First Crush, My Forever

Chapter 112

  We end up at a little café a few minutes down the road because the hunger hits me out of nowhere. One second I'm fine, the next I feel like I could eat everything in sight. I stand in front of the menu board, trying to focus, but all the choices blur together.

  Taytum comes up behind me, close enough that I feel her before I hear her. Her hands slide to my waist like they belong there. Her chin brushes my shoulder and she leans in, breath warm against my neck. "You decide what you're hungry for?" she asks. Her voice is low. Lazy. Dangerous.

  "Not yet, I'm just always hungry lately," I say, still staring at the board, trying to decide between everything and nothing.

  She hums behind me, fingers pressing a little firmer into my hips. "Yeah, I can tell." I glance back at her. She has that slow, knowing smile. The one that means she is already halfway somewhere else.

  "What?" I ask.

  She shrugs, playing innocent, but her thumb traces a slow circle at my side. "Just saying. I'd be real happy to make sure you're taken care of."

  It takes a second to land, then it does. Heat crawls up my neck and I bite down on a smile. "You're talking about food, right?"

  Taytum's eyes drop to my mouth. "Sure. Food."

  I shake my head and try not to laugh but I fail. "I hate you," I mutter.

  She leans closer. "You don't. You're just really hungry."

  Once we order, we slide into a booth to wait. She reaches across the table and hooks her finger with mine. Light touch. Heavy meaning. When the food comes, I tear into it. I'm hungrier than I thought. Salty, sweet, all of it. Taytum watches me like she likes seeing me take what I need. She doesn't stare. She just stays locked in, steady, warm, there.

  Her foot nudges mine under the table. Definitely not an accident. "You're quiet," she says.

  "Mouth full," I mumble.

  She smirks. "There's a lot of ways I like your mouth full."

  I almost choke. "Taytum!"

  She grins like she won something but doesn't say anything else. We eat our lunch, constantly stealing glances at each other.

  By the time we leave, the air between us feels thicker. The drive home is quiet but not awkward. Anticipating. Tight. We both know we do not have a lot of time, but we have some.

  When we walk into the house, I kick off my shoes and walk to the kitchen, setting my phone and the shopping bags on the counter. Slower than I need to. My fingers rest on the handles of the bag with my maternity clothes. I don't open anything. I just breathe as I feel a wave of emotions suddenly wash over me seeing the clothes.

  Taytum closes and locks the front door behind her then joins me in the kitchen. She doesn't rush me. She never does. She just moves in behind me. Close but not touching. Just enough to feel her.

  I press my palms flat to the counter and close my eyes. "For some reason I feel wound way too tight," I say. No softness to it. No apology.

  "Baby, you can't help that," she answers right away. Her voice is low and solid. It settles into me.

  My phone lights up, vibrating against the counter. I pick it up and see it's a message from my mom. "We're going to keep KK a little longer. We'll bring her back around dinner and pick up food for everyone too."

  I tilt the phone back so Taytum can see. "Oh," she says with a smile in her voice.

  "Yeah," I answer. We have time now and the thought punches straight through me for some reason.