Page 436 of Seasons of Love
The first thing I noticed as we went inside was the stereo playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. That wasn’t a good sign. Griff only played this kind of music when he was stress cleaning.
We followed the smell and found Griff facing the cooker, wearing nothing but his sweatpants and a backward cap. It was fucking hot, but I was more curious to find out why our kitchen looked like a restaurant kitchen and a bakery had an affair.
“Griff?” I called softly so I wouldn’t startle him.
He turned around, smiled, and came straight at us. His kiss was frantic, and even Jake noticed because he came closer to us, putting his hand on the small of Griff’s back.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing. Everything is right because you’re both here, and I’m so ready to get naked.” He looked down at himself and laughed. “Well, more naked.”
I cradled his face with my hands. “Griffin, what’s wrong?”
He huffed and walked away from us to turn the rings off on the stove and check the oven.
“Frank knows about us,” he said.
“What?” Jake shrieked.
“No, he doesn’t,” I said. “What makes you think that?”
He wrung the tea towel tight in his hands. “I met him today at El Pancito. We went for a walk, and he started talking about romance and poly relationships. He said he read my books and asked stuff, and then he wanted to know how you two were. I didn’t know what to say, so I excused myself and came home. Well, I went to the market first and bought all the ingredients to make this.”
He was breathless by the time he finished.
Jake had gone white.
“Okay, let’s all calm down. Frank spoke to me earlier. Jake, he’s worried about you because you haven’t been home. I told him we’ve been working late and sometimes you crash here,” I said.
“But then why all the questions?” Griff asked.
“Could it be that he was just curious? I mean, baby, your books are amazing. It’s nice he felt comfortable enough to ask you those questions directly.”
“As weird as that is, please don’t add any details because I don’t need to know. But it’s nice that he asked,” Jake said.
Griff finally smiled.
“Okay, so this is how it’s going to be. We’re going to all have a shower because I’m dying to get naked, and this one has been edging me all day.” I pointed to Jake, who rolled his eyes. “Fine, he was just breathing. Same difference. Then we’re going to pick a starter, entree, and dessert from this wonderful spread and have dinner. And after that, we’re going around the neighborhood to offload some of this before it spoils. Got it?”
Griff bit his lip. “God, I love it when you go all bossy.” He sidled up to me and pressed his lips against mine, then he kissed Jake.
“I’m so on board with that plan, it’s not even real,” Jake said.
“Great. Off you go then,” I ordered.
I followed behind them, watching as they removed each other’s clothes with each step they took toward the bathroom.
At this rate, we wouldn’t make it that far.
16
JAKE
How do you know it’s been too long since you’ve been home?
No one notices when you’ve arrived. Not even the dog.
I couldn’t blame them. The last few weeks had been so busy at work that I’d gotten into a routine of going home with Mal so we could continue working after hours.
