I know I should say no, but if he is willing to go out again after I puked in front of him, well, I guess I can give it a chance.
“I’d like a redo. Just not on a boat this time.”
“I promise. No more boats.”
Leading Daniel into the house, I walk into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.
“Here, let me get you that. Why don’t you go lay on the couch?” Daniel says.
It kinda makes my heart melt when he does things to take care of me. I know that is going to make this more difficult when this thing heads south, because it will.
I head to the couch and grab a pillow and blanket. Thank God for central air, because if I had to walk into a hot house feeling the way I do, I’d get sick again.
Glancing into the kitchen, I see Daniel looking for something. “Do you have any crackers?”
I can’t let myself get used to this, even though it would be so easy.
“Upper left-hand cupboard. There should be some oyster crackers,” I tell him.
I hear him get a bowl out of the dish strainer.
Daniel looks larger than life when he walks into my living room carrying the water and bowl of crackers. He opens the bottle and hands it to me. “Make sure you drink it. You probably lost a lot of fluids when you fed the fish.”
“That’s gross, Daniel. Please don’t remind me that I threw up in front of you.”
He lifts my legs up and sits down on the couch. Pulling my legs onto his, he hands me the crackers.
“You don’t have to do this,” I tell him.
“Do you want me to leave?”
Jesus, that’s the last thing I want.
“Daniel, I want you to stay as long as you want. I just don’t want you to feel obligated because I got sick.”
I don’t know why, but I start to tear up. It must be because I’m embarrassed. Of course he notices right away.
“Hey, don’t cry. It’s nothing to be ashamed about. I still get seasick sometimes.”
He pats me on my hip. “Scooch over a bit.”
Oh my god. He’s going to spoon me right here on my couch. I move quite quickly for still being a little queasy.
Daniel molds his body to mine and lays his hand over my stomach. “Is this OK?”
I can feel every inch of him against my back. Before I know it, my body moves closer to him.
Daniel chuckles in my ear and whispers, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Turning my face to him, I whisper back, “This feels so nice, Daniel. I know we shouldn’t be doing this because of Lucy, but I can’t seem to stop myself when it comes to you.”
“Are you still queasy?”
I’m still feeling a little iffy, but if he is going to kiss me again, then I'll tough it out.
“I’m feeling better now,” I say as I leave my face turned to his. Thank God he is good at reading my cues, because he leans down and kisses me. It’s a sweet, gentle kiss, unlike the one earlier. That kiss was one of lust and passion.
As much as I like feeling Daniel against my back, I turn my body to face his. It takes a little maneuvering because my sofa is not very wide.
I almost fall off, but Daniel grabs me, and we both laugh.
“This is much better. Now I can see your beautiful face,” Daniel says.
I’m a little uncomfortable when he says it. No one has ever called me beautiful outside of my family. Even Jay, my effing fiancé, never said it.
“Nicole, why do you look uncomfortable when I tell you you're beautiful?”
“Sorry, I’m just not used to it.” I didn’t realize that I was that transparent.
I don’t want him to stop telling me that he thinks that I’m beautiful. “I suppose if you keep telling me, then I’ll get used to it and won’t be embarrassed anymore.”
Daniel smiles while taking my face into his hands. “You are fucking gorgeous, and I won’t ever apologize for telling you.”
I swallow hard because I know what is about to happen.