and for a moment I thought I might have lost the call. But then I picked up his breathing—shallow—the sound of him swallowing, and I knew he realized how serious this request was.
“All weekend?” He was trying to gauge my emotions. He’d slipped into that slightly detached tone of his he used when we are doing a scene. Right now, the last thing I wanted was for him to slip into his Dom-space. I needed to talk to Gareth .
I realized my speech wasn’t going to work. If I didn’t change tactics quickly, I’d lose him.
“You make it sound like that would be a horrible idea.”
“Not at all—”
“Because really I just wanted to, you know, hang out. It’s like we haven’t had a chance to do that in a while.”
“Liz—”
“Well, we don’t have to if you’re busy.”
“ Liz. ”
“Yes?”
“I could use some time away from thinking about half-baked theories on The Importance of Being Earnest . Plus, I’m never too busy for you.”
Oh. God, he could be so sweet. “I was thinking that maybe we could do something a bit different than coffee or . . . other stuff.”
I smiled at the sound of his chuckle. “What do you have in mind?”
“IKEA.” It was that or the hardware store, and I didn’t want to give him any ideas for new play equipment.
“Is this about those bookshelves you mentioned?”
“Connie threatened to kick me out of the apartment if I didn’t get my collection under control. She and Stephen are going to Collingwood this weekend, so I thought it would be a good excuse to tidy up.”
“And you need help?” He knew I was deflecting, but thankfully he didn’t call me on it.
“I was looking more for company and the chance to hang, but if the idea of coming to my rescue will get you to tag along, then yes. Please, please, please, I need your help.”
“Cheeky.”
“I try.”
I don’t know why I thought this was going to be hard. Despite my tendencies to freak out for no reason, this was Gareth . Dom or not, we did connect on a level that had nothing to do with my enjoyment of him tying me up. Our friendship had taken me a bit by surprise at first, but we really did have a lot in common. It was the perfect foundation for a kick-ass relationship.
I simply had to make him aware of it too.
“What time are you thinking?”
I jumped to my feet and might have done a Snoopy dance. “How about six-thirty on Friday?”
“I’ll pick you up.”
“Awesome. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. You know I have a soft spot for you.”
We chatted a bit longer, but my mind was already on what I needed to do next. While I really did want to go to IKEA, I needed to make a few other purchases beforehand. I had every intention of making Friday night one he wouldn’t forget for a long time.
And if luck was on my side, maybe we’d be taking the next step in our relationship.
Or we’d be breaking up.
Only time would tell.
CHAPTER 8
“I think we might have destroyed my car’s shocks.” Gareth dropped the third of the large IKEA boxes onto the living room floor. “Was there anything else?”
His five o’clock shadow had come in, and I’d spent the better part of two hours trying to not stare. I knew he hated the scruffy look, but I thought it made him look amazing.
“Nope, I grabbed everything else.” I’d actually gone nuts with the shopping, not at all what I’d intended. But I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity either. I mean, come on . . . IKEA!
Gareth stood in the middle of the room, his hands on his hips, surveying the pile of boxes and scattering of bags. “I’m almost scared to ask if you want help with this.”
“Oh, would you?” I totally knew he would. “It would go a lot faster with two people and then I could spend tomorrow getting the books up and organized and Connie won’t hate me quite so much. I promise I won’t make you work the whole weekend either. I bought beer and we can watch a movie on Netflix later if you want.”
“All weekend?” He was trying to gauge my emotions. He’d slipped into that slightly detached tone of his he used when we are doing a scene. Right now, the last thing I wanted was for him to slip into his Dom-space. I needed to talk to Gareth .
I realized my speech wasn’t going to work. If I didn’t change tactics quickly, I’d lose him.
“You make it sound like that would be a horrible idea.”
“Not at all—”
“Because really I just wanted to, you know, hang out. It’s like we haven’t had a chance to do that in a while.”
“Liz—”
“Well, we don’t have to if you’re busy.”
“ Liz. ”
“Yes?”
“I could use some time away from thinking about half-baked theories on The Importance of Being Earnest . Plus, I’m never too busy for you.”
Oh. God, he could be so sweet. “I was thinking that maybe we could do something a bit different than coffee or . . . other stuff.”
I smiled at the sound of his chuckle. “What do you have in mind?”
“IKEA.” It was that or the hardware store, and I didn’t want to give him any ideas for new play equipment.
“Is this about those bookshelves you mentioned?”
“Connie threatened to kick me out of the apartment if I didn’t get my collection under control. She and Stephen are going to Collingwood this weekend, so I thought it would be a good excuse to tidy up.”
“And you need help?” He knew I was deflecting, but thankfully he didn’t call me on it.
“I was looking more for company and the chance to hang, but if the idea of coming to my rescue will get you to tag along, then yes. Please, please, please, I need your help.”
“Cheeky.”
“I try.”
I don’t know why I thought this was going to be hard. Despite my tendencies to freak out for no reason, this was Gareth . Dom or not, we did connect on a level that had nothing to do with my enjoyment of him tying me up. Our friendship had taken me a bit by surprise at first, but we really did have a lot in common. It was the perfect foundation for a kick-ass relationship.
I simply had to make him aware of it too.
“What time are you thinking?”
I jumped to my feet and might have done a Snoopy dance. “How about six-thirty on Friday?”
“I’ll pick you up.”
“Awesome. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. You know I have a soft spot for you.”
We chatted a bit longer, but my mind was already on what I needed to do next. While I really did want to go to IKEA, I needed to make a few other purchases beforehand. I had every intention of making Friday night one he wouldn’t forget for a long time.
And if luck was on my side, maybe we’d be taking the next step in our relationship.
Or we’d be breaking up.
Only time would tell.
CHAPTER 8
“I think we might have destroyed my car’s shocks.” Gareth dropped the third of the large IKEA boxes onto the living room floor. “Was there anything else?”
His five o’clock shadow had come in, and I’d spent the better part of two hours trying to not stare. I knew he hated the scruffy look, but I thought it made him look amazing.
“Nope, I grabbed everything else.” I’d actually gone nuts with the shopping, not at all what I’d intended. But I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity either. I mean, come on . . . IKEA!
Gareth stood in the middle of the room, his hands on his hips, surveying the pile of boxes and scattering of bags. “I’m almost scared to ask if you want help with this.”
“Oh, would you?” I totally knew he would. “It would go a lot faster with two people and then I could spend tomorrow getting the books up and organized and Connie won’t hate me quite so much. I promise I won’t make you work the whole weekend either. I bought beer and we can watch a movie on Netflix later if you want.”
Similar Books
