Unable to keep back the giggle that surfaced when he screwed up his face, Rae let it pour out and stuck her tongue out once again. “People always think of nudity as a bad thing,” Rae mused. “Degrading, like you said. But there's something fun about looking at what people have made 'normal' and trying to sort of... push the envelope, don't you think?” she shrugged. “I don't know, maybe it's just because of what I used to do for a living.”
Rolling her eyes, she nodded her head. “You know, I've always felt like... someone has to do what we did, you know? The jobs are there and they pay well, so...” she shrugged and smiled. “Bluw collar work. Real work, you know? Not some cushy job that pays you to sit behind some desk,” like her father, she added inwardly, “but ones where you have to work for a living.” She always felt like respectable work was actual work.
“I'm glad you're getting so much joy out of my embarrassment,” she teased.
The way he was looking at her made her feel like she was the only woman in the world, and she never wanted it to end. She glanced at him under her lashes and let her smile turn into a grin. The silence was both awkward and comfortable, and that right there worried her. She'd only ever felt like this once before.
When his expression changed, Rae wondered if she hadn't been as good at covering her feelings as she'd thought. Part of her wondered if, maybe, he shared Brandon's opinion a little more than he was willing to admit. She pushed some hair behind her ear and nodded her head when he responded to her, and she swallowed thickly. “Yep,” she told him simply.
Her explanation, and his lack of reaction at first, had her worried. But then, he spoke up and told her that he cared about her, too. She felt her face light up and she had all she could do not to tackle him to the ground and kiss him right there, but she held back and shrugged her shoulders when he told her he didn't know how to classify things. “Do things need classification, though?” she asked him. “I mean... we don't live in a world where much can be classified anymore, right?” she added. “We enjoy each other's company, and I care about you a lot, something I didn't think I'd ever feel again. Maybe that's enough...”
Before she could say anything else, she leaned closer to him, placed her hand on his cheek, and kissed him. This time, there wasn't any hesitance. This time, she didn't hold back... because she didn't have to.