Page 26

Ridge

W hat I'm about to do is a complete shot in the dark. When Nina asked to sleep with me tonight my dick immediately perked up, but there's more to our relationship than discovering each other’s bodies.

I know what her tight pussy feels like when she's coming on my cock, but I don't know what she looks like when she's sketching anymore.

Does her tongue poke out every now and then?

When she's concentrating, do her eyes still squint at the page?

She used to scrunch her nose too. Will she mimic her younger self as her charcoal glides across the page?

"Calm down, man."

"Fuck off, Henry." Hoisting the box of all my art shit into my arms, I stomp up from the basement. Henry follows me with stacks of paper and canvases I was storing in the closet down there.

I drop the box near the foot of my bed, happy to have my room back again now that Meg and Will are driving back and forth from their home every few days.

Henry places his haul on my bed where I have a cozy nest made. I scowl at the complete lack of care he used when jostling the perfectly laid out blankets.

"Ridge, it will be great. Why do you look like that?" He points at my obvious frown, but I slap his hand away and remove the pile out of the nest and onto the box for me to organize.

"You fucked up the blanket." I tuck the corner in again so it resembles a messy circle blanket. Then I pull the green pillow in the shape of a flower toward me just a tad. "I had it perfect."

Henry looks at the nest, then at me. "It looks the same."

I shake my head. "Never mind. Maybe if you read one of those books she likes you would understand."

"What I understand is that Nina is going to love this little date set up no matter where you put that pillow." He crosses his arms. "Where did you get all this girly shit from?"

So, normally I would be annoyed by him saying a flower is girly, but it's far more than just the pillow. Sheer white sheets hang from the ceiling with soft twinkly lights weaved around them. My bed looks like a girl’s Pinterest board—Nina's Pinterest board actually—and the candle smells so sugary I'm going to need to blow it out soon.

I shrug like it's not a big deal. "Meg helped me. You can find a lot out about Nina's dreams on her Pinterest board."

Henry's jaw drops. "Give me it. The password, the username." I raise a brow. "Please," he grits out.

"The hell are you two doing?" Trevor enters my room looking so confused I can't help but snicker.

Then Kai walks in and outs us all. "Holy shit! How did you manage to recreate her Pinterest board?!"

Henry and I curse, knowing where this is heading.

"How do you know what her Pinterest board looks like? Did she show you?" Trevor looks thoughtful, but that's about to change.

"Uh, no," Kai stumbles over his words just enough to send my cousin's radar off.

"Meg gave him the login information," Henry tattles.

I whirl on him. "And you just asked for it too, asshole."

Kai clears his throat. "Uh yeah, I got it from Meg." We all narrow our eyes at him. "Fuck, fine. I was on her laptop and snooped when I saw the browser had it pulled up."

Trevor grumbles something about idiots disrespecting his woman's privacy, but all I can focus on is the ticking clock. Nina's going to be done with her video chat with her mom soon, so I need to get a move on.

"Alright, out! I have to finish." Shooing the three of them away, I hastily thank Henry for his help and add a slap on his back as punishment for tattling on me.

Kai says something to Trev about making Nina a permanent cozy nook which sounds interesting, but first I have to finish prepping for our date.

N ina's eyes are so wide I can see every sparkle of unshed tears. She's barely taken more than two steps into my bedroom. Stunned speechless is how I was hoping I could describe her reaction to the setup.

The nest is in full force with a charcuterie board and a bottle of wine. I have the blank pages and canvases laid out on my desk with the array of pencils and mediums artfully displayed around them.

I clear my throat, readying to pop my question. "Date me, Nina?"

"Ridge," she gasps out like my voice breaking through Taylor Swift’s quiet singing snaps her out of her daze. "We're already together."

I chuckle. "I know, Neen. But will you join me for this date tonight? I never asked, so this is me asking."

"Heck yes!" she squeals and rushes over to me. Planting a hasty kiss on my lips, she tries to dash to my desk, but I snatch her around the waist before she can get too far.

"More," I moan and lean down to lick the seam of her lips. She opens for me so nicely and presses her body against mine as our tongues battle for dominance.

Fuck, I love how confident she's becoming.

Reminding myself that tonight isn't about getting her undressed, I pull back. She pushes my glasses up with her pointer finger. What's the male equivalent to swooning?

"I love you," she whispers, mending all my frayed edges with her care.

I swallow and tuck her messy hair behind her ears. "I love you too, Nina."

She beams up at me. Her happiness makes my chest pitter patter extra hard. "What are we making?"

"Want to sketch with me?"

Nina frowns at my question and turns to look at the supplies. She steps away from me and does a spin with her brows still furrowed. Her eyes stop on the cardboard box that still has some supplies.

I watch as she glides over to it and drops to her knees. "Ah-ha!" she hoots and twists to show me some colored pencils.

"I'll accept your date if you do the color." Her pouty lips hold a soft smile, but her eyes show understanding.

I haven't worked with color beyond blacks and grays since Nina was taken from us.

But here she is, right in front of me, asking me to bring a part of myself back. "Okay, Nina girl. I'll do the color," I agree, my throat thick with a mixture of love and anxiety.

I think it's safe to say we both challenge each other.