Chapter 22
brOOKE
The weekend had been my chance to show Cade that I was ready to explore something more than a friend-date.
I knew I was ready to move on from Brock, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t endlessly replayed our kiss and the zing of instant chemistry we’d experienced the previous winter.
Not to mention the follow-up kiss on my birthday weekend, which had left me hot and bothered all night.
I’d thought all week about how I’d planned a date tailored to Cade, one that would leave him speechless.
Little did I know he’d drop me off at my front door and walk back to the car in his backwards cap (why was that such a hot move?), leaving me breathless with need and desperately wanting more.
I wanted to drag him inside with me, ignoring the torturously slow pace he was setting for our physical relationship.
My phone rang as I slipped off my shoes at the front door. I saw Cade’s contact photo and felt a flutter of concern. I didn’t know if Ivy was sleeping, so I answered in a hushed tone.
“Cade? Did you forget something?”
“Nope.” I could hear his smile. “Just wanted to listen to your voice while I drive back. That okay?”
“Yeah . . . it’s okay.” How did he always manage to say just the thing that would split my face into the biggest grin? “Did you have fun tonight?”
“Oh, babe—fun doesn’t cover it. You were amazing. Can’t believe you planned all that for me.”
My heart clenched when he so effortlessly called me babe. Was it too soon? I hoped not.
“So I did pretty well, then,” I said into the phone, slipping out of my clothes and remembering the feel of his hands roaming my body as he pressed me into the side of his car. “Hey—can I ask you something?”
“Always.”
I paused for just a moment’s hesitation.
“You—like my body, right?”
He barked out a laugh. “Are you kidding, B? Tell me you’re kidding.”
“No . . .” I said, uncertainty lacing my tone.
“Baby—I love your body. I’ve wanted it for a long time.
I love that you’re so tall, so when we hug, I barely have to lean down to kiss you.
I could get lost all day staring into those eyes.
Your smile—it lights up a room. Even the scent of your shampoo drives me wild.
And I know you felt how much I liked grabbing your ass. ”
I blushed, partly for the unexpected barrage of compliments, and partly from recalling the feel of his hard length pressed into me as I leaned back on his car with his lips against mine. Yes, his attraction had definitely shown earlier tonight.
“So last winter . . . when you stopped . . . it wasn’t because you didn’t like what you felt when you touched me?”
“Baby—God, no. No. Couldn’t be further from the truth.”
My heart skipped several beats that he’d called me baby, not once, but twice now.
“I mean—I know my body is . . . fine. It’s not bad.” I hated the self-consciousness that seeped into my tone.
“Fine?” he challenged, exhaling through his nose. The humor had left his voice. “Seriously, Brooke—fucking fine?”
“Yessss . . .” I hesitantly squeaked out, his more serious tone ratcheting up my nerves.
One more deep breath, then his voice returned to the line, huskier than before. “Listen to me carefully, Brooke. Your body is the best, most intoxicating thing I’ve ever seen.”
I started to shake my head slightly, denying his words, but he continued, undeterred by my silent protest.
“I still think about the way your curves filled out that dress at the reunion. For months I got myself off thinking about it.”
Okay, that revelation was surprisingly hot.
“And it took every ounce of self-control for me to keep myself from taking you to bed that night at my parents’ house. I just wanted you to be ready. I wanted it—us—to be right.”
“So this . . . we’re really doing this? I mean, you and me?” I hated how uncertain and shaky my voice still sounded, but I needed his reassurance.
“We are most definitely doing this. Consider me yours. Boyfriend, love monkey, whatever term you want to put on it.”
Now I was the one laughing, but my nerves were soothed. We talked til I knew he was home safely. When we hung up, I rolled over in bed, replaying the night and the feel of his lips and hands on me while I touched myself until I fell into an exhausted oblivion.