Page 47 of Game Over

“Hmm, it’s a little early to be planning a child together, but I wouldn’t mind it.” I shot her a fiendish grin and winked at her. Truth be told, I wouldn’t mind moving in together right now, but I needed to reel it in and slow that line of thinking down.

She threw her head back and laughed, “Oh my god, I’m so done with you. Here, come on, it's time for you to go try stuff on.” God, her laugh was so smooth and full of warmth. I held our bags as we walked outside into the bustling crowd of people.

“You want to see me naked again, don’t you?”

“You’re mighty full of yourself today, aren’t you?” She shot back.

“You can be full of me later if you play your cards right.”

“That’s it, we’re breaking up.” Allie deadpanned and started walking away.

“Oh, I think the fuck not come here you.” I picked her up and swung her around, causing her to squeal and then let out another full belly laugh. When I sat her down, the sunlight hit her eyes in a way that set them on fire. Every yellow fragment shone like gold, the green sparkled like the most beautiful gems, and the brown was as stunning as the fall trees. It was a kaleidoscope of the most beautiful colors. I brushed a stray strand of hair back from her face. “How did I get so lucky finding you?” I didn’t let her answer as I sealed our lips together in a tender kiss, hoping that I could convey just how strongly I already felt for her. I didn’t care that we were standing in a crowd of people on a busy weekend. All I cared about was that I kept her wrapped in my arms forever.

Allie decided that I should have an all-black suit to match her dress, so it was fairly quick to find what I needed. After we loaded the car up, I started to head toward the bookstore.

“Just one more stop before we head home.” My hand was placed on her thigh, so I gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” I grinned and squeezed her thigh again.

I was suddenly nervous because what if she didn’t want to go because she was tired or felt overstimulated, or if she didn’t want to buy any new books because maybe there weren’t any she was looking for. Maybe I should have asked her… No, this was a good idea. She’s going to love it. We pulled up in front of the store, and I put the car in park. “You were saying the other day how you never get to come, so I figured since we’d be up here, we could stop in. I checked their hours, and we have plenty of time, so you don’t have to rush. You can take as long as you’d like.”

“Oh, Spencer, thank you! There are so many new ones I’ve been wanting to get, but I’ve just put them off. I’m so excited!” She threw her seatbelt off and leaned across the center, placing a kiss on my cheek before hopping out of the car.

The little bookstore was cute and filled to the brim with tables and chairs loaded with books from all genres. The smell of new and old books filled the store with their mix of new and used books. Every wall was a different color and had various pieces of art from local artists adorning them. They also had a section of local handmade goods in one corner.

I grabbed a basket for her so I could help hold anything she found. She was so cute bouncing around from section to section, pointing out authors she loved, books she’s read, or ones that she wants to read, and ones that she ended up not liking. I made a mental note of one she loved, so I could surprise her with some from time to time. I listened to her as she went on, following her around and letting her put whatever she wanted into the basket. After a little, she filled two baskets with an assortment of novels and other items she found she wanted to.

The drive back to my place was quiet as we listened to another playlist of hers and she softly sang along. Her rich voice wrapped around my heart, and chills broke out against my skin. I don’t think I’d heard her truly sing yet, because even now it was lower, but her voice was beautiful. I needed to hear more of it from her.

We decided we’d stay the night at her house so she could put away all she got today and organize her books. I packed a quick bag, making sure I had everything I needed, and then we loaded up in her 4Runner. Since we had been out all day and were tired, we decided to grab a drive-thru meal for dinner. After naming almost every restaurant in Maplewood, she went with the burger place I first suggested. We got back to her place and settled in. We turned on a Halloween movie and lay on the couch together while we ate. When she finished, she lay her head in my lap, and I massaged her scalp.

Not long after she fell asleep, snoring softly, she snuggled in closer to me. I looked down at her dark lashes fanned across her cheeks, her slightly parted lips, and her perfect, rounded nose with her gold hoop hugging it. She felt like I had found a piece of me that was missing that I didn’t realize I had lost. As corny as it sounded, we fit together like a perfect lock and key. Everything came so naturally with her. Every moment was filled with smiles and laughter. Even the silent moments were filled with a reverent gentleness I’ve never experienced. Nothing ever felt forced with her. Carefully rolling her off me so I could stand, I gathered her up in my arms and carried her to bed.

CHAPTER 21

Invisible String

I rolled over and stretched my back out, already feeling a small cramp in the lower part of it. Hello and thank you, thirties. I’d have to stretch it out or see if I couldn’t convince Allie to give me a back rub. I personally liked the second option best. I cracked my eyes open, and the sunlight was pouring into the room. Based on how bright it was already, we had to have slept in. I reached for my phone and checked the time, and sure enough, it was after ten.

Last night was some of the best sleep I’d had in a long time. There were no bad dreams or tossing and turning. Sleeping next to her brought another layer of calm to my wild thoughts. Her sheer presence calmed the swirling storm inside my brain that always wanted to strike when left alone at night. I looked down at her serene face as she slept, in total awe of how this woman waltzed into my life so unexpectedly.

I ran my fingers across her cheeks, down her jaw, and she began to stir. She stretched her arms above her head and legs out, like a cat stretching in the sun, almost kicking me out of bed in the process. When she was content, she cuddled into my side and nuzzled her nose into me.

“Mmm.. morning,” she grumbled into my side.

“Morning, sweetheart. How did you sleep?” I flipped onto my side and pulled her into me, wanting her closer. She grumbled a response back that sounded like “good.”

“You really aren’t a morning person, are you?” I laughed as I ran my hand over her shoulders and back.

“Nuh-uh. Mornings suck.” She tucked the covers under her chin tighter and moved in closer. She was so cute, I swear.

“Here, how about you stretch out, and I’ll go make us some coffee?”

“Oh, coffee, yes. I like that thing.”

Hopping out of bed—grinning like a love-struck fool—and pulling on my sweats, I made my way to her kitchen. It was starting to feel cooler in the mornings, so I opened the French doors from the dining room to the backyard, and let Dolly out while I worked on our coffees.