Mother Nature Sends Us a Cold Shower
Just as I’m muttering, “Fuck,” the pounding rain becomes a deluge.
This is no warm summer shower. No, this shit is freezing, ruining my lusty time with Eden.
Talk about a cold shower to cool things down.
Yeah, thanks, Mother Nature.
“Oh crap,” Eden sputters as rain drenches us both. “We better get in the car. This shit is freezing cold.”
“You’re not kidding,” I mutter dejectedly.
Why now?
Sighing, I help Eden down from the hood of the Audi. She grabs the soaked blanket, and I yell over the pouring rain, “Do you have anything else in the trunk? We could really use a dry towel right about now.”
“Actually I do have something,” she says. “Another blanket.”
This woman is so resourceful. I love it.
Whipping her hair back from her face, she races to the rear of the car.
“I have to say, you’re quite the little Girl Scout,” I call out as she pops open the trunk and yanks out yet another blanket, this one nice and dry.
“Thanks, but we better hurry and get in before this one ends up soaked too,” she says.
“Good point.”
Jumping in opposite sides of the car at the same time, we proceed to huddle close over the console, sharing the nice, warm—and dry—blanket.
Eden leans forward to turn on the heat.
“Ah, that’s much better,” she breathes out as warm air pumps out.
She sits back in our blanket cocoon, and, after a beat, I quietly ask, “Should we talk about what happened out there on the hood?”
She twists to face me, peering up at me inquisitively. “Do you regret it?” she asks.
Shaking my head adamantly, I reply, “No, not at all. Do you?”
“I don’t.”
I sense hesitation, though, so I venture, “Something is wrong, Eden. I hear it in your tone. What is it?”
Shifting, but not retreating away from me, she says, “Maybe I do feel a little off, but it’s not what you’re thinking.”
“Oh? And just what do you think I’m thinking?” I say.
“That I’m sorry it happened.” She pauses. “I’m not. I liked kissing you, Graham. I liked it a lot. And I definitely want to do it again.”
“Good,” I murmur, “’cause I do too.”
“I’m just scared, is all,” she confesses.
“Oh, sweetheart.” I take her face in my hands and kiss her swollen lips softly. “It’ll all be okay.”
“God, I love how you kiss me,” she murmurs.
So I kiss her again.
“I do too, babe. I could kiss you all night. But first”—I lean back—“I have a question.”
“What’s that, Graham?”
I just fucking lay it on the line then. We’ve gone this far, so we may as well keep going. It’s all about forward progress, right?
Taking a deep breath, I blurt out, “How would you feel about this relationship turning from fake to real, Eden?”
She shrugs lightly and her lips curl into a smile. “Sure, I’m up for giving this a try. But I do have one condition.”
I’m so thrilled that she’s open to the idea of us as a real couple that I almost don’t comprehend her last words.
But they eventually catch up to my racing mind.
“Wait, what’s your one condition?”
Sighing, she says, “I’d like to take things much more slowly.”
I can’t help but smirk. “Does that mean I don’t get to do sinful things to your body tonight?”
I’m teasing, but my words make her quiver.
“Damn, Graham,” she gasps. “I want you to do sinful things to me, I really freaking do. But don’t you think it’d be better if we moved more cautiously?”
I raise a brow. “Is this condition because of the team agreement?”
She nods. “There’s that to consider, yes. I mean, it’d be really awkward if we raced into something and it didn’t work out.”
I blow out a breath. “I see your point. Still, I feel like there’s more than just that holding you back.”
“There is,” she confesses, her pretty pale green eyes locking with mine. “It’s just that I want this to work, Graham. I really, really like you—”
“I like you too, Eden.”
“—and I get the feeling we could build something truly good here.”
I nod and agree, “Maybe more importantly, we can build something real.”
She says, “Exactly.”
And she’s so right.
This shot at a relationship—a genuine one, not a fake arrangement—deserves caution and care.
So I agree to her terms, and after a little more kissing, we head home.