#SampleSunday: Treets

This sample is copyrighted, unedited, and subject to my fickle mind making changes prior to publication...

xoxo, 

Nicole

&&&

Karim and I were cuddled up on the couch watching Law and Order like every other Sunday. At the commercial break, he wandered into the kitchen in search of something sweet. I had baked cookies for PJ’s teammates, but was so distracted by the whole “meeting each others families” thing that I’d forgotten to grab them to take to the game earlier. I had also baked some special cookies for myself since I was trying to cut back on smoking. I told Karim to grab the red container from the counter near the stove, which held the cookies I’d made for the kids. The others were in a custom cookie jar that Devorah had made for me. It was in the shape of a tree house, with the words Celena’s Treets etched on the trunk of the tree.

Karim walked back into the room, wolfing down a cookie with two more in his hand. He had a worried expression on his face as he chewed.

“What’s with the face?”

“You said you have your Master’s right?”

“Uhhhh…yeah,” I replied, puzzled at where this line of questioning was going.

“You know treats is spelled wrong on your cookie jar?” he asked.

“Are those cookies from the cookie jar?”

“Yeah…”

“How many did you have?” I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.

“Just this one…”

I jumped up grabbing the other two out of his hand and walking back toward the kitchen to put them back.

“Hey! I was gonna eat those!” he exclaimed, right on my heels as I walked back into the kitchen.

I placed the cookies I’d swiped from him back in my jar, and then walked over to the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen, where the red container sat clear as day.

“Where did I tell you the cookies were, Karim?”

“In the cookie jar.”

“No I didn’t. You weren’t listening, were you?” I asked, grabbing the container I’d initially told him to get the cookies from. “This,” I said, holding it up, “has the cookies I told you to get.”

“What’s the difference? A cookie is a cookie is a cookie.”

“You really think I don’t know how to spell the word treats?”

“Well obviously you don’t if…oh my God. These are weed cookies, aren’t they?”

I nodded once, biting back a smile as Karim groaned loudly.

“Seriously?”

“I told you to look in this container, Karim. It’s not my fault you went full on Cookie Monster on me and tuned out everything I said after cookies in the kitchen.”

“You can’t just have weed cookies out on the counter, babe. What if PJ had opened the cookie jar?”

“PJ wouldn’t have opened the cookie jar because he knows that those cookies are only for Te-te Cel. Te-te’s hardheaded boyfriend would know that too if he listened to her when she spoke.”

“I do listen when you…wait…boyfriend?” Karim smirked.

“I mean you finally gave up the dick or whatever, so I guess you earned a title,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

I hadn’t planned on it, but Karim had wormed his way inside. I honestly thought that he could be someone that I would be cool with, the occasional fuck buddy. But somewhere along the way, I grew to enjoy his company and how I felt when he was around. It probably had to do with the fact that he withheld sex from me for so long, so I had no choice but to get used to his presence. But my gut was telling me that Karim was a good guy, so I rolled with it. I certainly didn’t think I’d be calling anyone else my boyfriend this soon after a breakup, but stranger things have happened.

Karim strolled across the kitchen, pulled me into his arms and drew me into a slow, sweet kiss. My eyes closed as soon as our lips met and I savored the faint hint of chocolate still left on his lips. He pulled back from the kiss after a few minutes and asked, “Exactly how high will this damn cookie get me?”

“Does the name Neil Armstrong mean anything to you?” I asked, giggling.