Page 140 of Honey Pot

“I’m going to kill Ella.” He laughed into my hair as I tilted my head up to the big screen at the far end of the field only to see our faces framed in a kiss cam heart. Embarrassment rushed to my cheeks, but his fingers found my wrist, brushing against the bracelet mindlessly as I hid my face and tried to catch my breath.

MATTHEWS

Once the game was over, the Hornets taking it by one single run scored by Dean in the last inning, Cael dragged me by the hand down the packed corridors. Bobbi and Momma huddled near where Ryan Cody hovered, protecting them from the rush of players and parents pushing around in the small hall.

“Honeybug.” Momma reached out to Cael, pressing her palm to his cheek and smiling at him. “You’ve gotten so big.” She looked him over with tears in her eyes. “Rainey would be so proud of you,” she whispered to keep from a full-on waterfall.

“I missed you too, Mrs. Matthews.” Cael leaned into her touch and closed his eyes for a brief moment, like he could feel something the rest of us couldn’t. “You’ll come find me before you go home?” He asked her and she smiled at him with a small nose scrunch.

“Cael this is—” I went to introduce him to Bobbi.

“Bobbi.” She held out her hand to him, which he gave her after he untangled his fingers from mine with a scowl. Bobbi stared him down for a long moment., “I’m the best friend who picked up the pieces you broke her into the first time so if you do it again…”

Cael put his hands in the air. “I promise.”

Bobbi took that as enough, but I turned to look at him. Cael Cody had never made a promise he didn’t keep. Even fighting against outside forces, he kept his promises. That was when he made them. His eyes caught mine for a moment, and I could see how serious he was, the feeling catching in my throat like a cotton ball.

“No one is going to object if I steal Clementine for a little while?” He asked, his hands wrapping around my waist and pulling me against him. No one said anything, and Cael took that as leave to move me along, only stopping to scold Ella for meddling but pulling her into the most weighted, caring hug I’d ever seen.

Cael kissed my temple as he spun me away from her before I could say anything and continued to take us further away from all the noise and celebrations.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Ella called to us as Cael led me away from all the noise.

“That leaves so much room for activity, Peachy!” He yelled over his shoulder at her, and his grip tightened on my hand as he weaved through bodies unapologetically until he broke out of the pack of bodies into an empty hallway.

“Where are we going?” A burst of tiny nervous laughter left me but the answer was quick to come as he led us into his Dad's office and locked the door behind me.

His arms trapped me against the door, and his lips found mine for the second time. I curled my fingers into the band of his ball pants and tugged him flat against my body as his lips parted to allow room for my tongue. Cael smelled like sweat, sand, and gummy bears; it filled my nose and made me dizzy. A tiny vibration of pleasure left my throat as his teeth grazed my lip and my back arched into his touch. He groaned against my mouth as he lowered himself further into the kiss and wrapped an arm underneath me.

“Come closer,” he grumbled as the kisses became sloppy as our noses brushed and tongues tangled together. I shook my head at his request when I was already melting against him, with no space to move.

“Cael.” I kissed him again, trying to get him to come down from the clouds.

“Clem,” he groaned back in protest.

My body lifted into his arms and I wrapped my leg around his waist as he walked through the office to the couch. Lowering carefully so I was in his lap, he pulled back and stared up at me with messy hair and kiss-bitten lips. Only a sliver of the sky was visible in his lusty blown pupils and his brows pinched together softly as he properly looked at me in private, just the two of us again.

“You came back,” he said with a small voice as his hand brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear.

“I’m sorry it took me so long,” I whispered and kissed his jaw tenderly, reveling in the way his body tensed under my delicate touches.

“No,” Cael ran his hands over my hands. “No, no.” His eyebrows scrunched together. “I’m glad you took your time, Clem, I would have waited forever. I told you once I would die loving you, I meant it.”

“I would certainly hope not.” I pouted, and he surged forward to take my bottom lip between his teeth. “I hated that I made you sad.” It came out in a whisper as his eyes traced mine. “And for the stupidest reason. I never should have gone back to Texas. My home isn’t there. It never has been.”

I pressed my hand against his chest to feel his heart racing beneath my palm.

“It’s right here. Wild as ever.” I kissed him again.

“What about Julien?” He asked, his shoulders tense as he broke the kiss.

”He wasn’t impressed but—“ I laughed under my breath, pressing our foreheads together as his hands raked up my back and gripped me close to him. “There wasn’t a single time when his kiss erased the memories of you. It wasn’t fair to him, it wasn’t fair to us.”

He gave me a sweet, sympathetic smile. “Good to know my declaration left a lasting impression.”

“Stop.” I gripped his chin playfully. “I wasn’t sure if you’d even want to see me again… It was so easy to crawl into bed and pretend like the world didn’t exist. I was scared, Cael. I’ve never been so scared of anything in my entire life. I thought I would have time to adjust, and see you from a distance or something. But in true Cael fashion, you barrelled through that door and back into my life. I never stood a chance against you. Not then or now.”

He watched me with those big blue eyes and listened so intently my heart wanted to claw its way out of my chest just to be closer to him.

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