Page 65 of The Fire
“You’ve already called me Jesus, Parkie. I could have you calling me Daddy in two minutes if I applied myself.”
He grabbed a hank of my hair and tugged. “Nowwho’s competitive?” he demanded. But he didn’t deny it. He swallowed. “You do realize you’re going to have to give me a key to this place, right? If I’m living here.”
“Yeah.”
“Because I’m just a little bit concerned. I’d hate to have you throwing spears at me if I decided to make dinner or whatever,” he teased.
The thought of Parker making me a naked dinner…
“Parker?” I slid a hand up his back, feeling the ridges of his spine and the ripple of his muscles as he shivered.
“Y-yeah?”
“Shut up,” I said. I lowered my mouth to slide my lips against his and tangle our tongues together.
A long minute later, he broke away with a gasp.
“Is this what I can expect from you as a roommate?” he demanded. “Ending every argument by kissing the shit out of me?”
“We weren’t arguing,” I countered. “But… yes, probably.” I slid my mouth down to that one particular spot on his neck and grinned in satisfaction when his breath caught. “I find you particularly attractive when you’re annoyed at me.”
He laughed breathlessly and yanked my hair to pull me back. “Then it’s gotta be a minor miracle you managed to avoid mauling me for the past year.”
It was a joke, but also…
“Yeah,” I agreed seriously. “I’m thinking it kinda was.”
His expression softened and he ran a thumb over my bottom lip. “I thought O’Leary was driving me insane,” Parker announced, apropos of nothing. “But now I’m pretty sure it wasyou.”
I might have taken exception to that statement, but when he lifted himself up to kiss me and the sweetParkertaste of him exploded on my tongue driving every other thought from my mind, I realized that the feeling was decidedly mutual.
Chapter Nine
Parker
“Yes,Mom. I promise I’m fine,” I insisted as I drove Jamie’s truck toward the center of town. “I’m eating all my vegetables. I’m getting plenty of sleep. And it’s gorgeous here—sixty-two degrees today and sunny.”
It wassogorgeous, in fact, that I’d left all the windows open back at the house, to get some fresh air and vent some of the drywall dust that I was pretty sure was creeping into my pores. The sun was shining, and the breeze smelled like spring—green grass and growing things. Jamie had teased that this probably meant another blizzard was imminent, but I found that the threat of more snow didn’t dampen my spirits in the slightest.
One conversation with my mother, on the other hand…
My mother made a clucking noise with her tongue. “It’s eighty-two here. And sunnyeveryday.”
“Sounds awful,” I said honestly.
“They’re opening up a new strip mall right near our development. They’re putting in a couple of high-end shopsandan organic grocery store.”
I stopped at the crosswalk to let Janice Turner lead a group of kids with books tucked under their arms across the street from the library to the elementary school. I waved at a couple of the kids I recognized and grinned when they waved back.
“Awesome!” I said out loud. “You love high-end kale.”
“Parker, don’t joke,” she said severely. “Look, honey, I’m getting ready to go to lunch with your dad and a few other couples from our neighborhood. But you need to know… your poor father is having such trouble with his digestion. And his heart too. I'm really concerned—”
“Jesus Christ!” I heard my dad call from somewhere in the background. “Parker doesn’t care that I needed an antacid after breakfast, Beatrice. I’m fine! Now, shake a leg or we’ll be the last ones there!”
“We’re going to put that on your tombstone, Lance,” my mother yelled back. “Here lies Lance. He was fine.” She huffed out a breath and turned her attention back to me. “I need to know when you’re coming to stay with us. And,” she added, as if sensing I was about to speak, “don’t tell me you don’t know. It’s time to stop playing games in O’Leary and get a move on."
“I’m not playing games. I’m being responsible.” I pulled Jamie’s truck into a space in front ofFanaillebakery and cut the engine. “I told you what Silas said about the investigation.”