Will You Accept This Rose?

13. Nothing

When Tim walked through the front door of the Bachelor Mansion, Lucy held her breath. She missed him like he was an organ or an appendage that without him inhibited her ability to properly function, and she had just seen him the night before. It replayed in her head over and over again how she kissed him goodbye twice. She held his gaze for one last second before getting out of his car. She could still taste him on the tip of her tongue during that evening's headcount. And yet, Lucy missed him all night when she slept in her own bed without him, and as she watched him enter the mansion, she had every intention of running into his arms, but all of the other contestants were waiting for him as well; they were all vying for his attention, too. As she hung back in the corner of the living room, she still had one tiny moment locked onto his eyes. A moment that was just Lucy and Tim and no one else. A moment that made her nerves tingle. A moment that caused her yearning for him to vanish.

But no moment can last forever.

His one on one date, Grace, walked down the stairs, ending their moment.

Lucy's eyes tracked her as she went over to Tim. They exchanged a smile and quiet greeting, and then they walked out of the mansion with their arms linked. She tried to recall if she had ever linked arms with Tim or if that was something else he shared with another contestant and not her. It seemed impossible to try to compete with a Barbie liked Grace who was also kind and a brilliant Emergency Room doctor. Lucy found it hard to eat the entire day, because firstly, no one was serving her Tim's homemade lasagna, and secondly, she kept thinking about her boyfriend on a date with someone else. The boyfriend that enraptured her with every kiss the night before. The boyfriend that made her giggle when he nibbled on her most sensitive spots. The boyfriend that kept his fingers intertwined with hers every second their tongues were tangled as they were laying in his bed together the day before. No other contestant had experienced that side of Tim, Lucy reminded herself.

Still, it was a relief when the date was over and Tim dropped Grace off at the front door of the mansion. Lucy watched them say their goodbyes from the window. Grace was wearing a long white gown standing next to Tim in a suit, and they looked like the couple on a wedding cake topper. Seeing them together brought on yet another stomach ache that only eased when she spotted Tim catching her eye through the glass.

He barely tilted his head in the direction of the back of the mansion where they always snuck out together to ensure he got the chance to see Lucy. Tim gave one last tight smile to Grace then drove over to meet up with the only woman he actually wanted to see. It was like a prayer had been answered when Lucy finally appeared before him. "Hey, baby," he murmured.

She grinned for a split second when she saw him alone, but then her face faltered and kept her hands at her sides. "I had to wait to sneak out until after headcount. How was your date?" It pained her to even ask.

Tim took a large step forward and shook his head. "Nothing happened."

"Really? NOTHING? With Dr. Barbie?"

He scoffed. "I like Officer Hot Pants more."

"Officer Hot Pants?" She repeated, confused.

As he reached out to put his hands on her hips he confirmed, "Yeah, because you're a cop, you're hot, and I like taking your pants off."

"You can't call me that."

"Why not?" His hands slid down lower until his fingers splayed across the globes of her ass.

"Tim!" She threw her arms around his neck even as she pretended to object to the cute nickname that made her blush.

"Wanna come over tonight? We can take turns taking our pants off." He tugged at the waistband of her yoga pants. "We'll start with yours."