Page 50 of Crash and Burn

I cleared my throat and broke our gaze.

"Want a drink?" I asked him as I began to make my way to the kitchen.

Grant reached out and grabbed my hand before I could go more than a few steps. I turned to face him.

"I don't want things to get weird," he said.

"They don't have to be weird," I told him. "But we need to talk."

He let my hand fall from his. I returned to my initial mission and went to the kitchen to grab two glasses of water. Beer or wine might have been more appropriate for a conversation like this, but I didn't tend to keep alcohol in the apartment. I was surrounded by it every day and got as many free drinks as I wanted. Why bother buying it myself?

When I exited the kitchen I saw Grant crouched down on the floor next to Mittens and her food bowl.

"Who's a good kitty?" he cooed at her as he ran a hand down her fluffy back.

"Not her," I spoke up. "She's a demon."

Mittens lifted her chin and Grant obeyed her silent demand for neck scratches. She purred loudly. I snorted.

"If she likes you so much, maybe you should take her off my hands for me," I said.

"You know you love her," Grant replied.

"There's a fine line between love and hate," I quipped.

"Is there?"

Grant stood up and brushed his hands off on his jeans. He came over to me and took one of the glasses of water from my hands. Our fingers brushed, his warm from petting Mittens and mine chilled from the glass.

The contrast sent a shiver down my spine. The phantom touch of his hands all over my skin was so vivid I could almost imagine we were back there tangled among the silk sheets. My fingers tingled where he had touched them.

"You wanted to talk?" His lips curved into an amused smile. "Should I be scared?"

"No," I said. "It's just..."

Now it was my turn to be at a loss for words. I suddenly understood how Grant had felt all those times when his brow lined with frustration and he struggled to speak.

"What does this mean for us?" I finally blurted out.

Grant cocked his head at me.

"It can mean whatever we want it to mean," he said.

"There's too much history between us," I said. "We need to talk about what this means. How things are going to be from now on. What we just did… was that just a—"

I stopped. I didn't want to say it. I didn't want to risk making the thought real by speaking it out loud.

"Are you asking if this was just a one-time thing?" Grant said.

I nodded silently, my heart in my throat. His whole expression softened.

"Liz, do you know how long I've wanted you like this?" he asked.

My heart fluttered in my chest.

“Then why didn't you ever say anything?" I asked.

"Why didn't you?" he said easily.