Free The One Girl by Laurel Curtis

slowly came down and opened my eyes to see hers on me.
    She was as alluring as ever and looked like she might have even been willing to go for another round, but I was fucking wiped.
    “Come here, Baby.”
    She pulled herself off of me carefully and crawling on her hands and knees, moved to snuggle into the crook of my arm. I flicked the covers over us as I murmured, “You wore me out, so we’ll shower in the mornin’. You good to sleep like this or you gotta clean up?”
    As I said this, I realized the lights were still on, moved the covers back off of us, got up, moved to the light switch, switched them off, went back to the bed, got in, and pulled the covers back over us again.
    In answer, she snuggled closer and threw her leg over my thighs. I guess she was good to sleep like this.
    “Love you, Babe.”
    She turned her head, kissed my chest, and whispered, “Me too.”
    I was asleep seconds later, but I dreamt that she added, “More than anything, Tuck. Crazy how much.”
     

Chapter 7
Poisonous Snake
    The next morning I woke up to an empty bed. My arm shot out but all I felt were cold sheets.
    Closing my eyes again and focusing my ears, I listened so that I could hear if the shower was on or not.
    Nope.
    Groaning, I cracked one eye open again and confirmed that, indeed, the bathroom light was not on. I guess she wasn’t in there.
    Where the hell was she? She wasn’t normally up before me, let alone, gone, leaving a cold bed and dark bathroom behind.
    Foolishly, I got up on an elbow and looked around the room. It was like I was expecting her to magically appear or something. I leaned back and covered my face with my hands, trying to make my brain wake up.
    After several moments, finally able to process rational thought, I decided I was going to have to get up and look for her.
    Expelling a deep, grumbly sigh, I threw the covers off, shifted my weight up to sitting, grabbed my jeans off of the floor, and pulled them on commando. Zipping them up just enough to cover myself up and make sure they didn’t fall off, I headed down the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen.
    What I saw when I got there made my step falter.
    “Am I dead? I must be dead, right?”
    Right before my eyes, Talie, the woman I loved, the woman with no domestic skills whatsoever, was cooking breakfast.
    “Don’t be an asshole, Tuck. It’ll ruin the taste of the bacon.” She smirked and popped a piece of nicely cooked, perfectly crispy bacon into her mouth.
    I tried not to be an asshole, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around the improbability in front of me.
    “I’m sorry, but the Talie I know does not cook. And she most certainly doesn’t cook well.”
    Unless. “You been pullin’ a fast one on me the whole time? You know how to cook, but you just pretend not to so that I’ll do it?”
    I thought only men did that.
    “Geez. It’s just breakfast, Tuck. I thought I’d do something nice for you.”
    She looked like she might actually be a little offended so I moved to do damage control by rounding the island, coming up behind her, putting my hands to her hips, my lips to her ear, and murmuring, “Sorry, Babe. Just surprised. ‘Preciate it.” I gave her a kiss on the neck and went to move away, but added, “Though, I’d rather wake up to a warm bed with you in it than a warm breakfast.”
    Her face softened and she smiled at me just as Kayla walked in.
    “Holy sweet Jesus, Hotman. You look good with no shirt on.”
    Talie’s eyes narrowed on her sister.
    Crap. I had kind of forgotten we weren’t alone in our own house. I met Talie’s eyes and muttered, “Gonna go get dressed, Babe,” before turning and heading back to our bedroom.
    ********
    After taking a quick shower, I had pulled on some clean jeans and was in my closet to grab a shirt to put on.
    Instead of rushing in, grabbing a shirt, and getting out, I took in the mixing of my and Talie’s few belongings. I couldn’t help but notice how right it felt.
    As