I watch the peephole and see the shadow move across it and I smile. She’s been good about checking it since I warned her, and it seems she listened.
“Hey, Bear,” she says, and the way she says my name makes my stomach feel warm. Like eating chocolate chip cookies before bed. God, I miss sugar.
“Hey doll face.” She beams at me, and suddenly I feel shy.
“I was wondering if you wanted to come over and eat food?” I say, but then realize that sounds dumb. “Are you hungry?” I’m terrible at this.
“No, I’m good,” she says, but right then her stomach rumbles so loud that we both laugh. “I mean, maybe? Yeah, I guess I could eat.”
Reaching out, I take her hand and pull her from her apartment. “Come eat with me.”
For a second she hesitates and bites her lip. Then she nods and closes her door behind her.
Chapter Three
Pepper
Bear shuts the door behind me and I look up at him. I have to crane my neck back when he’s this close, but the view is incredible. My breath hitches when he leans in, the heat of his body brushing against mine. I freeze, thinking he’s going to kiss me, and instinctively I part my lips. Desire and panic swirl together as he gets closer, but when I hear the click of the lock behind me, I realize he was only reaching for the door. But he doesn’t lean back right away. Instead he holds my gaze and I see flecks of green in his dark eyes.
“I made cupcakes,” I blurt out. I don’t know what else to say. His proximity makes me dizzy and I can’t make my brain work right.
He reaches up, dragging his finger along my jaw. “I can see that.” I see the pink frosting on the tip of his finger, and I hope he finds my lack of cleanliness adorable instead of gross.
“I might have made a mess, too,” I admit.
My kitchen looks like icing exploded everywhere. I forgot to turn the beaters off when I lifted them out of the bowl. By the time I managed to locate the switch, everything in its path was covered.
I watch as he brings his finger to his mouth and licks off the sweetness. A tingle runs through my belly and down between my legs as I think about what it would feel like to kiss him.
“That’s your sugar limit for the day,” I hear someone shout from behind Bear.
I can’t see, but Bear blocks out everything around him. It’s not lost on me that he’s all I see, because it’s nothing new. For the last few weeks he’s the only thing in my vision. We’re always running into each other, and we both sort of say hello awkwardly, since neither one of us talks much. I swear every time I open my door he’s standing there. It doesn’t help that when I lie down at night and close my eyes he’s headlining my dreams, too. I keep telling myself I’m not attracted to him, but it’s not working. My thoughts turn into fantasies that I’ve never had before and all of them feature my obsession across the hall.
“Shut it, Rico,” Bear says, turning around. It’s then I realize he’s still holding my hand as he pulls me into his apartment.
“Hi, Rico,” I say, introducing myself.
“Hey, doll face.” Rico winks at me.
“Don’t fucking call her that.” I can feel irritation mixed with anger coming off of him and I try and pull my hand from his. Reluctantly he lets it go and I take a step away from him.
I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t googled him after Tasha told me who he was. My curiosity got the best of me. He’s a trained fighter and after watching some of his videos in the ring, it wasn’t surprising to learn he’s never lost a match.
“Ignore him.” Bear’s voice is soft when he talks to me, and it’s in complete contrast to how he spoke just seconds ago.
“It’s all right, he’s all bark.” Rico comes to stand next to Bear. “I just like to fuck with his emotions.” He wraps a playful arm around Bear as he grins from ear to ear.
Bear elbows him hard in the ribs and Rico grunts. He keeps on smiling as he drops his arm and goes back into the kitchen. I relax a little when I see how playful he can be. It’s a side I didn’t imagine Bear had.
“I know I’m big, but there’s no need to be scared of me.” He reaches out and tugs on my long braid and I think that he must like doing that. It’s sweet, and I kind of like that it’s a becoming our thing.
“Come in and have a seat. I’m going to jump in the shower real quick.”