It was about then my bladder protested the current position we lay in. I pushed against Dylan's chest. "Okay, cowboy. Let me up. Nature calls."
He smiled and rolled over, pulling the sheet with him. "I'll make us something to eat. Meet me in the kitchen?" I watched him sit up, stretch his arms over his head, my mind running rampant with all the other things I'd rather be doing other than talk to Dylan.
"Mmmhmm." Was all I could muster, too enthralled with the sight of his flawless body.
He turned back toward me. "Caught ya lookin’." He grinned. "You know with a look like that, you make me want to stay right here."
I kicked my feet in his direction. "Go on, cowboy. I really should freshen up a bit." I started to push up from the opposite side of the bed. "I'll see you in a minute." I paused a moment and hesitated before I left the room, Dylan coming to stand in front of me, between the bed and the door. "I need to get some things off my chest. I just hope—"
His finger came to my lips. "Shh, just stop. I already gave you my word. Nothing is going to change." His eyes were warm. "See you in the kitchen. You have a preference of pancakes or waffles?"
I smiled, “waffles,” and walked toward the bathroom.
After freshening up, I padded down the hall toward the sounds and smells of what I hoped wasn't the last meal I'd share with Dylan. I watched the muscles in his back flex as he worked his way around the kitchen. I propped myself onto a stool across the raised bar from where he was preparing breakfast.
"So, are you ready for the best waffles in the world?" He turned toward me, spatula in one hand, and plate in the other.
"Yeah. I'm famished." I took a bite at the waffles he placed in front of me, a soft moan curling in my throat. "Oh, God, this is heavenly." My eyes rolled in my head and I sighed in contentment. "Aren't you going to eat?" I asked around another mouthful.
He didn't move, just watched on as I stuffed my face. "Nah, I'm not hungry."
"Side effect?" I questioned, stuffing more buttery waffle into my mouth.
"Yeah, something like that," he responded coolly. "Why don't you tell me about you?" He turned back to the stove and started to clean up his mess.
"Uh, well." I paused. "It's a long story. I'd prefer it if you looked at me. I need to gauge your reaction and I can't do that if you have your back to me," I replied. "You do have a nice backside though."
His bark of laughter filled the room before I noticed his shoulders shake. "All right, sugar. Finish your breakfast. I'll clean this up and then we can talk."
I looked down at my syrup-filled plate. "Mmm-kay." And I proceeded to devour my waffles.
I mulled over how to tell Dylan my deepest, darkest secret. I couldn’t find any way to sugar-coat it. "So, I'm a recovering drug addict." I figured I would just come out and say it. His motions paused, but quickly resumed.
"You told me that last night, sugar. How about you tell me when and how it happened in the first place."
I gripped my plate and hopped off the stool. I headed toward the sink when Dylan turned and stopped me. "Let me take that." He grabbed my dishes and proceeded to wash up in the sink. He wasn't looking at me, instead focusing on his task.
"Okay, well…" I leaned against the countertop, my arms taking their own protective stance across my chest. "I was sixteen the first time I started partying. And I tried a few pills with some friends I used to hang with. It seemed harmless, a way to feel good, or not feel at all." I shuffled my foot against the tile floor.
"I don't know when it got out of hand. Just that one day I woke up in a place I didn't recognize with a needle next to me." I couldn't look up, but I felt his stare on me, the water was still on but his hands were instead resting on the side of the sink rather than washing dishes. "I had been on a binge for about three days." My voice became quiet. "Jude found me. I was dirty, strung out, and trying to find any way to get my next fix."
Dylan turned off the water and turned toward me, drying his hands on a towel. "C'mon, sugar. Let's finish this conversation somewhere a little more comfortable." He grabbed my hand, grazing my breast innocently. It sent a jolt of desire through me, but I snuffed it out. It wasn't the time to be thinking about sex.
I looked up, taking in the man before me. "Okay, can we go back to bed? I might have an easier time explaining if you're naked and can't get away."
He cupped my cheek with his free hand. "Sugar, I don't know what…come on. Let's go to bed."