Page 55 of Mine To Keep (Southern Wedding)

He presses accept, and I wait for us to connect before his face comes into view, and I see he’s in the same position I’m in. “Morning,” I say again, looking into his eyes as I place the phone on the pillow beside me.

“Morning.” He smiles at me, and I see he’s not wearing a shirt.

“Are you shirtless?” I ask, and he points the phone so I can see he is, in fact, shirtless, and the covers are at his hips, showing me just a bit of his boxers. “Hmm,” I say, “I like it.”

“Glad you approve,” he says, his eyes twinkling. “Let me see what you’re wearing.”

“I thought you would never ask,” I reply, trying to be seductive but then stopping when I hear Meadow calling his name.

“Dadddyyyyyy,” she sings and shouts at the same time, “I’m up.”

“Ugh,” he pouts, “cockblocked by my own daughter.” I can’t help but laugh.

“I guess this means I’ll talk to you later,” I say, a little twinge of jealousy that I’m not able to share his morning with him.

“Yes,” he says, tossing the covers off him, “dinner tonight, my place.”

“Um, sure,” I respond. “I have a family thing this afternoon, so I can text you when I’m done with that, and we will see.”

“Okay, beautiful,” he says as he walks down the hallway, the sound of Meadow’s voice coming closer and closer, “let me see if I can find a sitter and I can take you out.”

I smile, and as much fun as that sounds, I just want to be with him. “I don’t know,” I hesitate. “I was kind of digging making out with you and hopefully getting you N-A-K-E-D.” I spell out the word instead of saying it out loud, just in case he’s close to Meadow and she hears.

“That sounds much better than what I wanted to do. I’ll call you later.”

“Sounds good,” I reply and hang up the phone, tossing it to the side. I turn back over and try to go to sleep, but instead all I keep thinking about is Caine and how crazy this week has been. Monday night he showed up and went down on me while my class was in session. It was the hottest thing in the world. It took everything inside me not to scream out. After that night, we would sneak out over lunch for a couple of minutes of making out. But yesterday, he said he was going out for a meeting and to take the rest of the afternoon off. What he didn’t tell me was he was going to be following me home, where he spent the rest of the afternoon making me scream over and over again. My nipples get tight when I picture him spreading my legs on the couch and burying his head between them. “God, that man.”

I pull out my phone and text him.

Me: You left me hot and bothered.

I toss the covers off me and head to the kitchen to make myself coffee, seeing that it’s just after seven thirty in the morning. My eyes burn from tiredness. I stayed up until close to two last night, making sure I finished all my homework for the weekend. Knowing I had the birthday party for Cici today, and then hoping I would spend the night with Caine and hopefully have tomorrow to sleep.

I’m walking back to my bed with my coffee in my hand when I hear my phone beep. Sliding into bed, I pick up my phone and see it’s a text from Caine.

Not Batman: I promise to take care of you tonight.

I smile, getting into bed and taking a picture of my shoulder after I pull the strap down from it to tease him. I attach the photo with a little winky face.

Me: Promise or else you’ll watch me take care of myself.

I grab the remote from the side table and flip on the television before the phone beeps again. This time, I see he’s sent me a picture of him dressed in shorts. His hard-on cannot be missed.

Not Batman: How am I supposed to make pancakes like this?

I giggle to myself, ignoring that little pang of sadness that I don’t get to share this with him. I’ve never woken up with him or even spent the day with him. I’ve also never dated anyone, let alone a single dad. So, I know I have to make a few sacrifices, and maybe some time down the line, I can go over for pancakes.

Me: Want me to kiss it better?

The three dots come up right away followed by an angry face emoji.

Not Batman: That is not helping.

Instead of answering, I send him three kissy face emoji and then put the phone down.

I catch up on my 90 Day Fiancé before it’s time for me to head out to the birthday party. I slip on a pair of tight jeans and a white T-shirt, with matching white sneakers, tucking the front of the shirt into my jeans. I comb through my hair, thinking about maybe pinning it up when I opt to grab a baseball cap that Matty gave me for Christmas.

I put my phone in my back pocket before picking up the big, boxed gift I ordered for her before walking out of the apartment. Plugging in the address before taking off, the drive is smooth on a Saturday afternoon. I pull up seeing the balloons in the air, and then seeing kids running around. “This must be it.”

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