Page 62 of Inside Out
“More than I realized. It didn’t take her long to recognize my attraction to you. She looked up your photo on the internet and began hounding me about taking chances.”
“When?” Rome asked.
“When what?” I wasn’t following his question.
“I want to know when you first mentioned my name to your mom,” he explained.
“The first day we met.” I smiled at his stunned reaction.
“I know you said you felt the attraction that day, but I’m surprised you mentioned me to your mom.” Rome chuckled. “You were sure good at hiding your reaction. You looked like you couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”
“I was in a hurry to get away from the way you made me feel. I was already overwhelmed by the sudden changes occurring in my life, and there you were, making me feel breathless and stuff.”
“And stuff? What kind of stuff?” I quirked a brow in response. “Okay, this isn’t the place to have this conversation. Maybe these little lunches aren’t such a good idea.”
“We’ll learn to behave. I heard that delayed gratification is an excellent form of foreplay.” There I was causing trouble after I had lightly scolded him for doing the same thing.
“Eat!” Rome said, pointing to my plate. “You haven’t taken the first bite.”
I wanted to close the door and nibble on him, but instead, I picked up my rectangle of pizza and took a bite. It was surprisingly good. I forked a few bites of my salad in my mouth then recalled the first night I went to Rome’s house for dinner. I chortled as I remembered the way his face flushed from embarrassment.
“I know damn well what you’re thinking right now,” he said, pointing at my salad with his fork. He was trying to look and sound stern, but his quivering lips and the humor glinting in his eyes gave him away. “I swear these kids only create their secret language to make the rest of us look stupid. You’ll have to ask my sister about the time I learned what ‘Netflix and chill’ really meant.”
“Oh no,” I said. “I’m not waiting until I meet your sister to hear all about it.” I pointed my plastic fork at him. “Let’s hear it.”
Rome groaned. “You’re going to think I’m an old fool.”
“Rome, you’re not old and you’re definitely not foolish. I want to hear the story.”
“We have a family dinner at least once a month, and we rotate houses so one person isn’t doing all the work. One particular visit to Ashley and Ben’s, I announced I was going home to Netflix and chill. My oldest niece, Lauren, said ‘good for you, Uncle Rome.’ I didn’t understand why rushing home to binge-watchMiss Fisher’sMurder Mysteriesearned such high praise from her, but I liked that she thought I was cool.”
“Uh oh,” I said, sensing trouble.
“Yeah,” he agreed huskily. “So, I said as much as I liked to Netflix and chill, I would prefer to find a nice guy to join me. The look on her face. She was horrified and said, ‘TMI, Uncle Rome.’ I was thwarted by a language that might as well be foreign to me.”
I couldn’t contain my laughter if someone offered me a million dollars. Luckily, Rome laughed right along with me instead of getting pissed. How could he not? It was fucking hilarious.
“But wait! There’s more,” he said, sounding like an infomercial. “At my old high school, one of the boys bragged to his buddies in the hallway that he received a hummer the night before, and I heartily congratulated the kid and gave him a fist bump. It was much later that I realized he was talking about getting a blow job and not a new SUV.”
“I…can’t…” I laughed until I gasped for air and tears ran down my face.
“Do you realize we spend as much time laughing together as we do anything else?” Rome asked when the laughter started to fade. “It’s so wonderful I’m not even mad that it’s at my expense most of the time.”
No one affected me the way he did. I laughed harder, my heart beat faster, and my senses were heightened until he was all I could taste, feel, see, and hear. Just him. I cupped his handsome face and stroked my thumb over his square jawline. “There’s nothing I would change about us, Rome. Nothing.”
He leaned into my touch, closed his eyes, and sighed. It felt like he truly believed we could have something real and sustaining for the first time. When he opened his eyes, I knew I was right. No doubt. No hesitation. Only soul-deep gratification. “Me either.”
My watch buzzed when my timer went off. I’d set it before I came over with lunch because getting lost in his eyes was a big possibility.
“That’s my cue to head back.” I started to put my plate back on the tray, but Rome stopped me.
“Either finish eating your pizza here or eat it on the way back to class. I’ll take the tray back to the cafeteria because I have more time than you do.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” he replied with a firm nod. “Wise people told me I’m as prepared for this meeting as I’m going to be because all I have to do is speak from the heart.”
“That’s what I want to hear,” I told him.