‘So you’re okay with it?’ Kayden stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans, appearing anxious. His brown hair still has drops of snow in it and his cheeks are red from the cold, and I just want to throw my arms around him and hug the crap out of him again.
So I do.
‘It’s perfect,’ I tell him, squeezing him tightly so he’ll know just how happy I am. His arms circle around me and we share our first hug in our very first home. ‘But I have to make sure’ – I slant back and tip my chin to look up at him – ‘that you’re okay with this because we’ve only been talking about it and then all of a sudden you get a place, and I just want to make sure that it’s what you really want because I don’t want you to feel pressure or anything. I can wait if I need to.’
He snorts a laugh, and when my brows knit, he says, ‘Sorry. It’s just that you kind of sounded like a teenage guy right there trying to convince his girlfriend he’ll wait to have sex with her.’
My cheeks heat, but I start to think about if he ever used that line on Daisy and my elation sinks. But then I realize that it doesn’t matter what happened with Daisy because he and I are here and he’s mine now, not hers.
‘You want to show me the bedroom?’ I give him my best come-hither look that probably comes off more along the lines of looking confused. At least, that’s what I think until his eyes drink me in and he bites at his bottom lip hard.
‘You’re starting to get a dirty mind.’ His smoldering gaze and husky voice sends warm tingles across my skin.
‘It must be Seth’s influence on me.’ My voice is off pitch. ‘Sometimes, it’s like he’s still going through puberty.’
Kayden shakes his head, laughing softly under his breath. ‘All right, no more talking. Let’s go show you our bedroom.’
We’re about halfway across the living room before our lips connect and the clothes start coming off. Shirts are discarded, shoes are kicked off, and we end up leaving a trail of clothing to the bedroom. It’s a little chilly in there, but I don’t care. Kayden can keep me warm, which is exactly what I tell him as we sink to our knees on the tan carpet and I yank his belt off.
‘We should do this every night,’ he says, unhooking my bra and pulling it off. ‘Only in a bed.’
‘No way. We should totally do it on the floor,’ I mutter between the kisses he’s showering me with on my lips, the arch of my neck, the spot where my heart beats.
He mutters something else, but trails off as my fingers skim down his chest to the top of his jeans. Flicking the button undone, I slip my fingers into his boxers and he groans, biting at my skin.
‘Callie …’ The sound of my name in that raspy voice he uses covers my arms with goose bumps. I become impatient, more than I ever have been before. It’s crazy, but the last few weeks have been intense, and I can feel myself changing, becoming more comfortable with myself and who I am with Kayden, so I let my hands wander downward and grasp onto his hardness, something I’ve never done so boldly before.
‘Fuck …’ He uses that tone again and I seriously can’t take it anymore. I’m about to rip his jeans off, literally tear the fabric to bits, when I hear a door open and close from somewhere inside the apartment.
We both freeze, panting for air as we kneel in the center of the room, half naked, our hands grasping at each other.
‘Did you hear that?’ I whisper, my eyes darting to the door.
Kayden nods, his lips parting, but he’s cut off by the sound of a voice.
‘Hello, lovebirds,’ Seth calls out. ‘Are you in here?’
Kayden and mine’s eyes widen at the same time. Then suddenly we’re scrambling to get our clothes, but it’s pointless since we both left our shirts and shoes somewhere between the living room and the hallway. My bra is nearby, though, so I get that on while Kayden does the button of his pants up.
‘What should we do?’ I whisper. ‘My shirt’s out there.’
Kayden shrugs, still looking high on the moment. ‘Ask him to hand the clothes to us.’
I wrap my arms around myself. ‘He’ll make a lot of jokes,’ I warn.
‘He’s already going to make jokes,’ Kayden states, giving me a sexy half smile. ‘So we might as well go face the music.’
‘Knock, knock, knock,’ Seth says as he raps his hand on the shut bedroom door. ‘Oh, Callie darling, I found something that belongs to you, I think.’
‘Oh, leave her alone,’ Greyson says. Then the door cracks and he sticks his arm in with our shirts in his hand. ‘Here you guys go.’
‘Thanks, Greyson.’ I take my shirt and hand Kayden his before I put mine on.
Once we’re both dressed, we go out together and face the music.
‘What are you doing here?’ I ask as we walk into the living room.
Greyson’s looking around at our kitchen and Seth is observing the small patio attached to the living room through a sliding glass door.
‘I came to see how things went,’ Seth says, turning to face us. ‘And to see if you guys wanted to go have dinner and celebrate.’ He takes in the sight of us; messy hair, wrinkled shirts, and my zippers undone. ‘But I’m guessing it went well, considering how hot and bothered you two look right now, thanks to my interruption.’ He flashes me an unapologetic grin.
‘We can go,’ Greyson tells me, taking Seth’s hand and pulling him toward the door. Greyson’s always been the more level-headed of the two and tries to keep Seth intact when he can. ‘In fact, we should go and give you two some privacy.’
‘No, it’s okay. We were finished anyway.’ I don’t mean for it to come out how it sounded and I feel a little embarrassed.
‘You were?’ Kayden cocks an eyebrow. ‘Because I wasn’t.’
My embarrassment doubles and I playfully swat his arm, hoping it’ll divert everyone’s attention from my blushing.
‘It’s okay. We can go get dinner,’ Kayden says through his chuckles then his gaze fastens on mine. ‘We can finish later.’
All three of them laugh and I should get even more embarrassed, but I find myself calmer than anything. Because this is what life is about, I think. Moments like these.
Right now, everything is perfect.
Chapter 16
#103 Keep Trying to Outrun Your Demons.
Kayden
The next day I have a game. I’m excited and nervous and afraid, but that’s how it always is for me. There’s always a list of things I could mess up on flowing through my head and a list of things I can do not to fuck up. But sometimes I just wish I could get the lists to stop and just play, because I love the game.