Page 38 of Kisses
Chapter 13
Sullivan
Lyla was quite restless last night. I can only assume discussing her mother’s passing stirred up a lot of emotions in her. To be frank, she really did keep it together when she told me. I am still in shock that she is linked to what I am currently researching. What are the odds? It sounds like she has first-hand experience of a grieving family from that horrible tragedy. I wonder if she would be willing to give a small statement for my book. It would be very impactful for the readers to hear a victim’s family member discuss that day. Clearly, she knows a lot more about the topic than I do. The best part of all of this is that she is writing her paper about it. The emotions will be there. I cannot wait to see how the words flow. It’s exactly what I want from her. I know it's going to be great.
I crawl out of her bed and head out of her bedroom. I take the stairs down to the living area to head to the kitchen. I open the refrigerator to see if she has anything worth cooking up for breakfast. She has some eggs. I look around the cabinets to see if she has anything else. Probably not. She’s a college student. They live on quick and easy food. I find a pancake mix in one of the cabinets. That’s simple enough. Next step, I look around for a pan, bowl and whisk. Once I find what I am looking for, I mix up the ingredients according to the directions on the box. While the pancakes are forming, I go on to make a pot of coffee. Once the coffee starts brewing, my attention goes back to the pancakes. Bubbles form on the top of the pancakes. I flip them.
A faint voice asks, “What are you doing?”
I turn to see Lyla. Her curls are everywhere. She is wearing little shorts and a Nebraska shirt. She looks absolutely adorable. I head over to the coffee pot and grab a cup for her coffee. I ask, “How do you like your coffee?”
She rubs her eyes and says, “Just black.”
I smirk, “That’s impressive.”
“Why does everybody say that?”
“Because black coffee puts hair on your chest.”
She glares at me and questions, “Are you serious? It is too early for jokes.”
I pour her a cup of coffee and walk up to her. Her behind is resting on the end of the counter. With her coffee in hand, I lean toward her to give her a kiss. Her glare is no more. Those beautiful blue eyes start to dance. Her hands caress my face, and we kiss. A little bit of coffee spills onto her. Lyla starts to laugh, “You should probably set the coffee down.”
I chuckle, “It’s probably not a bad idea. But I can’t help myself.”
“With what?”
“I just want to give you kisses.”
A faint smile appears across her face, and she asks, “Lots of kisses?”
Goodness, she is being cute.
I answer, “Lots and lots of kisses.”
We both laugh.
Lyla comments, “What’s that smell?”
Fuck! The pancakes!
I quickly turn around to the stove and see that our pancakes are more than ready for consumption.
I huff, “Fuck.”
She laughs, “It’s okay.”
“I was trying to do something nice for you this morning.”
Lyla grins, “What do you want?”
I laugh, “Just to see that smile on your face.”
“Meh. Not the answer I was looking for.”
I turn off the stove and serve the pancakes on a plate. I walk over to her and comment, “First, we have breakfast.”
She starts to giggle. Then it hits me. I don’t know what it is about this woman, but I could fall hard for her. It's too late to back out; I am in too deep.