“I’m not scared, baby girl. I’m not scared of what you think you could do to me.” He turns my face so I’m looking at him. “I’m scared of everything you can’t do to me. Get addicted to me. Get obsessed with me. I can tell you right the fuck now it’s nothing that won’t be returned.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. His hand leaves me briefly, only to return seconds later, this time on my back and pulling me into him. I fist his shirt with one hand and cover my face with the other.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. You’re stronger than that shit. You’re stronger than to let your emotions get the best of you, Liv.
“The thing I fear most is having a day where I don’t wake up and think about you,” he murmurs into my hair. “The day I don’t need you is the day I’m most afraid of. Nothing you think you could do to me could possibly be worse than that.”
“You don’t understand. I could kill us. Why don’t you get that? You don’t know my addiction. You don’t know me. You don’t know my desire to know every single little bit of information about you. Where did you go to school? Why did you stop teaching? Why did you sell your share of the company? Why did you move to Seattle? Why did you work for your cousin? Where was your first job? What made you decide to do photography? What makes you hate the business world so much?
“What’s your favorite food? Color? Shoe? Car? Sport? Drink? TV show? Do you prefer documentaries or sitcoms? Do you like comedy? Do you like movies? Who’s your favorite actor? Singer? Comedian? Football player? Soccer player? Basketball player?” I take a deep breath. “Every little thing, Ty. I need to know every single thing about you because I can’t imagine a world where I don’t. It’s a burning need. Insatiable. Unrelenting. If I don’t find out, it might kill me. Fuck, it is killing me! It’s driving me fucking crazy!”
I pull back from him, but he pulls me straight back.
“You wanna know? You ask me. But for the record, my favorite color is orange, my favorite sport is American football, believe or not, and my favorite TV show is the same as yours. The Big Bang Theory. And I already forgot the rest.” A hint of amusement filters through his words.
I laugh into him. “Me, too. I might have gotten a little carried away.”
“No. No, you didn’t. It was the only way you could make me understand. And I don’t. I don’t understand your need to know everything about me, Liv. Just like you don’t understand my need to be inside you every day. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make this shit work. You got it? It doesn’t mean we can’t work through all our crap and pull something real from it.” He runs his fingers through to the ends of my hair. “It doesn’t make me want all of you any less. It doesn’t make me need you any less, baby girl.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and know that there’s only one solution to this. Only one way to figure this out. And that’s to be away from the beauty and magic of another city and be in the dreary wetness of home. Only at home can I firmly put two feet on the ground and make a decision that will stick. A decision I’ll believe in.
I sigh heavily. Ignoring the warmth in my body and the fluttering in my heart, I ask, “Take me home please.”
I stifle a yawn as I follow Aaron around the new bar. They landed back in Seattle minutes after Tyler and I did, and Day took one look at me and told Aaron to bring me here.
She’s taken Tyler to get coffee, and I swear, if she’s pulling her matchmaking shit, I will kill her.
“What do you think?” Aaron asks.
I look around the building. Right now, it’s carnage in here. Builders are everywhere. There’s dust and wooden planks and whatever in every single possible place. But looking at the plans in my hand—Aaron’s vision—I see it.
“I think it’s gonna be the best damn cocktail bar in the city,” I say honestly.
“Good answer.” He grins. “It should be ready to go in two weeks. When do you have to tell Donny you’re leaving?”
“I’ll go by when I leave here and tell him. I’ll give him a week’s notice then take a week off.”
“No offense, but you look like you need it.” He puts his hand on my shoulder and leads me toward the door. “Come on. I’ll take you to see Donny and we’ll grab a drink.”
“This can’t be good,” I mutter.
Aaron catches it and laughs. “Well my fiancée is currently grilling my cousin and I’ve been told that, if I’d ever like another blow job, I have to do the same to you.”