As if he’d needed summer to be even MORE excruciating , Joe had spent the past couple of weeks losing water weight in Cairo with his brother . Even the muggy air at the terminal had been a welcome reprieve when he’d arrived back at JFK , if only for a short while . But the true silver lining was all in the timing . He recalled , with a pang of guilt , the sorrowful blue eyes that pleaded with him when she called her move in ❛ statue ❜ . But now … ❝ Sure , no problem . I can wait . ❞ he held back from grinning into the receiver just in case his voice had some kind of tell ( it WAS Bess , after all ) . ❝ … I mean , no , but I don’t have to . Try living with the guy . BUT , Ned’s a simple man . All he wants is a tall glass of milk and a cute girl who sticks around long enough to share it with him , ❞ he stated , snickering at his metaphor . There was probably a nugget of truth in there , but who knows ?
❝ Oh , sure , I’ll … ❞ his heart leapt at the sound of the latch at the door , and in an instant , his cheeks almost hurt too much with that megawatt grin for him to finish the sentence . Not that he needed to . He dropped the phone to his side to extend his arms , and like his own personal magnet , she was sucked into his tight embrace. DEFINITELY worth falling off that ATV . While she was still in his arms , he leaned in to kiss her , the fruity scent of the hair tickling at his cheeks drawing a small grin from him . Finally , he could say he was home . Joe set her down , but they remained close as if making up for the miles and oceans they’d spend apart , foreheads touching at the center . ❝ Side guy , huh ? ❞ After a moment’s peace , he straightened , still beaming . ❝ I mean … I can leave if you want –– ❞ He turned as if he was prepared to leave without taking a step . ❝ We ended up finishing early ! I mean , originally , we were going to stay longer and maybe look at souvenirs , but you know my heat tolerance is like ZERO . ❞
her hands instantly find their way to intertwine into his, and she leans into his forehead as if it’s second nature. he’d been around for a total of three minutes and her cheeks already hurt like hell. a small price to pay. “pfft,” bess says with a laugh, using her grip to keep him in place as he teases her while playing along to her joke. but, just to tease him back, she adds, “statue.” with raised brows, she watches him freeze, and with yet another smile ( god, how many of those can cross her face? ), she nods, pleased. “good.” she leans forward and presses another kiss onto his lips while she’s got the chance. “okay, unfreeze,” bess says, and then gives him another quick peck. just ‘cause. “aw, man, so no souvenir? not even a keychain?” bess asks with a pout, to really sell it. “i guess i’ll forgive that, just this once.” still not letting go of his hand, she motions for him to follow her inside, and she leads him to -- where else? -- the kitchen. “oh, i know. but don’t worry, here at chez moi, we have every frosty, cool snack you can think of to get you back on track. what’s first on your agenda, now that you’ve made it back to me --- i mean, new york?” she’s not even ashamed of that slip up.
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