Page 54 of Once Upon a Beast

“If you keep looking at me like that, our breakfast is going to burn,” Nic said as he flipped our eggs

“I’m sorry,” I replied immediately

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’m more than willing to let this breakfast go if you are.” He gave me a knowing look. I opened my mouth to speak but my stomach grumbled and Nic laughed. “Maybe later we can test out just how sturdy this countertop is.”

“Really?” I asked breathlessly.

“Vivid imagination, remember?” he said as he turned off the stove.

“I remember.” I stood up and took my plate he offered me and walked to the kitchen table.

Nic and I had shared numerous meals together, too many to count. But this one felt different and it was. It was different to look across from him and know I had seen him naked, that his mouth had licked and sucked every inch of me the night before. I blushed as I thought about him doing it all over again and on the kitchen counter of all places.

“What are your plans for the day?” Nic asked as he ate his eggs.

It was so comfortable to be with him, I didn’t think about what he wanted or meant by the question. I answered honestly. “Uh, I hadn’t gotten that far. I probably have some errands I should do. I might call my father and see how he’s doing. I haven’t heard from him in a few days.”

“He’s in Long Island working with a new candidate,” Nic said.

“Of course, he is,” I said with a smile. “Does that mean he’s given up on you running for any office?”

“I wish, but no. I don’t think he’ll ever give up. If he had his way, I would be running for president in ten years. But my life is here in New York. There’s still a lot of work that I want to do here and I can’t do that if I am in politics.”

“What is your next plan?” I asked.

“I want to help build some community centers in the economically impoverished areas so that the youth have a place to go instead of the streets. I want to start programs that give them access to tutors and other programs that will teach them skills and allow them to succeed. I want to help the businesses in the area get loans if they want to make upgrades and improve the community.”

“Is this you wanting to help the underprivileged or is this a way for you to make some money?” I asked.

“Why can’t it be both? I can get the loans, which will help the business. If the business does better, then the community does better and everyone wins.”

“And you make money while looking like you’re helping others. Two things you care about.”

“You know me so well,” he said and took a bite of bacon.

“I’m getting there. We have a lot of lost time to catch up on.”

I didn’t mean to bring our day down by talking about the past, but it would always be there between us. I wanted to make up for what we lost. I wanted to spend as much time with Nic as I could.

Nic pushed his plate away. “You can’t begin to imagine how sorry I am for that. I hate that we were apart, I hate knowing that it was my fault. I want to do whatever I can to make up for it.”

“That was my thoughts exactly. What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“Well, as you recall, I do have a vivid imagination.” He stood up and walked towards me. I turned in my chair and looked up at him as he put his hands on the side of my chair. His eyes were intent on me as he said. “How much do you need to do those errands today?”

I hoped I understood what he was getting at and I looked away from him as if I contemplated his question. “It would be good for me to get them done. I have been putting them off,” I said.

“Can you put them off a little bit longer?”

“Why?” I asked innocently. “What do you have in mind that I do instead?”

Nic leaned forward and brought his mouth inches from mine. “I was hoping I could convince you to spend the day with me.”

“I’m not sure if I should. What would we be doing?”

He kissed my nose and then moved his mouth to my ear as he whispered. “I thought we could do something that I know you love and if you were given the proper motivation, you could do it all day.”

My body tingled at his words and how his breath felt next to my neck. I liked how he was teasing me, how he was drawing out the moment. “What is that?” I asked.