Chapter 05

After Auggie had given her his answer and hint to their conversation, Bella had spent the rest of the day in a daze. She was lucky that Joan had managed to postpone her polygraph for the following week as her recent physical would have thrown it off.

Finally given a desk, she had a place to park her rear until the end of the day as she awaited a new cover locally. She was more often than not, staring off into space, wondering how the conversation would go. If she should bring up what she and Joan had discussed. Never before had she been so unnerved by someone who had given her the most confidence.

“Coffee?” Annie asked as she held out a cup. “I asked Auggie what your preference is so it should be alright.”

Bella drew in a breath as she was startled out of her thoughts, raising an eyebrow for a moment before giving her a tense smile and nod. “Sure, thanks,” she said, scratching behind her ear as she glanced towards Auggie’s office as he sat typing at his computer with his headphones on. She turned back and reached for the cup, always missing her Italian brew, finding hard to readjust to the lesser qualities. “Thank you,” she repeated.

“There are some great Italian restaurants around here,” Annie said as she leaned against Bella’s desk. “Run by real Italians, you know, should you ever get homesick to Italy.”

“Not really homesick. It’s just the coffee that was so much better there. The quality just doesn’t compare. This is really my home here,” she answered, again, glancing towards a particular office before shaking her head and turning her chair around and rolling her neck. “The food was good too, once you got over the culture shock of what you knew of Italian food through the American standard. Living the life there, eventually, you become a part of it.”

“Still… nothing beats the Italian pizza from New York. Call me a pizza butcher or whatever, but I didn’t really like the pizza there,” Annie snorted as she took a sip of her coffee. “The pasta, however…”

Bella smiled and shrugged. “It’s their water.”

Annie was quiet for a moment and then grinned. “My sister wants to start her own catering business. What if I convince her to start a coffee shop instead? With real Italian beans and shit? Think that it would take off?”

“Depends on the location. The market is rough and you’d have to look into the cost of importing the materials and right machinery. It’s not just the beans but the equipment and location.”

“I know, but it would give Danielle something to do, the research and what not, instead of being suspicious of my whereabouts. I swear, one of these days she’s going to show up at the Smithsonian and demand to see me while I’m half across the world.”

Bella shrugged as she sipped at her cup. “So, bring her in there for a tour. Or bring her in there for a lunch date. Have Auggie set it up. You have your ID with them already, right? Show her your work on your terms, rather than letting her ambush you. She will be less suspicious of you. It wouldn’t be the first time it’s been done.”

“Have you done it?”

“Sure. Whenever my father decides to come into town. Previously I’ve used the Smithsonian as my cover as an Historian with the museum. Do it on your terms, Walker, before everyone has to scramble to cover for you.”

“Thanks, that’s a great idea,” she replied and sighed. “It’s frustrating though, to have a cover. It’s like… you’re living three lives at the same time.”

“Then read your sister in.”

“I might. I don’t know. She’ll probably get mad at me for having lied to her.”

Bella leaned on her desk and rolled her eyes. “Probably. And if she loves you, she’ll get over it. It’s your job and a requirement to keep secrets. You did what you had to and worked to get permission to tell her so that you could give her something. You can’t tell her everything, obviously but if it’s bothering you that much, then get her read in.”

“Thanks again,” Annie smiled as she pushed herself off Bella’s desk and nodded towards Auggie. “He’s getting ready to get home. Didn’t you come into work together?”

“Yeah…” she drew out, suddenly unsure as she looked over her shoulder. “We did.”

Annie noticed the change of posture of Bella and decided to ignore it. “Have fun, you two. Enjoy the weekend and pray for no calls.”

She glared at the blond as she made her escape and stood from her seat slowly. “I tried to be nice, and that is what I get…” she muttered.

Auggie put on his jacket and strapped his bag to him before switching his laser cane for the good old fashioned one. Why was he nervous? He had no reason to feel this nervous. He was simply going to cook dinner – no, he was too nervous for that. Ordering in would be a better idea. And he and Bella were going to have a talk. Where he’d likely do most of the talking and hope that she wouldn’t slap him or worse.

No need to be nervous. Not at all. It was just that their friendship was at stake. No biggie.

Taking a deep breath, he left his office and managed to find Bella’s desk with ease. Even Joan had been kind and had put her right in the path of his office. “So, please tell me that I’m standing in front of Bella’s desk and that Bella’s actually right here.”

“No, Bella ran away with that hot vampire hybrid from the teenage TV show on the CW,” she smiled back at him. “You wouldn’t know anything about it.”

“I have my guilty pleasures, but you’re right. I don’t know anything about it,” he grinned as he reached out to her. “I’ll just have to make do with you then.”

“Aren’t I lucky? Bella missed out. Shame on her,” she mused, her lips twitching at the corners as she hooked her arm around his. “All set?”

“Of course,” he smirked and started to walk towards the exit of the bullpen with her. He didn’t mind walking with her like this. It was familiar, it was something they had done many times before and hell, he felt proud having a gorgeous woman on his arm. But if she was going to stick around, he needed to teach her the things that he had taught Annie. “Just curious, would you like me to teach you a few things here and there when it comes to getting my attention or leading me through traffic?”

Bella frowned as she looked up at him. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” he smiled as he managed to open the door for them. “You can’t do anything wrong with me, you know that.”

“I hear a but coming…”

“Who farted?” He snickered and hoped that the door wouldn’t hit him or her on the way out. “But… while I’m extremely comfortable walking like this with you in a situation that I know, walking arm in arm like this when we’re in a busy street for example can get tricky. We’re a bit clumsy right now.”

She paused as she looked at themselves and considered his explanation, feeling bad for her gestures that she’d always done with him before. “I hadn’t realized… I didn’t know…”

“That’s okay, I am not angry with you,” he smiled at her. “This situation is entirely different from you rescuing me like the last time or me being a seeing person and I love walking arm in arm with you. It just makes things like making it through the door a bit tricky as I can’t see the door.” He let go of her and gently brushed his hand against hers. “If you do that, you’re letting me know where you are,” he said softly before gently running the back of his hand up her arm and held her just above the elbow. “And now, we can maneuver like we’re sort of like a mini train because it’s easier to take a step back or in front. You can actually make sure the door doesn’t hit us both.”

Bella stood there for a moment, staring down at where he had caused a shiver to run through her by his touch. Looking up, she swallowed and placed her hand over his and smiled. “Of course I got the door. I’ve got eyes in the front and back of my head. You didn’t know that?”

He kissed the top of her head before looping his arm through hers again. “Just don’t leave me outside a strange place like Annie’s done once or twice,” he laughed as he continued to walk with her towards the exit.

“What kind of strange place? I think you might enjoy coming inside depending on the adventure.”

“It was outside the morgue. She forgot me when she managed to open the door. Then told me to get on a gurney and forgot my shoes. We got arrested and I wasn’t wearing any shoes!”

She was not able to keep from laughing. “Oh yes. That is just your type of adventure. Let me guess. You told the cops that seeing the bodies turned you on? Sounds like fun,” she said suggestively.

“The Fed was a sightist,” he muttered as they kept walking. “At least they were decent enough to find me my shoes.”

“You must have annoyed the hell out of him. I haven’t had the opportunity to annoy any Feds lately. Just some Mossad, Interpol, and other CIA,” she pouted.

“Oh, I love it when you talk dirty to me, please continue,” he mused as they made it through security and headed outside.

Bella smiled, squinting at the afternoon sun. “Fresh air. Do you want to take the shuttle back or taxi to dinner instead? Depending on exactly where you prefer to have that talk of course,” she hesitated, trying to keep her voice steady but cheerful.

“I was thinking at home and take out. Maybe a good bottle of wine or a few bottles of beer to wash it down with. Some good tunes…”

“Alcohol and music,” she said thoughtfully as she turned towards the shuttle stop. “Are we talking the white wine or red? Blues or Metallica?” she asked, testing for how the night could possibly go.

“Jazz and white wine. Let’s keep the blood shed away for now. Unless you want to kill me after or during our talk. Then maybe red wine.”

She raised an eyebrow and her hand reflexively tightened on his. “That sounds just a bit ominous when you put it like that. What makes you think I’d want to kill you? Anyway – we had Chinese last night, and I’ve been eating Italian for two years. Does that steakhouse on Lexington still deliver?”

“Sure,” he smiled. “Or, we could go to the supermarket and grab a few steaks there. We could chuck some fries in the oven and eat within 30 minutes.”

Bella considered it and nodded. “I can make a run when we get there, stock up while I’m at it. I don’t mind cooking and it would give us some time each to settle I think. Mentally prepare for this talk that you want.”

“Great idea. Although you shouldn’t be nervous about the talk. I’m sure that whatever I have to say is not that important and you’ll think that I’m an idiot.”

Stopping and looking around to make sure that no one is too close, she reached up to pull his face towards her. Even knowing that he couldn’t fully see her, she knew he would understand the gesture. “Auggie, no matter what you have to say, I would never think you an idiot. I’m still working to wrap my head around this because I’m confused by what you want to share until I hear it, but also by what I’m feeling. Okay?”

“Got it.”

~o.O.o~

Bella got lost in her headspace as she stood in the kitchen cooking their dinner. Their steaks in the broiler, vegetables on the stove and potatoes in the oven. She could hear him across the apartment searching for the music he wanted, not sure exactly what was going on. Ever since their time in the gym, each encounter felt like a strange new level of awkward after his announcement for a need to talk.

Soon, pleasant music filled the air and she couldn’t help but to smile. Her smile turned to a confused frown as she recalled an old conversation about his choice of music and albums. It sounded something like – date music? She knew his taste of music had shifted over the years, as they spoke over the phone and email, as he had shared, but this was one of his M.O.’s that she was aware of when it came to trying to woo a girl.

She finished with dinner, plating the steak and opting for red potatoes with olive oil and rosemary and lightly boiled sugar snap peas before setting the table. Filling their wine glasses, she stood looking everything over as she deliberated on calling for him or stalling longer.

She was going to look straight through him, wasn’t she? He’d never been shy in telling her his ways of trying to get a mood going and this was one that he had shared more often than not. But, when nervous, stick to what you know. It was going to be completely different anyway because normally, it wouldn’t scare him so much. But this time… he was terrified.

Which was stupid. They were both adults and not in high school.

He had an inkling that food was done, but gave her some more time to do whatever she was doing. She must feel equally terrified because she didn’t know what he wanted to talk to her about. Auggie was happy that they’d already established that she wouldn’t have to leave his apartment. Whatever happened tonight, she was going to stay. Even if it meant for him to eternally sleep on the couch.

“Dinner’s ready,” Bella called out eventually. Enough time had been wasted and food would grow cold. She swallowed back a generous gulp of her wine before refilling the glass as she waited for him to join her in the room.

“Smells good!” He said cheerfully as he approached the counter and found his seat.

“Thank you,” she smiled as she set his wineglass next to his hand. “Kept it simple. Steak, potatoes, and snap peas. Figured if things do go south as you fear, it’s easy to reheat and not as much will go to waste.”

He let out a snort and gingerly felt around for his plate, circling the brim to identify each position of his food. “You’re always so practical, I love it,” he moved his other hand to find his glass and took a sip of his wine. “Joan said something to me today that made me think. Re-evaluate things. The choices I made, my behaviour.”

Bella looked up as she had just taken a bite and chewed slowly, frozen at his words. After she swallowed, she twisted her fork in her hand. “Joan? Huh. She must have been trying out for the role of Dr. Phil today with both of us I guess,” she muttered. “What did she have to say?”

“Something I would never have expected, coming from her,” he said with a slight chuckle as he managed to hook some peas to his fork and put it in his mouth. “I don’t know, it took me a little by surprise,” he said after swallowing his bite. “I had to think about it, but I realized that there’s not much to think about. It’s like… she’s given me clarity, just like that.”

“She did?” she asked, gently setting her fork down and reaching for her glass as she thought about her own encounter. “Clarity can be one mean son of a bitch when it slaps you in the face. It certainly sucker punched me today. Especially after my visit with her.”

“There’s a problem with this newfound clarity though, isn’t there?” He asked as he took another sip of his wine. “I mean, when I think about it, I’ve been a complete asshole and so stupid.”

Not following his train of thought, Bella narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What problem do you mean?”

Sighing, he put his fork down and looked in her direction as he leaned against the counter. “This clarity made me see that I’ve been looking for substitutes because I was afraid of losing someone very important in my life and I’ve been waving those substitutes in your face. I’m such a jerk.”

Hearing him, his words made what he had said earlier very true. She was terrified now. But not the way he might had thought. She hadn’t anticipated what he wanted to discuss to be something of this nature. “Auggie…” Bella started, her mouth suddenly dry and finding herself at a loss as her heart pounded in her chest. “I, um, wow… Uh… I think I would need to start by saying you’re not a jerk…”

“I’m not?” He said surprised. He thought he was. If not to her, then he had been unfair with everyone else.

“No. Remember today when you said I would think you would be an idiot for what you would have to say?” She asked carefully.

“Yes.”

Bella eyed him as she was cautious as she used similar words. “What if, after my visit with Joan, I had a similar epiphany and thought you might think I was an idiot if I had suggested a discussion so I refused?” She said, her voice all but a whisper as she looked at him and waited.

He cocked his head in confusion as he considered her words. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me.”

“I didn’t know I felt that way if it makes you feel any better,” she shrugged, reaching for her wine again.

“Me neither,” he replied and mirrored her movement without knowing it. “Now what do we do? Are we going to give it a try and see what happens?”

Her breath drew in at the thought. “Is that what you want?” Bella questioned, almost breathless as her fingers gripped the glass.

He could hear the anticipation and fear in her voice, mirroring his own feelings. He let go of his glass and gently placed his hand on her arm. “What I want, is not to lose you. I meant what I said; I don’t want you to leave me ever again.”

“I don’t want to lose you either. I – I…”

Running his hand up her arm, to her neck, to cup her face, he made the decision there and then. He was going to kiss her. Fuck it. He needed to kiss her. When their lips finally met – for real this time, they had kissed before under false pretenses, he could feel his heart skip a beat.

She froze momentarily, even as she saw it coming. Wanting it to happen. Still she melted into him quickly, her hand creeping up his chest, to his neck, and up into his hair. Leaning into him, her mouth opened for a gasp of air, and to welcome in more. Her body slid from her seat to stand before him of its’ own volition, moving on its own pure desire for this man.

Making the kiss grow, he pulled her in even closer as the familiarity of it all made this feel so comfortable. It was a familiar feeling, but not. This was different. This was real and he loved feeling her body press against his, her hands keeping him where he was.

As Bella drew in another breath, she caught his lip between her teeth lightly and playfully pulled him towards her as she dropped her hands to his chest, before claiming his mouth again with just as much hunger and desire as before. Leaning back, she broke the kiss briefly slightly but stayed just close enough that she could feel his warm breath pass on her lips.

He lifted her up and waited for her to wrap her legs around his waist and kissed her, hard, as he carefully carried her out of the kitchen towards the bed. Auggie carefully maneuvered the steps leading up to his bed and slowed down a little to find it. When the edge of the bed hit his shin, he made a quick calculation in assessing where they were and flopped the both of them on the bed. “How did I do?” he grinned as he leaned on his hands over her.

She laughed as she relaxed under him, having had been more occupied by his mouth than by their location until their falling when she held tighter to him. “I’d say you did great,” she replied, her hands sliding up his arms to his shoulders to pull him back down as she bit her lip. There was a double meaning there, she was sure. But there in the bed, was a new test to their relationship. A new road they were about to take and her heart was racing with anticipation and trepidation. If the last few minutes were any indication, she didn’t want to turn back.

“Awesome, it would be highly embarrassing if we’re about to fall off the bed,” he grinned and felt around with his hand, touching her hair, her neck, before kissing her again as his hand explored her body over her clothes. When he reached the hem of her shirt, he tugged it so it came loose and he could touch the skin underneath.

Following his cue, she grinned against their kiss and reached over his shoulder to grab a handful of his shirt after unbuttoning the top buttons at his collar one handed. Pulling the fabric over his head, she wasn’t about to struggle and take the time to stop and fight longer than she had to so that she could resume just as quickly.

The moment she had his upper body bare to her, she took the opportunity to savor it and run her hands over him with a smile. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen him, nor touched him. But it was where she did so without restriction and so freely in such a manner.

While she was pulling off his shirt, he had taken the opportunity to help her out of hers, but he hadn’t expected the impact it would have when she’d touch his chest. Things were different. Things were changing, and to him, it was all for the better. Auggie moved his fingertips over her torso as he kissed her neck, trying to shift a little to make sure not to fall over.

Bella gasped out, her hand coming up to bury in his messy hair as her eyes looked around in a daze. Her legs tightened around him with each passing sweep of his touch and her body grew enflamed more and more. Her legs wrapped around the back of his, her feet sliding up his thighs as they sought for more contact with him, every inch of her physical with him.

His breath hitched for a moment when he reached the hem of her skirt, feeling around, he could tell that it was all scrunched up and then the biggest grin appeared on his face. He hadn’t realized she had been wearing a skirt. Or maybe it had registered but he had forgotten about it. Squeezing her inner thigh to tease her, he moved his hand back up and looked for a zipper.

“Auggie?” Bella whispered as her hands slipped up his chest, teasingly until they rested on his shoulders.

He sighed as he put his head against her shoulder. “There’s no zipper, is there?”

“Oh, no. There is a zipper,” she said as she smirked at the face he made, drawing her bottom lip in. “But do you recall today, in the gym?”

He thought for a moment and then laughed. “You like to be on top.”

Before he had the chance to form a conscious thought, Bella had him underneath her, his shoulder pinned as she grinned down at him and straddling his waist tightly. “And the zipper is in the back,” she murmured lightly, shrugging a shoulder as she shifted her weight over him.

With one arm free to move, still, he lifted it to brush his fingers over her side, finding their way to her back and found the zipper. He smiled victoriously when he pulled it down. “Tadaa.”

“Well, at least it’s just a skirt,” she mumbled as she looked down at them, not really wanting to lose any contact with him but needing to get him more on the same level of undress as she was. “Your turn…” she said with a grunt as she began to scoot back so that she could pull at his sweats he had changed into while she was out earlier. While she was up, she quickly shed her skirt and stockings as her eyes flickered up to Auggie and drank him in. She was still almost in shock and giddy that this was actually going to happen.

“Come back,” he said with a big smile on his face, lazily reaching out for her. “I’m not done with you yet.”

“I’m far from done with you,” Bella replied as she crawled back onto the bed, reaching for his hand and leaning in to kiss him.

He pulled her back into his arms as they kissed and rolled the both of them back over. The feeling of her naked skin against his was simply glorious. He broke off the kiss and started to kiss her neck again, but this time he strayed and kissed his way down her body as he fondled one of her breasts. He liked her breasts. Not too big, not to small and oh so soft.

Her hands came up to explore the planes of his back, over his shoulders. Her fingers wove themselves in his hair as her breathing grew heavy, holding him to her, encouraging every motion he chose to take. She wasn’t inexperienced to lovemaking, but it had been some time for her since she’d been with a partner last. Still, the sensations he’d stirred up within her were incomparable and she found herself having difficulty remaining still as she writhed beneath him.

Auggie placed a kiss on her stomach and kept his lips there as he let out a chuckle. This was the most fun he had in awhile, it felt different. Genuine. Her body was radiating heat and it kept arching into him or trying to burrow into the mattress and he loved it. She nearly kneed him in the face when he placed his hand over her panties, over her heat, to tease. “Fuck, you’re soaking wet,” he said breathlessly as he kissed his way up to her, keeping his hand where it was.

“I’m sure,” she answered, licking her lips as her mouth felt dry looking at him. She closed her legs around his hand, seeking more friction that her body had craved and closed her eyes. “I had felt you too. You felt like you were ready to burst yourself, hotstuff.”

“Tease,” he muttered against the vein in her neck as he moved his fingers inside her panty and ran one of them over her lips, causing her to moan loudly. Grinning, he repeated the movement.

“Who’s the tease now?” Bella groaned out her complaint, reaching up to pull him down to her mouth for a kiss.

He hummed a response as he shifted to be beside her and removed his hand from her heat. He gently lifted her legs as they kissed, only to break off the kiss to move between her legs and remove her panties. As her legs were still in the air, he kissed the inside of her knee before releasing them and found her face again to resume the kiss. His fingers gingerly touched the inside of her thigh, finding her core again and slipped a finger inside of her.

Her breath hitched only slightly as he entered, and smiled as she ran her own fingertips over his face before wrapping her hand around the back of his neck. Her other hand continued to roam over his body everywhere it could possibly reach until it met the waistband of his shorts, causing her to grin against his mouth. Pushing them down as far as she could, she lifted her legs so that she could use her feet to help assist with the rest of the task.

Once he had helped Bella’s feet in getting his boxers off, he inserted a second finger and pressed his thumb against her clit. Breaking off the kiss, he put his head against her shoulder and took a few deep breaths as he revelled in the little sounds she was making, and how her body responded to his touch.

“Auggie,” she moaned as she arched into him, her fingers tightening and pulling on his hair. Her legs wound around his, twisting into familiar ties, keeping them unbearably close, as close as they could without him being more inside her as he was, yet.

“Almost,” he cooed as he pressed a third finger inside of her. “Wait for a little while longer.”

Fighting a growl, her teeth pulled at his lip. Sharp and nearly cutting enough to draw blood but close. When she found her breath, her nails scratched lightly across his back. “How would you like it if I told you to wait? Hm?”

“Ah!” He laughed as he removed his fingers from her and briefly brushed her lips with his. “You want to be on top?”

“Not if you want to be right now,” she smiled against him, her teeth grazing his jaw.

“We’ll flip a coin next time. Or wrestle for it,” he promised her as he kissed her. “But for now, you can be on top,” he said as he scooped her up and rolled them back over.

Bella laughed as she held on, tucking her head his neck. Lifting it, she kept her face close to his, her hair dragging over his forehead. “Now that sounds like a really fun time to be had,” she said, eager.

Leaning in to kiss him, she hovered over his mouth but pulled away as she slid down his body, dropping open mouthed kisses along the way until she was situated and seated over his hip bone, feeling his erection pressing against her rear. Biting her lip, she sat up and ran her fingers over his stomach before settling them behind her on his thighs as she stared at him.

“What?” He asked as he had his hands on her upper thighs, gently squeezing them as he rubbed his thumbs on the inside. “Second thoughts?”

“Nope. Just admiring,” she answered playfully, taking a breath before sliding her hand further behind her to feel for his length. Gently and firmly, she stroked from behind, watching his face as she moved with her motions, waiting.

“Bella,” he playfully warned her as he bucked his hips a little. Her hand felt so good around him. He was so eager to feel how she’d feel around him, how it’d feel when he was snug inside of her. Smiling at her, he moved one of his hands to her core, and rubbed her clit with his thumb.

“Don’t like it when the tables are turned, do you?” She giggled as she shifted, leaning forward enough where she was able to position herself over him so that when she settled back, he started to ease into her slowly. Letting out a breath as that new level between them broke, Bella moaned as he soon filled her.

As she lowered herself on to him, his hand left her hot center and roamed over her body. She felt so good, he couldn’t believe they hadn’t done this before. “Oh, you feel so good around me,” he let out a breath before raising his knees so she could use his legs as something to lean against and sat up a little as he gently pulled her face towards his, his hand buried in her long hair. “So good.”

Bella kissed him as she sank further, rising and falling, her lips never leaving his lips. His skin. Never far if she could help it. Each time she was forced to part when she rose and flexed her hips over his, she claimed his mouth quickly, and hungrily.

When he was confident that she wouldn’t be able to fall off of him, he moved his other hand between them as his breathing turned more ragged, shallow. He twisted his hips against hers on occasion as he mirrored her moves and kissed her neck, her collarbone and back to her neck as he helped her get to the edge faster. He wasn’t going to last for much longer. Her scent was intoxicating. Her little noises and moans were deafening and music to his ears at the same time. Her lips were like a drug. And her hands… fuck… her hands… “Fuck…” he muttered against the vein in her neck.

Her mouth pressed a hot, wet kiss to his shoulder, at the base of his neck, as she let out a low growl. As he met her motions, she could feel herself coming around him, the knot that had been wound so tight through confused tension all day released in a single instance that felt like forever.

He pulled her down with him after coming inside of her. He didn’t want to lose contact with her, with her skin, with everything, but he was also fully aware that the both of them needed to lay down, simply to cuddle and ride out their highs. “We should have done this years ago,” he eventually managed to let out and laughed.

She lifted her head from his chest to look at him and laughed as well. “Mmm yes. But which exactly? Listening to everyone about getting together or just the sleeping part?” Bella teased.

“I don’t know yet,” he mused as he toyed with a strand of her hair. “The sleeping part… I think we’ve got that down perfectly.”

“I think so too. Still early on the couple part. Jury is out,” she murmured lightly. “You might end up hating me and demanding a refund.”

“The jury’s still out on that, indeed and I would never want a refund, why would I want that?” He smiled at her. “You’re this pocket sized bag of fun that I want to keep in my life. Whatever happens, you’re not leaving my apartment for someone else.”

“Just your apartment Auggie?” Bella asked, looking for clarification as she moved to lean on her elbow.

“Or my bed… or me…” He kissed the top of her head.

“I think I can accept that,” she replied as she looked around. “We made one hell of a mess with the bed…”

“So?”

“So…I was hoping you weren’t planning on fixing it anytime soon,” she said suggestively. “Or this weekend at all.”

“I can live with that,” he smiled widely. “I can definitely live with that.”

Her eyes traced his face as her fingers begun to draw not so random paths over his chest as she thought about earlier that day, her feelings being declared before she even acknowledged them. “The only time we will leave the bed until work Monday will be for, hmm, bodily functions and sustenance…”

“Speaking of food,” he said with a slight chuckle. “I’m famished. And then… maybe dessert? In bed?”

“Sounds like a delicious plan. Do we have any chocolate syrup?” She asked devilishly.

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