Distracted √

Distracted: Chapter Twenty-One

"It took you long enough," he grumbled when at last she was at his side.

"I had to find the butter. Can't eat biscuits without butter. Or honey." Erin slid the tray laden with carbohydrates across the sheets and then crawled on all fours onto the bed.

"You didn't get dressed, did you?" she asked.

Spence lay on the bed, his hands resting on his furry chest, the sheet drawn to his waist. "Now why would I do that?"

"Just checking." Erin sat on her heels in the middle of the bed and picked up the honey bear and a hot, buttered biscuit. She held his eyes with hers while she squeezed honey onto the biscuit, then on her breasts.

Spence watched with intense concentration. He took the biscuit from her outstretched hand and put it his mouth, then swallowed, gulping hard. Meanwhile, he watched as honey slid down Erin's stomach and below her navel.

"Gotta love honey," he murmured as he maneuvered between her knees.

She grabbed the headboard for support. Soon, she pulled it loose from the wall, banging it rhythmically. Spence moved his head to the side.

"That's distracting, you know?"

Erin giggled. "Sorry about that."

The next morning, Erin peeked out the apartment window. A late snow fell during the night, grid locking the city. Offices closed, traffic stood still.

She picked up a pillow and swatted Spence. "Let's go outside. Make a snowman." She waggled her head toward the winter wonderland to encourage him.

"Mmmmph," he said from under the pillow. "I'm too comfortable."

"Come on. Get up. Let's go outside. I'm getting bedsores. And I want a Krispy Kreme donut. Can't you smell them?"

She tossed up the window and indeed, Spence could smell the donuts baking two blocks away. Erin slid into her jeans, pulled a sweatshirt over her head and struggled into socks and boots. She flexed her feet suggestively and smiled at Spence. "Bet you wish you had socks now," she teased.

"There is a wimp-chill factor," he hedged, slipping his deck shoes on bare feet, "but the wind isn't blowing out there so I'll have to suck it up."

Soon they were dressed, Spence in his tux pants and white shirt, plus a jacket Aidan left behind. They went outdoors in the cold, crisp morning and walked toward the park. Every few steps, Spence lifted his boat shoe and shook snow from it. When Erin laughed, Spence made a snowball and tossed it, but Erin ducked, and he missed. Her Yankee aim perfect, however, and she hit him in the ear with an icy missile.

At the little park in Dupont Circle, Erin lay in the snow to make an angel. Spence pounced on her and pulled her into his lap, pulling her sweater up to blow raspberries on her cold belly.

"Hey, no fair." She yelped, in between giggles. "Help!"

He retreated after a friendly couple passing by answered her distress call and pelted him with snowballs.

The frenzy escalated and soon dozens of people were in the park tossing snowballs at each other and at slow cars traveling through the circle.

Spence and Erin rolled boulders into a snowman, and Erin offered her scarf for its neck. Spence grabbed her cap and clapped it atop the snowman. Then he grabbed her arms and pulled her mittens off.

"He needs these more than you do," Spence said, shoving the mittens onto sticks and impaling the snowman's sides.

"You wretch. You owe me a new ensemble."