Page 110 of Gracefully Yours

“Just a taste,” I begged. The sweetness of her body was like a drug, and I found myself addicted to the taste of her while I was between her thighs. Going down on her was heaven.

“You’reincorrigible.”

“Only for you.” I gave her a peck on the lips before slipping out of the bed, pulling on a pair of sweatpants, and heading downstairs to let Brownie outside.

When I came back, Charlotte was standing at the kitchen counter, staring at the bowl of pancake mix and the griddle she must have pulled out from somewhere.

“You good?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Oh! I, uh…” She blushed. “I’ve never made pancakes before.”

“Mm. I got it.” I wrapped my hands around Charlotte’s narrow waist, hefting her up onto the counter. “You can just sit there and watch.”

“But…” My girl frowned. “I was going to do this for you.”

“And this is for me,” I said, pulling a spatula out and pointing it at her. “Because feeding my wife is the hottest, sexiest thing I can think of.”

“Still,” she whined, still pouting. “It’s your birthday.”

“You can make it up to me later,” I whispered in her ear before rubbing our noses together.

Her eyes lit up with a spark, and she nodded.

I planned on cashing in on thatlater,as soon as we got upstairs and into the shower.

Because no matter what she thought, I already had everything I wanted this birthday.

Because I had her.

* * *

“Surprise,”Charlotte smiled, her grin taking over her face as she tugged my hand, pulling me into a ritzy, upscale swing dancing club in Downtown Portland.

“You did all this?” I blinked, seeing all our friends gathered around a booth in the corner, complete with their own dorky smiles.

“Mhm.” We kept our hands intertwined as we walked to our table, not wanting to lose the feeling of connection.

Char and I getting married seemed to have brought us all closer together, and I couldn’t think of a way I’d rather spend my birthday.

“Happy Birthday, man,” Benjamin said, shaking my hand and patting me on the shoulder. Angelina’s sudden embrace surprised me, but I quickly returned the rare sibling hug. We had always been close, but I couldn’t resist teasing her.

“Thank you,” I whispered in her ear.

“For what?” Angelina pulled away. “I didn’t do anything. This was all Charlotte.”

But how did I explain I was thanking her for everything? Without her, I wouldn’t have even had Charlotte by my side—as my best friend for all those years, or as my wife now. I owed it all to my sister, who hadn’t batted an eye when I fell in love with her friend. Sure, she’d huffed about it when we were younger—how all her friends always were crushing on me, getting close to her to get to me, but she’d never complained when Char and I spent countless hours sitting and talking in the dining hall, or sitting on my bed in my dorm and watching movies.

That she’d gained three best friends and yet I was always the fifth wheel, tagging along simply because Charlotte was there. And until Matthew, Benjamin, and Hunter had come along, I hadn’t truly felt my place at Charlotte’s side. But as I watched all the girls fall in love, and it had been even more clear to me I could never just accept friendship.

So I just shook my head. “For everything. Thanks for being the best sister I could have asked for.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She rolled her eyes, even though there was a smile spread across her face. “You’re a pretty great brother yourself.” She playfully punched me in the shoulder.

“Should we order some drinks?” Hunter asked, and the table erupted into cheers.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” I said with a laugh, and we waved a waiter over, quickly ordering a round for the entire table.

After we’d all sat around for a while, polishing off a few appetizers, the girls got up to dance, leaving the four of us guys sitting at the table, talking about construction projects and other work-related things. We might have all worked in different sectors, but it was still interesting to compare jobs.

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