“I want to stay up,” she said in her sweet voice. “And I want to watch a movie with you. Sleep is overrated anyway.”
“Then cookies, cocoa, and a movie it is. Is my room all right? There’s a media room, if you’d rather, but it’s a public space. Anyone could wander in and decide to watch with us.” He mouthed the wordsmy motherand hoped she’d catch the idea.
She did. “Ah. Yes. Your room is fine. I’d hate to disturb anyone.” She mouthedyour motherback at him.
He flashed a grin. “I promise to be a perfect gentleman.”
“I don’t think you could be anything but, Gregory.”
“You never know.”
“Never?” One corner of her lips quirked up.
“Maybe notnever.” He returned her little smirk.
The kettle whistled. He decided it was as bad as a dinner bell, or perhaps as fortunate for his sense of professional propriety, and set about fixing the cocoa.
His rooms occupied the home’s master suite. Though he’d objected at the time they moved in, stating his grandmother should have these, she had insisted he take them instead. He had more need of the space, she said, and had left the implication that two people might live in those rooms someday unsaid. As he’d unpacked into the several-room suite, he’d found uses for the additional rooms and closets. A small, redundant office space. A few exercise machines.
A media setup, with a giant television in front of a soft, plush couch. Three gaming consoles sat on the rack beneath the display, waiting for him to blow off steam on any of the collection of games he kept there. Where the public media setup had a large movie library and plenty to view, this one was by far his favorite. Casual, unpretentious, ready for either gaming fun or total relaxation. Perfect for the beautiful woman in pajamas, with her mug of cocoa, her plate of cookies, and her bare, purple-toenailed feet.
“I made the right call coming here,” Hanna said, sounding impressed. “You’ve gotgamesin here.”
“Do you like games?”
“I love games! Especially that racing game there. Maybe you’d let me come play sometime.” She threw him a hopeful glance.
He nearly exploded with glee. “You can play anytime you want,” he said. “For the low, low price of bringing up a bowl of popcorn with you.”
“Deal.” She set the plate of cookies down on the coffee table in front of the couch, and her mug beside it. “Though maybe we should skip the adrenaline rush of games tonight.”
“You are a wise woman.” He set his own mug down, then leaned back into the embrace of the couch. He’d picked this one for maximum softness and the feel of sinking into it, and it never disappointed him.
Hanna could have chosen the place at the far end of the couch, far out of his reach, and he would have respected it. Yet she chose the spot just next to him, where their legs almost touched, and he could feel the warmth of her body radiating against his. It felt natural, two people close together on a sofa for a movie night, yet it also felt significant in ways he had to second guess for fear of reading what he wanted into the situation.
“What shall we watch?” he asked, as he called up his streaming service of choice on the television.
She pointed to one of the selections on the menu. “That one won a bunch of awards and seems to have a little of everything.”
“Then let’s give it a try.” He pressed the button to start the show.
Physics pay no attention to propriety. Compression of matter does not care about the social boundaries humans draw around their relationships. Within half an hour, the couch had conspired to settle downward, the cushions now flattened to their final shapes, until Hanna’s arms brushed against Gregory’s. An awkward position, one where either they needed to stand up and adjust their distance from each other or simply give in to the pull of gravity between them.
Gregory knew which he wanted.The one I shouldn’t have.Yet he cleared his throat and said, in his softest voice, “Hanna?”
“Hm?” She looked away from the movie to glance up at him.
“My arm is trapped between us. I’ve got two choices. I can move over, or I can put it around you. If you tell me to move over, I’m all right with that. But… I like being close to you, so I thought I should ask.” It sounded stupid to him, full of fumbling and awkwardness.
Her smile eased his fears. “You can put your arm around me. Do you mind if I lean against you? The couch is sinking, and I could move, but…”
But she likes being close to me.The urge to grin like an utter loon almost conquered him. “Don’t move. I think I might like it if you leaned against me.”
“Well. That was easy.” Though the little quiver he heard in her voice said it hadn’t been easy at all. No easier for her than it had been for him.
I understand why bosses are discouraged from dating employees. The imbalance of power is problematic, the potential for abuse is huge… And right now, I still want to hoist the middle finger at it.Mindful of his positioning, and where his hand rested, he draped his arm around her shoulders. As he did, she nestled up against his side, as warm and soft and lovely as he could have hoped.
Relief, elation, and the fiery thrill of arousal rushed through him. Every nerve in the places she touched lit up and felt sharper, more alive for her body against his.If this was all I could ever have, I would be happy. No matter how much more I wish we could have, if this was all we could ever be, I would be content.