Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
MATT
I kissed the top of Chelsey’s head, breathing in her ever-present sweetness and tucking her more firmly under my chin. “How are you feeling?”
“Great,” she replied, snuggling closer.
My tummy rumbled and I ignored it. Even two months after we’d agreed to date again in secret, I couldn’t get enough of holding her in my arms. There wasn’t much I’d prioritize over wrapping my body around her and touching as much of her as I could manage.
After missing her for so long, there was no chance I was going to take it for granted that I was allowed to be with her. Every second together was a blessing.
I closed my eyes and reveled in the feel of her so close to me, her skin silken and warm, her scent enveloping me and lingering on the bedsheets.
I loved how much she’d made herself at home in my house.
Her toiletries were in the bathroom, her clothes in the wardrobe, and she’d begun keeping another toothbrush next to mine because she spent so many nights in my bed.
Part of me worried that the reason she was so often at my place was to keep me out of her apartment—and therefore keep me at an emotional distance—but hopefully, she’d learn to trust me eventually.
At least she’d told Layla the truth, and I’d survived our first interaction with all my body parts intact, although Layla did threaten to make me a eunuch if I fucked up. I’d expected nothing less.
I drifted for a while, half-asleep, until Chelsey’s stomach growled loudly. I blinked myself awake and tried to clear the mental fog.
“I’ll make some breakfast,” I murmured, starting to ease away from her before pausing to kiss her cheek. “We just burned off the last of yesterday’s energy, after all. We need to stay fueled.”
“Okay.” She sat up and ran her hand through her glorious mane of hair. “But let’s shower first.”
I nodded, only too eager to be naked in the shower with her.
Fortunately, it was Saturday and we both had the day off, so we could laze about as much as we wanted to.
I had a couple of bruises from my last game that I didn’t want to aggravate by working out and she’d apparently told Layla not to expect her home anytime soon, so there was no reason to go anywhere else or do anything else.
I was a little smug about how willing Chelsey was to spend time with me. Hopefully, after a while, she’d consider making her home here with me, although I knew that wouldn’t happen until I completely won her trust. We were making progress on that front, but we weren’t there yet.
Chelsey swung her legs off the side of the bed, and I watched her walk out of the bedroom, admiring the sway of her hips and the fullness of her ass. My dick stirred, but it had been well-satisfied already that morning, and I doubted it would be up for anything until later in the day.
When I reached the bathroom, Chelsey had already started the shower and had her hand beneath the water, waiting for it to heat up. She turned to me and smiled, and my insides fizzed and bubbled. God, I adored that smile.
“Have I told you I love your bathroom?” she teased.
“Only half a dozen times.” I checked to make sure there was a pair of towels available for us. “I’m starting to think you’re using me for my bathtub.”
She laughed. “The tub is pretty great, but the shower is too. There’s so much room.”
“Gotta have a good shower.” Despite being a professional athlete, I hadn’t been particular about many things when buying this house, but having a good bathroom was one of them.
Maintaining my body in peak condition mattered and being able to enjoy a hot shower with excellent water pressure or soaking in a tub went a long way toward helping with that.
Apparently deciding that the shower was warm enough, she stepped under it and allowed it to soak her hair. I brushed my teeth while I waited, knowing I wouldn’t get any water until she was done.
When she lathered shampoo into her hair, I joined her and grabbed the soap before she thought to reach for it. Carefully, I soaped her from top to bottom, taking plenty of time to make sure she was thoroughly clean.
“Turn around,” I murmured, and she presented me with her back. I washed it and then used the soap to lessen the friction as I rubbed the knots out of her shoulders. She sighed and relaxed into my touch, her silent display of trust lighting me up in ways she’d never know.
“I need to rinse my hair,” she said reluctantly.
I backed away and made quick work of soaping myself up as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair, squeezed water from it, and massaged in conditioner.
I took advantage of her distraction to rinse myself off and quickly wet my hair.
I lathered it with shampoo, washed it out, and had begun to explore her body all over again when her stomach rumbled a second time.
I drew away. “I guess we’d better feed you.”
She smiled wryly. “That’s probably best. I’d hate to have to eat you instead.”
My dick began to fill. “I wouldn’t mind.”
She rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh. I bet you wouldn’t.”
Despite my urge to take her straight back to bed and bury myself in her again, I got out of the shower and toweled myself dry while she rinsed the conditioner out of her hair.
I considered waiting for her, but it would take her a while to finish up.
I didn’t know exactly what she did with her hair, but there was quite a process.
Backtracking to the bedroom, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then went to the kitchen and started brewing coffee.
I got out a cutting board and sliced a selection of vegetables.
I added mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes to a grill and then put a pair of pans on the stovetop and added a few strips of bacon to one.
Into the other, I cracked eggs, added a little milk, salt, and pepper, and stirred it all together.
By the time breakfast was cooking, the coffee was ready and the kitchen smelled like caffeinated goodness, so I poured two cups and added hazelnut creamer to Chelsey’s.
She padded into the kitchen wearing yoga pants and a silky blouse and made grabby hands at the coffee. I passed hers over and she blew on the surface, sipped, and moaned appreciatively. “So good. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.”
She looked adorable, so I kissed her forehead. Something sizzled behind me, so I hurried over and turned the eggs, which were almost cooked.
She looked out the window. “It’s going to be a beautiful day.”
I followed her gaze. The small back lawn was covered by a crisp layer of white, but the sky above was blue and the sun streaming through the glass was warm even though the air outside was probably chilly.
“Maybe we could go for a walk,” I suggested. I wasn’t feeling particularly athletic, but a stroll might be nice. Wasabi stalked into the kitchen, walked straight over to me, and mewled plaintively. His battered ear twitched and his tail jerked from side to side. “Oh, shit. I forgot to feed him.”
No wonder the little guy was upset.
Chelsey put her cup down. “I’ll do it. One serving, right?”
“Yeah. He’ll beg for more, but if you give it to him, he won’t actually eat it.”
She got a package of cat meat from the pantry and headed toward the front door, where his bowl was kept in the foyer. Wasabi trotted after her, clearly pleased that the situation was being rectified so quickly.
I smiled. He liked his humans to be well-trained.
The fluffy little monster kept trying to get me to overfeed him, but I suspected that was a result of sharing food with the other cats at the shelter.
He probably felt like he had to fight for and guard his food carefully or it might run out.
The thought made me want to scoop him into a hug and rub my face against his furry belly.
The doorbell rang as I was turning over the vegetables on the grill and I frowned. I didn’t often get guests on the weekend, but when I did, it was usually—
“Fuck.”
I rushed away from the grill and arrived at the door just in time to find Chelsey opening it and my parents standing on the other side.
Mom’s eyes widened as her gaze landed on Chelsey and then quickly darted past her to me. A brown paper bag was clasped in her hand, and she was dressed for the cold, in a down jacket, with a hat and scarf.
“Chelsey,” she exclaimed, raising her eyebrows at me as if unsure how to react. “It’s so good to see you.”
For her part, Chelsey’s cheeks, which had been flushed from the shower, drained of color. “You too, Mrs. Matthews.”
Mom waved her free hand dismissively. “I think you can call me Sandra when we’ve known each other for so long.”
Unfortunately, Dad—the big softie that he was—didn’t play things quite as cool. He smiled widely and hugged her. “I’m so glad you two are back together. I always thought you were perfect for each other. This is wonderful.” He beamed at Mom. “Isn’t it wonderful, Sandy?”
Chelsey’s lips pinched together and blotches spread down her neck. Not a good sign. She looked like a deer in the headlights, and it was clear she was freaking out internally.
My heart beat against my ribcage and a hard lump formed in my gut.
I had no idea what to do. On the one hand, if anything were to come of this relationship, they’d find out eventually, but on the other, it was clear that Chelsey wasn’t ready.
In fact, she was so not ready that I feared she’d bolt at any moment.
Wasabi lunged for the door, and Mom bent and tried to catch him with her one available arm.
He scooted around her and Dad grabbed him, only to curse as Wasabi sank his claws into his arm.
He staggered inside, clutching the cat, and Mom scooted in behind him and slammed the door.
Dad dropped Wasabi like a hot potato and the cat hissed and glared, his tail fluffed up like a mottled gray feather duster.
“Sorry about that,” Mom said, shooting a look at Dad as he fussed over his arm, which really should be fine, considering how many layers he was wearing.
“We knew you had today off and thought we might come over for brunch. We picked up some pastries from that place you like down the street, but we should have checked with you before turning up. We didn’t expect you to have company. ”
I grimaced. Of course she hadn’t. I never had in the many, many years since Chelsey and I had broken up, and I hadn’t told them we were seeing each other since it was still a secret from everyone other than Layla. They couldn’t have known any different.
A shrill beep sliced through the silence, and my heart leapt to my throat.
“Crap, the bacon!”
I raced to the kitchen, where the bacon had begun to smoke. My eyes watered and I tried not to breathe in the acrid scent of burning meat as I yanked the pan from the stovetop and dumped it on one of the cutting boards. For good measure, I removed the eggs too and switched off the grill.
I cracked open the window, wincing at the cold breeze that whistled through, and turned to face the others, who’d followed me in. Mom and Dad stood nearby while Chelsey was hanging farther back, close to the door. My insides knotted. She really was preparing to run.
“Those pastries would be great for breakfast,” I said, hoping to cover the tension. “I’m pretty sure the bacon is inedible now and the eggs might be a bit rubbery. Why don’t you get a platter out while I rescue what I can?”
Mom hastened to do that, opening a drawer and emptying the paper bag onto one of the larger plates.
Dad, meanwhile, seemed to have noticed that no one had responded to his earlier remarks. “Do your parents know you’re back together yet?” he asked Chelsey.
She took a step back, her eyes flicking toward the door. “Matt and I aren’t dating.”
I stopped with an oven mitt on one hand as her words sliced through me like a blade. The denial cut deep.
“We’re working together, so we’re trying to be friends again,” she continued, determinedly not looking at me. “There’s nothing more to it than that.”
My throat constricted, and it was all I could do to place the vegetables on the kitchen counter and inhale slowly. I wanted to claw at my neck, rub my aching chest, and throw myself at her feet so she’d stop lying to them.
It didn’t surprise me that she’d decided to cover up the truth, but it stung like hell. Her face was emotionless, and it was impossible to read what she was thinking other than the fact she wanted to escape as soon as possible.
Mom and Dad both looked at me.
“That’s right,” I said, backing her up even though I was crumbling inside. “We’re just colleagues.”
“Oh.” Dad ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.”
I shook my head, knowing that no apology was necessary.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have blurted things out, but he wasn’t wrong, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it had occurred to both him and Mom that there were no fresh tire tracks on the fresh layer of white outside, proving that Chelsey hadn’t arrived this morning.
Add that to the fact her hair was still slightly damp and it must be obvious we were hiding something.
“It’s no problem, Mr. Matthews.” She smiled tightly. “I’ve taken up enough of Matt’s time. I should get going.”
“Stay,” I said before I could stop myself.
Unfortunately, she only paused for a couple of seconds before hurrying from the room. She returned a moment later with her jacket on and her handbag over her shoulder.
“I’ll see you on Monday,” she said, waving while continuing not to meet my gaze, and then she disappeared again.
My stomach dropped. “Fuck.”
Hopefully, this wasn’t the excuse she needed to back off after we’d spent so much time getting close again.
“Did I just put my foot in something?” Dad asked, the corners of his mouth tight.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I assured him.
“I’m sorry. I should have thought before I spoke.”
“We’re both sorry.” Mom drew me into a hug. “We shouldn’t have just turned up. It was thoughtless of us.”
“It will be fine. I’ll smooth things over with her later.” Hopefully. If she was willing to listen. Surely, she’d come around soon. We’d been living in a bubble, but that couldn’t continue.
She must know that, right?