A breathy laugh left her lips, one had tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear when it fell in her face. Lottie knew that Chris would love her whether she had thousands in a trust fund or pennies to her name, but the teasing just made her giggle. He was one of the least materialistic people she knew, and it was such a breath of fresh air compared to most of the people she spent her time with. They were vapid and vain, they thought about the money first, but it wasn’t like that with her boyfriend. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t tease him, though, a mockingly affronted look on her face as she clicked her tongue. ‘’Oh, I knew it. You don’t think I’m pretty, you think the sex is subpar, and you’re just here for the cash. Golddigger.’’ She listed the things on her fingers, unable to keep a straight face for long before she laughed. Mostly, the idea of their sex life being anything but mind-blowing was just amusing.
The way he looked at her never failed to make her heart skip a beat, and there was a soft look in her hazel eyes as she gazed up at him. It shouldn’t have been a novelty to be able to kiss him in her living room, but it was. The most he’d seen of her house was through their Facetime calls and they were limited to her bedroom, or outdoors like she’d done in the Summertime occasionally, and that did make her sad. Lottie had immersed herself in his life as much as possible while only one of his friends knew about them, but she hadn’t been able to let him do the same and she worried desperately that he’d come to resent that soon enough, or that it would at least bother him. These small opportunities were ones she would grab with both hands, even as her hands lingered against his shoulders, his own on her waist. ‘’I missed you too.’’ She returned gently, squeezing his arms as she allowed her hands to slide down, away from his body.
Reaching for his hand, she hummed softly and tugged him out of the living room, towards the kitchen. Lottie had planned on ordering take out, probably a pizza, for them to share that night but she had a feeling he’d probably enjoying the solid oak countertops and appliances that they had in the kitchen. ‘’Shall I just point out all the horizontal surfaces that I’m hoping we can christen in the next 24 hours?’’ Lottie spoke with a grin, giving his hand a squeeze as she led him along, room by room.
As he watched her tease him with all the possible non-reasons he was with her, he had to bite back a smile, finding it cute that she managed to play along with his jokes so naturally. He appreciated that she knew him well enough to read his jokes, knowing that she trusted him more than anything. He felt nothing but love for Lottie, and as she listed every reason on her finger, all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her, lift her up, find his way through her maze of a mansion, and throw her onto her bed. Combined with the novelty of being in a new environment, he was compelled to give her another kiss before parting with her just long enough to get a tour of her house.
He took her hand and followed her into the kitchen, his eyes continuously shifting around to take in the space as much as he could. His eyes were drawn to the countertops, noticing how everything was practically covered in some expensively polished stone. He could imagine himself cooking in this kitchen so freely, and he was tempted then to start rifling through their fridge and their cabinets to see what they could whip up, his thoughts a product of his love for making food and from the fact that he was slightly hungry, only having gotten off his shift less than an hour ago before coming over. He was pulled out of his reverie when she spoke then, his brows furrowing as he glanced back at her. “Wow, you are a fiend, Charlotte Baker, but you don’t have to worry. I’ve already noticed a few places of interest,” he answered coyly before giving her hand a squeeze.
He started to follow her out of the kitchen, and his eyes fell onto the hallway, which was littered with pictures of the Baker family, mostly of Lottie and her parents sans her sister, who Chris only knew about from stories. “Speaking of places of interest, where’s your room in this whole scheme? Also, how many rooms do you guys have? This place is just so big,” he noted, starting to ramble off his thoughts, “Is there a hidden room? Do you guys have a secret room? A secret hallway to connect those secret rooms?”