pulses against the thin piece of
material that covers his flesh. I allow myself to explore and
discover this man is not wearing any boxers. “Free
ballin’?”

“
Commando’s the way to go
at home,” he says, smoothing his hand over my hair. “Let’s get
ready for bed. Then, I can help you get tired out
again.”

“
Sounds good.” I rise to my
feet and circle my arms around his waist. “You go first. I’m gonna
grab my bag and unpack some stuff first.”

“
I already brought it in.”
He gestures toward the door and sure enough, my things are sitting
there waiting for me. “I cleared some space for you in my dresser
so you wouldn’t have to live out of a suitcase. The whole top row
is free. I also moved all my stuff from the counter in the bathroom
so you can take up as much space as you need there.”

“
Thank you, Ty. I
appreciate it.”

“
Are you surprised?” He
smiles.

“
No.”

“
Yeah right. I bet you
thought it was going to look like a frat house in here.”

The thought had crossed my mind. He’s
a bachelor. And he lives alone. After Nick left, I didn’t feel the
need to keep my house as tidy as I did before. Granted, the extent
of my messiness is leaving a glass of wine in the sink or a pair of
heels next to the couch in the living room. But Tyler’s a guy and
he’s an artist. I’m surprised paint, clay, and whatever else he
uses isn’t splattered all over the place.

“
See.” He points a finger
at me. “I knew you thought I’d be living like a slob.”

“
I did not.”

He folds his arms over his
chest.

“
Okay. Maybe a
little.”

“
I have a confession to
make.” A grin forms on his lips. “I did have to do a little spring
cleaning. But nothing too drastic.”

“
You know what I haven’t
seen and I’m surprised?”

He raises a brow. “What’s
that?”

“
Your artwork? Your
supplies? I noticed a couple of your pieces in the living room, and
the painting in the hall, but where’s the rest of your
stuff?”

A full blown smile lights up his eyes.
“How do you know those pieces are mine?”

I place my hands on my hips.
“Really?”

“
Yeah.” He chuckles. “How
do you know?”

He knows the answer to his own
question but I’ll play along. “I don’t know. Just looks a little
amateur. Like something you’d do,” I tease.

He clicks his tongue at me. “I’m not
an amateur.”

I smack his arm. “I’m kidding with
you,” I say, placing my palms flat against his chest. “I’d never
forget that tug of war painting.” He smiles down at me and then
presses a kiss to my forehead. “That’s when you first started your
infatuation with hands. And I loved it. It still amazes me that you
were able to capture such high school angst at such as young age.
It’s something I’d expect you to do now as a teacher, not when you
were a teenager yourself.”

His smile fades and his expression
turns serious. The intensity worries me. “What, Ty?”

There’s silence for another breath
before he cups my face in the palms of his big hands and bends down
to kiss me. His lips brush softly against mine, and then he
murmurs, “I love you, Melissa. I always have.”

His words linger in the air as I close
my eyes, trying to determine if he really said what I thought I
heard, or if I just imagined it. “Say it again.”

“
I love you.” His mouth
covers my own and desire spreads through my body like nothing
before. Kiss after kiss, his tongue dances with mine until he dips
his head and feasts on the sensitive skin at the base of my neck. I
could hold him here forever, my fingers combing through his hair as
he nips and sucks on my chest. But I can’t continue like this, I
need to see his eyes. I need to look deep into his thoughts and
know that he means what he says.

My hands mold to his jaw line and tug
his face up toward mine. I can almost feel his heart thumping
rapidly in his chest. His eyes melt into mine and if I’m not
mistaken, they’re a little glassy. And not just from lust, but from
the emotion flowing between us.

“
Tyler Gelson. I’ve loved
you all my life.”

Once again, I’m swooped up off the
floor and I’m being carried a few steps to Ty’s bed. “We can get
ready for bed later,” he says, as he lowers me onto his bedspread,
his own body following until he’s horizontal on top of me, holding
up his weight on his knees and elbows. “Right now, I’m going to
take my time showing you just how much I love you.”

I push on his shoulder till he’s
resting back on his heels, and I’m sitting up. I push him down till
he’s flat on his back and I’m straddling him with a knee on either
side of his waist. “Well you better buckle up, Ty, because I have
my own ideas,” I rock back and forth against his thick pulsing
shaft and his eyes flutter closed, “of how I’d like to express my
never ending love to you.”

Shelly

“
I wonder what my brother
and Mel are doing,” I say as I walk through the mall with my
husband. You’d think I’d be tired of saying my husband over and
over again by now. But I haven’t. The honeymoon is far from being
over. If last night was any indication, we’ll be newlyweds for
quite some time.

It’s killing me that Mel is out of
town right now. I’m dying to talk to her, but I know she’s busy. As
much as I’d like to interrupt her little vacay with my bro, I know
they need some time alone. I just wish he’d smarten up already and
take the plunge. His dumb ass is going to end up down here
eventually. Mel is just wasting her time, and gas, visiting him
when I know he’s going to pack it up and come home. It may as well
be sooner than later.

I could kill him though. My mom and I
have been trying to get him to move home for years. My dad even
pleaded with him to stay before he left, but it takes all five feet
of my petite best friend to get his butt to relocate. He hasn’t
said he’s coming home yet. But it’s just a matter of
time.

“
Maybe they’re going to
Alcatraz today. Mel mentioned she wanted to do that.”

Matty sighs. “Why don’t you just call
her? I bet she wants to talk to you too.”

“
Babe, they’re making up
for all their time apart right now. If you were my brother, would
you want me calling and interrupting?”

He chuckles. “Absolutely not.” He
leans down and slaps a kiss on my cheek. “I kinda like having you
to myself for a couple of weeks. I can walk around the house naked
if I want and I don’t have to worry about Mel walking
in.”

“
Like that would ever
happen,” I say, swinging our hands back and forth as we walk toward
the bookstore.

He’s silent so I glance up at him, and
his knowing look. “Hmm.”

“
Okay, so that was just one
time. And she didn’t even see anything. You have quick hands. And
big ones too, might I add.” I flash him an exaggerated wink, and he
laughs.

We make our way to the Starbucks
counter before we start perusing the books. Matty orders a plain
old black coffee while I get a Double Chocolaty Chip
Frappuccino.

I lean back against my husband while
we wait for our drinks. He rests his chin on the top of my head
while he combs his fingers through the ends of my hair. “I could
fall asleep.”

“
We can go home and nap.
I’m all for lying in bed naked with you all day. As a matter of
fact, I think that’s what we should do all summer.”

“
Just lie there?” I
tease.

“
Among other
things.”

A barista holds our drinks
up.

I pull myself from the comfort of
Matty’s arms to get my chocolate concoction.

After circling the store a few times,
we finally find the aisle we came here for.

“
I’m surprised it’s not on
a display somewhere. I thought it was like the bible for women.”
Matty scans the titles when I glance up at him with a
chuckle.

“
Here it is,” I pull a copy
of
What To Expect When You’re
Expecting
from the shelves.

“
Are you sure that’s what
you want? We haven’t even gotten that far yet. Maybe there’s one
along the lines of
what to expect when
you’re waiting to be expecting
.”

“
You’re such a dork,” I
tell him, slapping the book into his gut. “This is the one. There’s
a lot of pre-pregnancy stuff in here too.”

“
I bet. It’s a pretty thick
book.”