The Stars in the Sky

Chapter 32: Wine

I dressed Will up like a Ken doll today, I texted Amelia.

Why the fuck would you do that? He's already Woody from Toy Story.

He is not. He's cooler, more like Johnny Cash, the man in black.

True. And?

I wanted to see if he would do it. I made him dress like me. Tie dye. No Wranglers. He wore Levi's and flip flops and Ray Bans.

And?

He looked hot. But he didn't look like Will.

And?

I'm not going to do that again. He can stay the way he is.

And?

It was fun to try it.

And?

He's my boyfriend now.

Amelia?

<Sobbing into my coffee, so happy for my best friend since third grade.>

That evening I leaned against a shirtless, boxer-clad Will in his bed, spooning. I wore a tank top and pajama bottoms. He hugged me close but did not let his hands roam. He didn't kiss me.

"We forgot to buy you Wranglers today," he murmured in my ear.

"That's because when we went to my apartment, I found some from high school and packed them up. I think they still fit."

"You used to wear them?" he asked, with some admiration in his voice.

"I rode horses when I was little," I said, "and I've always been a bit of a horsey girl." Then I admitted, "I think they'll fit. They might be a little tight."

"I'm lookin' forward to seeing that, especially," he said.

He ran his fingers down my bare arm and kissed me behind the ear. I sighed.

"It's hard keeping myself in check. But I'll do it for you. What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I haven't been to your winery yet."

"I'll take you after I do the morning rounds." Just then I heard Trixie whimpering from the kitchen. "Mind if I bring her up? Sometimes she gets lonely."

I loved having Trixie around. I wondered why he didn't do it more often. "Not at all."

He got out of bed, all tan muscle and sexy. I heard him go downstairs, open the kitchen door, and the next thing I knew, Trixie had bounded up and was on the bed next to me, wagging her tail.

"Settle in, girl," he said to her, and rubbed behind her ears. Then he leaned over me and kissed me, deeply, lots of tongue, my breasts against his chest, and just when it was getting good, he pulled away, with a pained noise.

I looked at him, breathless. He looked back at me, breathless.

How many more days? Why did I insist on this?

He let out a sigh. Then he rearranged us, with me tucked into him and Trixie curled at the foot of the bed, reached over to turn off the light, kissed my neck, said "Goodnight," and went to sleep.

It took me a while to fall asleep. Not because I was uncomfortable, but because quite the opposite.

I didn't want to be anywhere than in Will's arms. Even though we still had things we needed to talk about.