Chapter Eighteen
Toilet Bombs and Happily Ever Afters
(In that exact order)
4 weeks post-Maui…
I towel dry my wet hair as I bounce into the kitchen and start the coffee maker. I unplug my laptop from the charger and set it on the sofa, giving it a minute to start up while I head back into the kitchen. For two weeks Will and I have been emailing back and forth in an effort to get to know each other. I’m heading to Kyle’s later this morning but I’m going to check my inbox quickly before I finish getting ready. The thought that there might be something from Will makes me totally, nauseatingly happy. I settle on the sofa with my favourite blue mug and click on the browser. I’m about to open my email when my phone begins to chime. I absentmindedly pick it up and swipe the screen to answer.
“Hello?”
“Poppy, it’s me,” Tully says. “I can’t explain right now but I need you to come get us.”
“Okay, where are you?”
“The precinct on 63rd”, she cringes.
“This better be good,” I say.
I hang up and close my laptop with a sigh. I dump the rest of my coffee in a ceramic travel mug and toss my hair up into a bun.
When I walk into the precinct, I give Tully’s name to the young woman sitting at the front desk.
“Are you here for the boyfriend too?”
“The boyfriend?”
“A Mr. Daniel Fuller,” she says, nodding down at her paperwork.
I can’t help but grin when I reply, “Yeah, I’ll take him too.”
“Have a seat, they’ll be out shortly,” she says.
“Can I ask what they’re in for?”
She leans forward, her voice low. “Indecent exposure,” she says. “Not to worry, they’ll probably get off with a fine.”
I sit down, prepared to immediately text Bell and give her the news of our older sister’s public indiscretion when Tully and Dan emerge, strolling towards me hand in hand. They look a bit rumpled, probably from spending the night in jail, but they also look really, really, happy.
“Hey,” I say, slipping my phone back into my bag. “Indecent exposure? Really guys?”
“It’s all Renalda Spitz’s fault,” Tully says.
“It really is,” Dan says, smiling at my sister.
“Okay, well I’m parked out front, so we should probably get going.”
“Thanks for coming,” Tully says. “Mom and Dad are at our place with the kids, but it was late by the time they finished booking us, so we figured we’d save our phone call for the morning.”
The three of us head for the front door and on the way, I ask my sister, “Who’s Renalda Spitz?”
“I’ll tell you later,” she says with a smile.
After I drop Tully and Dan off, I head across town to Kyle’s condo. He and George are spending the day with George’s family, celebrating his nephew’s birthday. I let myself in with the spare key and head straight for the master bedroom. I pop in my earbuds and listen to Megan Trainor as I strip the bed and remake it with fresh sheets.
I wash the windows and head for the en suite next, tossing a couple of toilet bombs into the bowl to dissolve while I start on the shower. I spray down the glass wall and drag my squeegee down in a firm line, only to see a large shadow standing behind me. I jump around and throw my bottle of cleaner at the intruder hitting him right in the crotch. When he bends down in agony, I pull the buds from my ears and hold my squeegee up like a weapon.
“Oh shit, that hurts,” he groans.
Oh. My. God.
“Will?”
“Yeah.”
“Holy shit, I’m so sorry,” I say, bending down beside him. I rub soothing circles over his back. “You scared me, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he breathes out. “I should have made more noise.”
He stands, slowly unfolding his body with a noticeable twinge of pain.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” he says.
“Are you sure? I can get some ice,” I offer lamely.
“I’m okay,” he says.
We continue to watch each other, my breath held tightly in my lungs. A hundred tiny butterflies do the tango in my stomach before I finally find my words again. “What are you doing here?”
“I was going to ask you to dinner,” he says.
“You flew all the way here just to ask me to dinner? At ten a.m.?”
“It sounded better in my head,” he says.
“I like the way it sounds,” I tell him softly.
“I know we said we were going to get to know each other, but I wanted to see you,” he confesses.
He takes a step forward and suddenly the walls around us seem to close in until there’s nothing but me and him. He inhales deeply, his eyes turning just a bit dark.
“God, you smell good,” he says.
“It’s the lavender toilet bomb I just used,” I say. “I make them myself, I found the recipe on Pinter- “
“Poppy?”
“Yes?”
“Let me kiss you?” he asks.
“Okay.”
In the middle of Kyle’s obscenely large bathroom, with the scent of my homemade toilet bombs surrounding us, Will’s lips find mine. Firmly and without hesitation.
*
A missed dinner date and several orgasms later, I slip quietly from my bedroom, leaving Will to rest up for round four. I slip his shirt on and pad quietly to the kitchen, my stomach grumbling. I dig through the fridge and pull out a bowl of strawberries and a jug of orange juice, setting them on the counter while I grab my phone from the kitchen table. I have one message, a text from an unknown number. I tap the screen and bring up the attached picture.
A pretty, young woman with vibrant red hair stands beside a handsome young man in a tuxedo. She’s holding a bouquet of lilies and they’re standing in front of a judge. They’re both flushed and smiling. The dress fits her perfectly. I look down at the caption underneath the photo.
One photo, as requested.
Thank you, whoever you are.
This dress is perfect <3
“Everything okay?”
I look up and see Will, standing in the hallway wearing nothing but a pale pink sheet around his waist. I set my phone down and grab the food from the counter.
I close the space between us and lean up, pressing my lips to his. “Yes,” I say, tilting my head back. “It is.”
The End
(But wait! There’s two Kramer Sister bonus short stories, keep reading!)