Chapter 17 Cal
CAL
In all my time on this planet, I’ve never felt like the universe was trying to fuck with me quite like it has this entire week. The night I’d fallen asleep on Blake had rattled me, leaving me aching with a need I still can’t accurately describe.
I still didn’t have an answer when I woke up in the morning, and that was apparently fine because we barely saw each other.
Blake ended up working late Friday night, and I had back-to-back late shifts at the bar over the weekend.
Problems with the gala consumed most of Blake’s time while I had to buckle down and get the cross-country team ready for one scheduled meet and one that had been rescheduled due to a previous conflict.
He tried to sneak a World’s Greatest Art Teacher mug into the cabinet which he also claimed was not a gift but a practical item and therefore immune to the gift guidelines I’d earlier stated.
The brat.
I’d almost dropped to my knees right there, but his mother had called and his face had contorted with pain the second he saw her name on the screen.
I’d overheard more than one call with his mother that had my hackles rising along with a need to absolutely lay into the woman for being such a bitch to the son she doesn’t deserve.
Do I deserve him?
The answer to that is complicated.
But I want him.
And I want whatever we can have while he’s here.
Now, I just need five minutes to tell him that.
“Hey,” he says, hustling into the kitchen as I turn and face him, “are you ready?”
“Ready for what?” I ask, surprised and distracted as I take in his dark-wash jeans and soft green Henley, his hair still wet from a shower.
“Shit, did I not send it to you? Dammit, I thought I did. Maybe you won’t even want to go.”
“Go where?” I enunciate, earning a smirk from Blake that has my heart double-timing it. God, he’s handsome.
“There’s this pottery class tonight over at the Kettle we’re just about to start.” Nicolette, in a hot-pink-and-white tie-dyed tank top and long, braided hair hanging over one shoulder, motions for us to take our seats at the two unoccupied wheels.
Blake’s eyes widen and I grin. I’m not sure what he was expecting, but it’s adorable to see him a little off-kilter.
“Lungs” by Florence and the Machine plays softly from the speakers as Nicolette explains the basics.
She’s a great teacher, and the other people gathered nod excitedly at her instructions as everyone gets their wheel moving.
The girl next to me giggles as she wets her hands and the clay, joking with her friend as they both get used to the wheel.
“Do you need help?” I ask Blake, his head tilted toward the mound of clay like he can’t quite figure out how to approach it.
“I…maybe I’ll just watch you start,” he says, and I can’t stop myself from shaking with silent laughter as I add water to the clay as the wheel spins. It’s easy to get lost in the motions, the familiarity of the medium like an old friend.
I let it move through my fingers, gently shaping and manipulating the clay with no particular design in mind.
“Are you okay?” I ask. “Here, let me help you.”
I smash my clay back to its original form and smile when Blake’s eyes widen. Climbing off the stool, I flip the switch on his wheel and wet the clay before pressing Blake’s hands around the medium.
It’s weird being hunched around him, and I can’t help but notice the way his breathing has changed.
“Like this…” I whisper in his ear, our fingers intertwining and sliding through the clay. He quietly groans, his body leaning slightly back into mine, and I have this flash of us recreating the scene from Ghost in my mind.
I’ve never done this with a partner before, never experienced the sensuality that is created with another person.
It’s hot.
So freaking hot.
And suddenly, I want to put a pottery wheel in my house so I can drape myself over Blake just like this so we can create something with our hands.
And then our bodies.
“Cal.”
“You’re doing so good,” I tell him, a shiver washing over him as I stand and return to my own wheel.
And if I didn’t know before that I need this man, tonight’s little adventure has confirmed it. Now I just need to figure out how to bring it up.