At one point I realized Stefan was talking to me, but I hadn't registered a single thing. My mouth gaped open as I took in the expansive glory of the walls surrounding me. Stefan's chuckle drew me from my endless admiration. He watched me with his arms crossed over his chest, and delight dancing in his eyes.
"What do you think?"
"It's spectacular. It must feel like a dream to live here." He shrugged, the smile on his lips never wavered.
"I do love it, but sometimes it would be nice to have someone to share it with."
"It would get pretty lonely." I agreed.
"It certainly does. Now what do you say we get started on that pizza?"
"I don't know." I stammered. Stefan's eyebrow rose as he leaned against the beautifully clean counter top. "I want to, but, we might get the kitchen dirty. It's just so pretty." The stars in my eyes were undoubtedly sparkling as I looked around.
Stefan laughed out loud, shaking his head. "Oh my sweet Grey. That is perfectly okay, trust me."
"Alright, if you say so."
"I do, now are you thirsty? I have more beer here than I should probably admit."
I smiled, nodding. "I'll help you get rid of some so you don't feel so bad about it."
Emerging from the fridge with two beers in hand he smirked. "Thank you. I knew you'd always have my back."
Removing the tops, he handed me one and extended his toward mine. I didn't need to ask what he meant as I clinked my bottle neck with his.
"Cheers," we both mumbled. Tilting my head back I drank down more than necessary. As I pulled the bottle from my lips I saw Stefan watching my ceaselessly. Cautiously he closed the space between us, placed his beer down, and took hold of my hips. I felt the wind escape me as I stood perfectly still, unsure of what to do. Suddenly I was off the floor and seated on top of the granite counter.
"You sit right up here and wait while I get the ingredients started." A mix of disappointment and relief washed over me as I nodded. "How about some music?"
"Yeah, sounds fine."
He pulled out his phone, found the playlist and instead of the phone speaker sound I expected; the music played from all around the apartment. I whipped my head around to locate the sound source and felt ridiculously like a curious pet as I did.
"Pretty cool, huh?" He asked with a wink.
"Well you just have all the fancy stuff, don't you?"
He bobbed his shoulders, while his action focused on the groceries bag of supplies. "Gotta do something with my money now, don't I?"
I rolled my eyes and his laugh said I gave just the reaction he wanted.
"Has anyone ever told you just how damn cute you are?" Stefan asked, and I flashed my biggest smile.
"Not lately."
"That's a real shame."
I wanted to respond but figured it would be best to just leave it alone. Instead I focused my attention on Stefan's food preparation; turning on the oven, preparing the pan, and chopping up the meat for the pizza. I drank my beer and laughed with him as we talked. Stefan's steady hands chopped the ingredients, and his forearm muscles tensed and I couldn't look away. After I had finished two beers I felt my blood race with a fire that suddenly burned within. I needed to be closer to him, but I couldn't explain the feeling more than. I knew I wasn't drunk by any means, but the liquor seemed to successfully make any reservations fade away.
Stefan reached up to look for something in the cupboards making the bottom of his shirt rise up. My eyes fixated on the tan exposed skin and just before his shirt came back down I saw a deliciously deep line plunge from his hip to the front of his jeans. My throat dried instantly. I hopped down from the counter and was about to go to the fridge to chug copious amounts of water.
"Where do you think you're going?" Stefan wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me to his side.
"Water." I stammered. "I'm thirsty. I was just going to get some water." Stefan's eyes gleamed as he brought me closer.
"Later, I need your help."
On the counter I saw what he had been reaching for, a bag of flour sat open. He reached in, sprinkled a handful onto a small area of the counter then held the bag out to me. I eyed him suspiciously, only making him smile more.
"We're going to work out the pizza dough together. You need to get flour on your hands so they don't stick. Do you seriously not remember any of this, Greyson Rose?"
Suddenly I was able to recall our past traditions, and it was true, we always did this part together. The problem was that we needed to get very close and I wasn't sure I could handle that. At least not with my hormones spiking up.
"Stef … " He heard my excuse coming and shook his head.