“That would have probably taken us four years,” I correct him, and he turns to look at me, smiling.
“You’re probably right. Now where do you want it?”
“Back against that wall.” I point to the only wall in the room that doesn’t have an angle to it, and he picks it up and carefully puts it in place. “Thank you for helping me out. If I had been on my own, I probably would have tossed the whole thing over the deck and had a bonfire with it.”
“Good thing I came to the rescue then,” he says, then he pulls out his phone and looks at the screen. Knowing what’s coming and that he’s about to leave, I pick up our plates, which are still sitting on the coffee table, and take them to the sink. “It’s late. Do you feel like ordering something?”
My body, which I didn’t know was tight, relaxes and I turn to face him.
“Sure.” I shrug like it’s all the same to me, when it isn’t. “I have a few menus.” I open one of the drawers in the kitchen, and he shakes his head.
“Nah, I know a place. Do you like Italian?”
“What woman in their right mind doesn’t like Italian?” I ask as my answer.
“Right.” He puts his phone to his ear, and I listen to him place an order then give my address without having to ask me for it, which I can only imagine must come in handy with his job. As soon as he’s done, he puts the phone back in his pocket. “We have about an hour, maybe a little longer, before the food gets here.”
“Cool. Do you want to watch a movie or something?” I ask, going to the couch and picking up the remote, and I turn on the TV that hardly ever gets used, since most of the time I’m reading or listening to music if I’m home.
“I actually need to make a few phone calls. Do you mind if I step outside for a bit?”
“Sure.” I nod, and he touches my waist with the tips of his fingers as he walks past me to the door.
Stepping out onto the deck, he shuts the door behind him, and I watch him put his phone to his ear. Seeing his phone, my mind goes to Kelly. She hasn’t returned any of my phone calls in the last few days, and even though she has a tendency to disappear for days at a time without so much as a text to let me know she’s okay, I still worry every time it happens.
Going to my room, I find my cell in my bag, put it on the charger, and wait for the Apple icon to pop up on the screen. Then I wait for the phone to turn on. As soon as it does, I see I have three texts from my mom, all of them asking how my bag hunt went this morning, and one from my dad reminding me that I need to book my ticket to go home to surprise my mom for her birthday, but nothing from Kelly. Sitting down on my bed, I snap a picture of my new purse and text it to Mom with It went awesome. Then I send a text to my dad letting him know I already bought my ticket and when I will be arriving. With that done, I toss my phone on the bed and change into one of my lounge-around-the-house outfits before I head to the living room, where I wait for Sage to finish his calls and our food to arrive.
Sage
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. My chest heaves and I pull in a deep breath, trying to get my breathing under control and my heart rate back to normal. I didn’t expect this to happen. Not yet, anyway. But after Kim and I ate, we were sitting there talking and she laughed. It was at that laugh that I leaned in and kissed her without thinking, and then one thing led to another and we were taking off each other’s clothes like it was a fucking race to see who could get who naked first. I won, and fuck me, I thought she was beautiful fully clothed, but she was beyond that when she was laid out completely exposed to me.
Lying back, I drag her with me and soak in the feeling of her weight settling against me, her hot, wet pussy pulsing around my cock and her soft hair falling against my chest. Wanting to keep her right where she is, I tighten my hold. Never fucking ever have I had this with any other woman, a connection that defies logic and time, a connection that makes me question every fucking thing in my life.
“I’m too heavy.” She tries to move off me, and my grip tightens even more as her words whisper across my damp skin.
“You’re not, so don’t even think about moving,” I growl, feeling her body tense against mine. “Please,” I add quietly, running my fingers through her hair, and she relaxes.
Placing a kiss to the top of her head, I wrap my hand around the back of her skull to keep her in place. My whole life, I’ve been hearing about the boom. When I was younger, I thought it was bullshit, some crazy story my dad and uncles made up to tell me and the boys in my family. But as I got older, I thought that if by some chance that shit was real, it was a good thing I was adopted, so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. Now, after meeting Kim, I’m wondering what the hell is going on.
Listening to her breath even out, I feel her body relax against me, letting me know she’s fallen asleep. Carefully moving her so I don’t wake her, I get up and head for the bathroom to get rid of the condom and grab a washcloth. I walk back into the room and find Kim in the exact position I left her in. After cleaning her up, which is something I have never done for another woman, I toss the rag toward her laundry basket in the corner and get back into bed.
As soon as I’m lying next to her, she turns toward me and cuddles into my side. That’s when I notice the stars above me through the skylight over the bed. Lying here with her warm weight against my side and her soft skin under my palm, I fall asleep thinking she’s right; it does feel like you’re sleeping outside under the stars.
Waking to the sound of soft music playing in the distance and the smell of bacon, my eyes open to a view of gray skies. Getting up on an elbow, I look down and find my jeans and shirt both folded and in a neat pile on the floor. Grabbing my cell out of the front pocket of my jeans, I hit the screen and see it’s just after eight.
Once I’m out of bed, I pull on my jeans and head out of the room where I find Kim in the kitchen. Her back is to me, and her mass of hair is tied up in a high ponytail at the top of her head, showing off the elegant slope of her neck. Taking her in, I notice she’s wearing a pair of shorts with flowers on them and a tank top to match that she put on at some point when I was making a call before dinner arrived. Without thinking, I head right for her and rest my hand on the side of her waist then curve it around her stomach, pulling her back into me feeling her shiver.
“Hey.” Her eyes come to me over her shoulder, and her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink.
“Morning.” I lean down, kissing the exposed skin where her neck and shoulder meet. “You got an extra toothbrush?” I ask, and her eyes go soft in a way that I know I could get used to seeing every day.
“No, but you can use mine. I don’t mind.” She shrugs.
“All right.” Touching my lips to her temple, I give her waist a squeeze then head for the bathroom. Coming out a few minutes later, I find her cracking eggs into the pan she just fried bacon in, and as soon as I’m close, she turns her face toward me.
“I don’t know…” She pulls in a breath then lets it out slowly. “I don’t know how this works,” she says, turning around completely, and I stop a few feet away from her. “I mean…” She lets out another huff of air. “I don’t know if you want to eat or if you just want to go.”