Page 35 of Something to Someone

“I came by to—” my mom began but whipped her head in my direction. I was already hidden, but I scooted even farther back. “Oh, shit,” she whispered loud enough that I could still hear. “I’m interrupting, aren’t I?”

“A little.”

“Okay, just text me later,” my mom said, and there was a lengthy pause before I heard her receding footsteps. I chanced another look around the door and saw Caroline disappear into the entryway. When the door closed, I allowed myself to breathe normally again.

I stepped out of my hiding place and smiled at Caroline’s irritation. Her dark-blonde brows were drawn together, and her hands were balled into fists at her sides. She brushed right past me.

“Oh, come on, don’t you think?—”

She shushed me and walked into her bathroom then into her closet. I followed her and watched her open the blinds of a small window that looked out to the front of the house. Peeking over her shoulder, I watched my mom step onto the porch of my childhood home.

Caroline immediately relaxed and leaned back into me when she disappeared inside. Shocked by the display, I didn’t let that impede me from wrapping my arms around her waist and nuzzling into her neck. She smelled delectable, as always, but wearing my shirt, she also smelled like me and a wave of possessiveness I hadn’t foreseen came over me.

“That was really freaking close,” she muttered.

“Too close.”

She was silent, and I worried that she was getting lost in those spiraling thoughts again. So, I did what I could to combat them, brushing her hair over the opposite shoulder and kissing down her neck. Her shoulders started to shake, and I reared back. My first thought was “oh, fuck,” and my second thought was that I couldn’t imagine Caroline crying. Of course everyone cried, but it felt contrary to what I knew of Caroline for her to display that kind of emotion.

I gripped her hips in my hands and spun her around. She lifted her hand to her mouth, and I quickly realized she was laughing not crying. Her eyes were scrunched adorably, and she was trying to contain her laughter, but eventually it burst free. The sound bounced off the walls in the small room, and I couldn’t help but join in—it was contagious.

By the time I was able to stop laughing, my abs hurt as did my cheeks. I straightened and wiped the few laughter-induced tears gathering beneath her eyes.

“I have no idea where that came from,” she said, resting her hands on my chest.

I brushed my thumbs over her cheeks and took a deep breath, still trying to catch my breath. “Lots of emotions bubbling to the surface,” I guessed. Caroline’s smile slipped just enough that I knew she agreed.

But I didn’t give her a chance to dwell on it. I leaned forward and slanted my mouth over hers. Sweet, willing lips met mine, and somehow, I managed to keep the kiss chaste even though all I wanted to do was scoop her in my arms and fuck her into her bed.

She licked her lips and stepped back. “Umm…well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

Neither of us had eaten enough during the tasting for it to be considered a full meal, and I had missed breakfast. Being edged within an inch of my life also worked up an appetite. “Yeah, I’m starving,” I said. “Are you cooking for me?”

“Ehh,” she muttered and walked past me, grabbing a pair of shorts from a shelf but not bothering to switch out my T-shirt she still wore. I smiled and followed behind her, shirtless and happy.

She strode down the hallway and beelined for the kitchen. Flipping on the lights, she didn’t stop until she opened the fridge. Across the kitchen, I leaned my forearms on the marble bartop and watched her.

“Is this your usual MO? Invite someone over, make them crawl across your bedroom floor, tie them to your bed, edge the ever-loving shit out of them, and cook them a big hearty meal afterward?”

She turned with a few ingredients in her hands and kicked the fridge closed with her foot. “Actually,” she said, setting everything on the counter and heading toward the pantry. “I usually kick them out.”

My eyebrows shot to my hairline which she noted when she walkedout of the pantry with another few ingredients. “So, I should consider myself lucky then?”

She shrugged. “Yes, but anybody I let in my bed should consider themselves lucky.” Arranging the food in front of her, she shot me a smirk that made blood surge below my waist.

“No fucking doubt, pretty girl.”

“And,” she continued quickly, “for the record, I’ve never made someone crawl to me before.”

I covered my heart with my hand and feigned like I was touched. Although I did enjoy the idea that she’d done something with me that she’d never done with anyone else. What the hell, I felt special.

“I feel so special, ba—babe?” I caught myself before I called her “baby,” but the word came out more like a question.

She rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her lips. She opened her mouth to say something more but stopped. Reaching forward, she grabbed her phone and looked down at the screen.

“I—uhh—I have to take this. Do you want to start washing the veggies?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” I said, taking her place in front of the counter as she jogged outside.

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