Chapter 26 #2
I continued to place kisses up the shaft, then pulled the crown of him into my mouth and sucked.
He grunted out a feral sound that spurred me on.
I stroked and cupped him with my hand while I practiced sucking, first gently, then harder, lightly grazing him with my teeth.
Now he was the one writhing in pleasure.
“I’m close,” he warned. “God, B, you couldn’t be more sexy. You make me lose control.” He ground his teeth, his eyes closed tight.
“Relax for me, let go,” I coached him, the way he’d coached me. I popped off him, slid my tongue flatly along his entire length, and gently cupped him.
Then his body was shuddering. I continued to lick and kiss up and down him as he released hot spurts onto his stomach.
I grabbed a wet washcloth from the bathroom and helped him clean up. “Happy birthday,” I told him again, my face flushed with pleasure.
He grinned. “I think I might have a new favorite.”
When August rolled around, Cade had returned to California. Our relationship—as it was now—was new, and I didn’t think I could handle waiting months to see him again. Instead, I floated the idea of me making a trip out to California, an idea which he, of course, loved.
I flew out in late-August, butterflies dancing in my stomach at the idea of seeing Cade in his element. He picked me up from the airport, and we climbed the steps to his second-level apartment.
I walked inside and Echo greeted me with a sniff.
“Hey, handsome guy.”
“Talkin’ to me, or Echo?” Cade asked with humor.
I smiled. “You’re both my handsome guys.”
I surveyed the space around me. It was on the shabby side, and definitely as small as he’d indicated. His place had some hallmarks of bachelorhood, like the worn secondhand couch, the huge flat-screen TV, and the cheap faux-wood coffee table and bookshelf.
“I’m going to cook, okay? Feel free to snoop around.” He shot me a wink.
I saw the framed photo I’d given him for his birthday on the bar top leading into the kitchen, and I ran my finger across it fondly.
I grinned that he’d displayed it so prominently. “Okay to put my stuff in the bedroom?”
“Of course.”
The bedroom was equally tiny, with barely enough space for a queen size bed, a nightstand, and a small desk.
I ran my hand over the worn comforter and dropped my bag beside it.
I looked over to the desk. There was a cork bulletin board above it with miscellaneous items. The first thing that caught my eye was a picture—the picture of Maple and me that I’d sent him in a letter.
A grin spread across my face. Also tacked up on the board were all my letters, and I reached up to touch them, awed at how such an outdated method of communication had allowed us to bridge the gap of our broken friendship.
On the board beneath the letters was what looked like a postcard, white with orange text.
I leaned in and examined it more closely, reading the text.
“Thank you for your monthly donations to the African Wildlife Foundation.” My stomach dipped.
How long had this been going on? Did he do this for me?
I wondered. I swooned a little more for this generous man who already had my heart.
The scent of garlic sizzling in oil drew me back into the small kitchenette. I wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face in his soft t-shirt with its familiar clean smell.
“Smells good,” I murmured appreciatively. I could’ve been talking about the dinner or about him.
He leaned back into my embrace, still stirring. “Find what you were looking for?” he said cheekily.
“I think I did.”
I smiled and released him while he finished cooking, plopping myself down onto his couch. Echo jumped up beside me and I stroked his soft fur. When I paused, he nudged my hand with his nose, imploring me to continue.
“More pets? Oh yes, sir,” I said, laughing.
“He needs his affection,” Cade chimed in from the nearby kitchen.
Cade didn’t have a dining table, so when dinner was ready, we set up TV trays and sat on the couch and ate chicken alfredo.
“How long have you been donating to the AWF?” I asked him as we settled down to eat.
He caught my eye, smirking at the knowledge that I had, in fact, snooped through his room.
“Every month since I got my firefighting gig. Had to make sure we keep the wildlife around long enough for me to take you to see them.” Another wink.
I smiled down at my pasta, my throat suddenly clogged with emotion. The way he knew me made my heart thud loudly in my chest. Being next to him made me feel slightly woozy, and it was a struggle to keep from kissing him at all times.
“Wanna watch a movie?” he asked. “Though we might’ve watched them all by now.”
That caused me to chuckle. We had been making some significant headway through some of our old favorites.
“Will you show me the photo album your mom gave you?” I asked instead.
“Of course,” he smiled back.
We took the trip down memory lane, laughing at all the various stages of childhood, adolescence, and teenagehood. As promised, there were lots of pictures of me. As we finished our meal, Cade closed the album and slid it onto the table.
“What do you think about a sunset walk along the beach?” he asked, pulling my hand into his lap.
“Sounds perfect.”
I couldn’t seem to keep my hands off him while we walked. He looked down into my eyes when I wrapped his hand in both of mine.
I nudged his shoulder with mine, suddenly feeling a wave of self-consciousness. “I’m sorry I’m so needy sometimes.”
“Hey.” He smiled back at me, using his free hand to tip my chin up to meet his eyes. “I like when you need me.”
We walked down to the shoreline, taking our shoes off and rolling up our jeans so we could dig our toes in the grainy sand and let the cold, frothy waves slide over them. He leaned down and drew with his finger into the sand:
Brooke + Cade.
I smiled up at him and kissed him, blissfully happy.
The beach suited him. As I stared at him, I mused that he honestly looked a bit like a living, walking representation of the beach—the ocean-blue eyes, the thick waves of hair, the color like the dark bits of sand as the tide washes over it.
The evening sky was a riot of colors, shades of deep purple, mixed with reds and oranges. It felt like a masterpiece painted just for this moment. Cade’s large, warm hand slipped back into mine.
We walked along the shore hand in hand until the sun set, then we trudged back to his tiny apartment. We both took showers to rinse off the sand and fell into bed, cuddled up with my head on his shoulder.
It was my favorite place to be.
I brought my hand up to his and he linked our fingers, rubbing his thumb across the top of my hand.
He ran his fingers softly through my hair, lulling me until my eyes struggled to stay open.
“Don’t you want to—” I began. My mind was caught on the idea that we still hadn’t officially had our first time together.