Chapter 27
I’m only going to Carson’s house for the first time.
My heart races just thinking about where I’ll be in not even a hour’s time.
I check my hair and my sweater again for what feels like the thousandth time.
The buzzer letting me know he’s downstairs to pick me up rings.
I quickly grab his arrangement I made for him in class yesterday off the kitchen counter.
I was finally able to make him something, and I’m so excited to give it to him. A little nervous, but I hope he likes it. I used hydrangea and carnations; the bouquet is tied at the stems with a pretty green bow.
His favorite color.
I fix my hair just one more time and rush down to the lobby, Carson already at his car with the door open for me. He greets me with a smile.
“Hey. Uh, these are for you.” I hold them out to him.
“Oh, look at you now, what a sweetheart.” He says, leaning down and kissing me on the cheek.
“Stop it.” I bite my lip and turn away, a wave of heat rolling over my body.
“Thank you, love. They’re very beautiful.” He whispers into my ear, and I hum in response.
We both get into the car and start heading over to his place. I play with my sleeves the entire way through the ride. My legs bouncing a bit. I hope he doesn’t notice. But I know he does because he chuckles at a stoplight, as he watches me out of the corner of his eye.
I feel my throat go dry as Carson parks the car into his private garage. It feels weird going to a guy’s house, totally out of my comfort zone. It’s so much easier to have him in my environment than go to his. I feel like I might throw up, but that would not be sexy, I’m sure.
“Let’s head up.” He snaps me out of my thoughts, I nod.
He gets out and opens my door for me before we head to the private entryway, and he keys us in.
Carson told me he decided on a penthouse, jokingly calling it his bachelor pad.
I roll my eyes at the thought, cause I know at one point it really was.
The elevator lets us up to his private floor of the building, and when we step into his home, it’s different than I expected. It’s…cozy.
There’s plants decorating shelves, side tables, and even some on his window sills.
The windows, which are beautiful and floor-to-ceiling, the night sky beautifully on display.
His living room is huge, there’s two sofas and a few other pretty standalone chairs.
I wouldn’t expect a hockey player to have such good interior taste. But he surprises me every day.
Something furry peaks out behind one of the chairs. I don’t think it’s meant to be decor.
“You have a kitten!?” I gasp, kicking my shoes off and approaching the small tortoise cat slowly.
“Yeah, he reminds me of you.” Carson laughs, stepping out of his shoes, joining me to huddle around the little guy.
“What…Why?” I narrow my eyes. I mean, it’s cute, so I guess that’s a compliment.
“Cause he’s a little scared to get close to people,” Carson smirks.
“Haha…very funny, Carson,” I say, sarcasm coloring my tone.
“But I’m serious, he is. He seems to like you though, its cause you’re alike.” He laughs.
He does seem to like me as he nuzzles my hand softly. It’s the cutest thing ever. I never had time for pets, but I always said if I did ever get one, it would be a cat; they’re pretty low maintenance. But still, I travel so much, and I would feel so bad leaving them with my parents.
“What’s his name?”
“Jules.” He laughs.
“Seriously, Carson?” I roll my eyes, giving him more pets he seems to love. He’s so perfect and precious, it’s going to be hard to leave him here when it’s time to go. His owner just laughs and continues rummaging around in the kitchen.
“You want anything?” Carson stands up and walks over to the fridge. I follow him, standing by the counter. “Oh, I left those out for you.”
“What is it?” I look down at the box in front of me, and it’s my favorite snack bars. I have them at the rink or on my way when I’m in a rush all the time. I love the taste, and they don’t have them back in Korea.
“Stalker,” I mutter, my cheeks turning red.
“You’re welcome.” He laughs, pulling out something for us to drink.
“I got more on the coffee table. And we can always order in if there’s something specific you want for dinner.” Carson says before heading down the hall, “Be right back!” He yells.
“Ok.” I decide to wander around just like he did at my place.
You can really learn a lot about a person through their space. Like what I learned so far? Carson really, really loves plants.
I’ll keep that in mind.
I walk into another room adjoin from his living room. The door is already open a bit, and I step inside to see canvases about the room. A gasp escapes my lips when I get a little closer.
They’re all paintings. Of me.
In one of them, I’m leaning into my signature in bauer. They’re beautiful and scarily accurate, as if he’s studied every ounce of my very essence. My fingertips graze the rough but soft surface of the painting that sits upon his easel. I guess this is his most current work.
Warmth pools in the pit of my stomach.
“Julie! I was looking for you.” He chuckles behind me.
“You..You paint?” I feel Carson step closer, his hard body pressing against my back, my breath hitching.
“Yeah, fun fact, I was an art minor in university. It’s my relaxing pastime.” He says, “Do you like it?”
“I do. You’ve reached maximum creep level.” I tease.
Though deep down inside, I know I like that he’s kinda obsessive. There’s even just paintings of me eating snacks and hugging the bunny he gave me. But my favorite is this one atop the easel and another one where I’m holding the bouquet of alstroemeria he gave on our first ‘friend’ date.
My face holding a serene smile, dipping low into the pink flowers. It looks exactly like how I felt that night.
“Your existence is a very beautiful thing. I can’t stop seeing you.” Carson whispers low in my ear, “You could say you’re my muse.” His breath is warm, sending shivers down my spine.
“Carson.” I sigh.
When I finally turn to him, he’s gazing down at me, my heart catches in my throat, “They’re gorgeous.”
“You could take one home if you like.” He says.
No, I want one of him instead, but I nod anyway.
“Come on, that’s enough wandering for you,” Carson says, pulling me out of the room.
He leads me over to the sofa, we both sit, and I must have forgotten how terrified I was on the way here.
Now that we’re sitting idle again, Carson is thumbing through our movie options, and I feel my anxiety creeping back to the front of my mind.
“Is there a specific movie you want to watch?”
Yeah, the one where I don’t throw up from nerves and embarrass myself would be great.
“No, I’m good with anything,” I mumble and unwrap my snack bar, deciding to focus on eating instead and definitely not the way he smells like cherries right now.
“Alright, I’ll put something on.” I nod. Carson leans back and drapes his arm on the couch behind my head.
“This ok?” He asks, his eyes softening.
“Oh yeah..I mean, it’s your house.” I say, looking away.
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I’m ok, Carson.” I bite my lip, I can feel him smiling at me. Smirking probably because he can’t help himself. He needs to tease me and draw whatever this is out.
The movie Carson put on is actually really good, and it’s been doing wonders at distracting me from how warm his body feels next to me.
We definitely have somehow inched a bit closer to each other since the start of the film though.
The two characters on screen are starting to get tense with each other.
I swallow, praying there isn’t a sex scene coming up. I won’t survive. My face starts burning as they begin kissing. I feel Carson tilt his head; he’s kind of engrossed in what they’re doing.
My breath hitches as the scene between the two characters intensifies. I want to disappear into the couch because Carson hears my gasp, his brow shooting up.
“You ok?” Just this once, I wish he weren’t so attentive.
Don’t notice me.
“Uh, yeah,” I say softly, biting my lip.
I’m not ok, I think I’m a little turned on, and it’s embarrassing.
We return to the screen, and now they’re having full-blown sex at this point.
How long is this fucking scene? My entire body is flushed and hot.
It feels volcanic in here. It’s not like I’ve never watched a sex scene in my life.
It’s Carson. I want to touch him.
If I just move my hand even an inch, I would be. Suddenly, I remember Liam’s advice; let the night lead the way, or whatever he said. I guess if I’m finally going to show what I want, then now is the perfect time. Right?
I slowly let my hand find the edge of Carson’s thigh, trying not to look like a complete virgin. He immediately takes notice, of course, he does. Carson gazes down at me like wolf looks at their prey. My blood runs hot. I bite my lip when he runs his fingers through my hair.
Oh my god, I think it’s working. Now what?
Before I have time to even think about it, Carson pulls me by the back of my neck into his lips, erasing every worry.
I think I Iove that when he does that.
I whimper into his mouth, this kiss wilder than the previous ones.
I want to try something, so I nip at his lower lip, and when he moans, I feel so proud of myself.
He deepens the kiss before pulling my body fully into his lap and gripping my hips, our erections rubbing together perfectly when I rock into him.
I feel dizzy, my lips moving more frantically, his hands feel so hot on my skin.
“Julian…” He gasps into my mouth.
I flinch, “Sorry, is this bad?” I pull back, swallowing.
Did I go overboard?
“No, baby, it’s not bad.” He breaths, running his hand up the length of my body, sending waves of warmth through me.
“Ok, should I keep going?” I ask softly, my lips ghosting over his.
“Mmhmm, don’t overthink it. You’re doing so good.” He whispers over my lips.