"You don't have to go to bed yet," Easton said to Rosco as he came up from behind to join me in the doorway of the laundry room. The space between us was nonexistent, and he moved in so that my shoulder brushed against his lean muscled arm.
Rosco stood up at Easton's invitation and pushed between us to go back into the rest of the house.
Easton followed Rosco, and I was left wondering what the heck was going on. Had the two of them really just had a conversation? And was Easton not as weirded out by the fact that Rosco could totally understand us as I was?
Watching the way Easton was very normally looking around the living room and not scrutinizing the dog, I guessed he wasn't.
"Are you up for a game of two man?" Easton called back to me. Two man trumps was another one of the ways we'd bonded back in college. The rest of our friends used to get bored after a game or five, but Easton and I could play for hours on end.
"Sure," I said as I finally left the laundry room and joined the boys in the living room. I should’ve probably at least looked at the clock before agreeing so quickly—I was sure it was getting to be pretty late—but being around Easton made me not need sleep the way I normally did.
Rosco had made himself right at home on Easton's recliner, and I had to giggle as I watched Easton take it in. It wasn't like the recliner was the only place Easton sat; in fact, he usually chose a spot on the couch. But the recliner was one of the only pieces of furniture that Easton had brought from his last apartment, and it wasn't a spot I chose to sit in often so it kind of belonged to Easton. Easton seemed to be a little confused at Rosco's choice.
But as a small smile lit his face, I knew Easton approved before he took a pack of cards from our entertainment center and sat himself at our white kitchen table to begin dealing.
I sat down across from Easton and picked up my cards as I planned out a strategy. If there was one thing I didn't do well, it was losing to Easton.
Thankfully, I won the first game, but then I lost the second and the third. It was when I lost the fourth game that I became suspicious.
"You're cheating," I declared. I wasn't sure how or in what way, but he had to be.
"What? Seriously. Just because I'm winning?" Easton asked with wide eyes that looked a little too innocent. As if he were trying to appear guilt free.
"No. Because you're winning against me," I said, and Easton burst into laughter.
"See. I knew it. You're admitting guilt!" I said, and Easton continued to laugh.
"I'm laughing. I'm not admitting to anything," Easton said between his laughter, and I couldn't help but join him.
"You are. If you weren't cheating, you'd be so incredulous that I could accuse you of such a thing that you wouldn't be able to laugh," I said during my own laughter.
"No. I'm so shocked that you could ever accuse me of such a heinous crime that I have to laugh. It's either this or cry." Easton pretended to wipe tears from his face as his laughter grew even harder.
"Cheater!" I stood and pointed in a dramatic way that I knew would only serve to entertain Easton more. What could I say, I loved beating Easton. But I loved making him happy even more.
Easton stood as well and, before I knew what he was doing, lifted me over his shoulder, my butt in the air.
"Hey!" I called out as I felt Easton's body shake with laughter under me.
"You can't accuse me of cheating and get away with it," Easton said as he walked over to the couch and deposited me on said butt.
Easton plopped onto the seat beside me, and I had no choice. I scrambled onto my knees and got right in his face.
"And you can't cheat without paying the consequences," I said with so much righteous indignation that I didn't even realize how close to Easton I'd gotten.
Easton drew in a breath and suddenly I realized where I was. The breath he took in was the same one I'd just let out.
"Consequences?" Easton asked softly, no longer laughing at all.
I nodded, and it only brought our heads even closer, our noses practically touching, our lips barely a breath apart.
Easton met my eyes, and I saw it. He wanted to kiss me. After all of these years of not knowing, of never really hoping, he wanted me. The same way I wanted him.
My heart slammed against my chest, and I willed Easton to do it. Take that final bit of space between us and claim my lips.
A loud thud sounded, and Easton pulled away.
I stayed rooted to my spot for a few seconds too long, just hoping Easton would come back. But when my heart dropped—it knew before I did that the kiss wasn't going to happen—I finally turned to see what had gotten Easton's attention.
Rosco had hopped out of his recliner and was on his way back to the laundry room.
Easton jumped up and followed the dog's lead.
"I have an early flight in the morning. We're going to New Zealand. Last trip and video. Crazy, right?" Easton rambled.
It was only his rambling that kept me sane. Because Easton didn't ramble. That meant something had rattled him and I hadn't imagined what had happened between us. What I was sure was going to happen.
"Last trip?" I asked. I knew he was planning on retiring, but this was soon.
"I need to put all of my focus on the future. Besides, we're so far ahead on the channel that I have about ten videos backlogged. But I wanted to end the way I started. Bungee jumping in New Zealand," he continued, speaking too quickly.
"Your subscribers will love it," I said.
"I hope so," Easton said. Then he turned to look at me. "I should go to bed." He nodded to himself and then said, "I really need to go to bed. Good night, Josie."
I felt tears spring to my eyes, and I willed them away. At least for a few moments longer until Easton was safely in bed. I couldn't bear to lie about why I was crying to Easton. Because if he saw my tears, he'd ask about them, and heaven knew I couldn't tell him the truth.
"Good night, Easton," I said as he walked down the hall.
We were about to kiss. He knew it. I knew it. Even Rosco knew it. So why did Easton run away?
But my heart began to lift, and my mind struggled to catch up. Easton and I were about to kiss. Easton was about to kiss me. He wanted to kiss me. I saw it.
Maybe it hadn't happened that night—something had scared him off—but all it would take was a little patience. Easton wanted to kiss me!
Suddenly the tears evaporated and all was right with the world. Easton Price wanted to kiss me.
And he'd better watch out. Because when he got back from New Zealand, all bets would be off.
Chapter Six
I woke up feeling more determined than ever. Easton wanted me. And I wanted him. Something stood in our way, judging by the way he ran from our almost kiss. But whatever it was, it didn't stand a chance because I wouldn't let it. I'd tossed and turned for hours, too excited to calm down, before getting some restless sleep.
So even though I normally slept soundly, that morning when I heard Easton shut the door behind him as he left for New Zealand, my eyes popped open and I couldn't stay in bed. My bedside clock read six am—way too early for typical Josie since my job allowed me to sleep in most days. But I was so far from typical that morning. I jumped out of bed.