Chapter 34
THIRTY-FOUR
Callum
“There’s my boy,” I grin as Ollie greets me when I walk through the front door. “How's it going, buddy?”
He wags his tail in response.
“Good,” I chuckle, scratching the top of his head.
I close the door, slip my suit jacket down my arms, and hang it on the coat rack.
“What a day…” I grumble, popping open the top buttons of my shirt.
Court was a bitch today, and to make matters worse, it was with a judge that I can’t fucking stand. He’s a cold, heartless bastard.
I’m just happy to be home.
“Where’s my girl?” I bellow, desperate to have Birdie in my arms. She worked the early shift at the hospital today, so she has the evening off.
I walk further into the house and stop in my tracks when I catch a glimpse of the living room .
Birdie’s sitting on the couch with a wide grin stretched across her face, staring directly at me. She looks so damn cute.
She’s in a white tank top and pink pajama shorts with little strawberries printed on the cotton fabric. Her tousled blonde waves tumble over her shoulders, looking just as relaxed as she does.
God, she’s so beautiful.
I shift my gaze to the coffee table in front of the couch to find a large pizza box, a bottle of wine, and a big bowl of buttery popcorn.
I smile from ear to ear as I walk into the living room, take a seat on the couch, and pull Birdie into my lap. Her arms instinctively go around my neck as her legs wrap around my waist, clinging to me like a koala.
It’s been one week since my appointment with Dr. Sharpe, and I have to admit, my mood is slowly improving. But one thing is for damn sure; I don’t know where I’d be without Birdie by my side. Since I got the news, she’s done something special for me each day. She’s an actual angel on earth.
“Hi, baby,” I mutter against her lips.
“Hi.”
I dreamt about this for years, finally coming home to my girl. And now, here she is—in my lap, staring back at me with the most mesmerizing silver eyes I’ve ever seen.
I’m holding my entire world in my arms right now. I still can’t believe this is my new reality.
Birdie’s legs tighten around my waist when I sink my fingers into her hair and pull her lips to mine. At first, I start with a light peck. Then, she lets out a sexy whimper as I take my time sucking on her lower lip.
A low groan rumbles from my chest when she parts my lips with her tongue and licks into my mouth. My cock stirs, coming alive as our tongues welcome each other home for the day .
Yeah, I will definitely never get used to this. This is my version of heaven. Nothing could be better than this feeling.
I skim my hands down her back before taking her ass beneath my palms and giving her a tight squeeze. I know she feels it when my cock twitches against her center because she moans into my mouth. A sound that never ceases to drive me wild.
“Mmmm,” she hums, her brows pinching together as she struggles to pull back. “The pizza’s going to get cold.”
“Can’t we heat it up later?”
Her eyes roll back as I nip at her jaw.
“I chilled the wine perfectly,” she pants. “For,” she breathes, “our movie night.”
“Movie night?” I say against her skin as I place open-mouth kisses down her neck.
“Mmmhmm,” she nods. “And I hope you’re not tired because I don’t plan to sleep for a while after the movie.”
She rolls her hips suggestively, telling me exactly what she wants to do after the movie. My cock grows painfully hard between us.
“I figured the movie would be kind of like…foreplay.”
Jesus Christ.
I’ve never wanted a film to roll the credits more than I do now.
“Yeah?” I rasp. I slip my fingers beneath her sleep shorts to massage her peachy ass.
“Yeah,” she purrs. “So go change into something comfortable so we can get the night started.”
When I look over her shoulder, I notice she has her laptop connected to the TV. A line of confusion forms between my brows because we have a smart television capable of streaming everything.
“Is something wrong with the TV? ”
She turns to look, following my gaze.
“Oh, uh…” she stammers. “There’s something I want to show you…on my laptop. Then, we’ll watch the movie after.”
Huh?
What the hell is going on…
I swear to God, if she puts on a sexy homemade movie, I will die of cardiac arrest on my living room floor.
“What do you have up your sleeve, Birdie Wren?” I smirk. “And are you trying to send me to an early grave?”
She rolls her eyes.
“You’ll see,” she nudges my chest with her hand. “But I promise, it’s not what you’re thinking.”
I decide to take a guess.
“Is it–”
She stops me by putting a finger to my mouth.
“Go change, and you’ll find out,” she insists.
Less than five minutes later, I’m walking back into the living room wearing a pair of loose sweatpants. Ollie’s sitting next to Birdie on the couch with his head in her lap. She’s looking down at him, smiling as she smoothes her fingers over his furry head. My heart threatens to explode at the sight of the two of them together. My babies.
I just stand there, staring at them for I don’t know how long until Birdie lifts her gaze to search for me.
“You two are pretty damn cute, you know that?”
She blushes, resting an arm over the back of the couch.
“We’re going to fall asleep waiting on you if you don’t hurry up,” she quips. “Ollie’s already halfway there. Get your ass over here.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I chuckle.
Ollie’s ears perk up when I take a seat on the other side of Birdie .
Birdie nervously bites down on her lower lip before slowly lifting her eyes to mine.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Her throat bobs as she swallows and nods.
“Yes,” she breathes, squaring her shoulders to face me. She inhales a sharp breath before beginning.
“When I first came to Gulf Shores back in May, I was feeling a little homesick. My mom called me on a day that was particularly hard; she hadn’t heard me cry like that in years. So, the week after our phone call, my mom told me to check my email. I broke down in tears when I did,” she pauses before continuing. “She had spent an entire seven days compiling home videos from my childhood and putting them in a digital drive for me to have when I’m missing home.”
“I’ve been taking my time going through them, savoring each memory. But there’s one video in particular that I’ve been wanting to show you.”
My eyes flick between hers, and I already know that this is going to wreck me.
“Is it of us?” I croak. “Am I in it?”
Her eyes fill with affection as she purses her lips together and nods.
“Yeah,” she smiles softly. “You are. Would you like to see it?”
Overcome with emotion, all I can do is nod. For the first time in my life, I’m going to have a chance to look back at the younger version of myself. I don’t have a childhood home to go back to. I don’t have parents who saved photos of me to put in an album or hang on the wall. I don’t have a family who posts special memories on social media to reminisce.
All I ever had was Birdie.
And she’s about to give me back one of the sweetest gifts I could ever imagine. I’m about to stare into the eyes of the lost boy that I once was and tell him that it’s all going to be okay.
One day, all his dreams are going to come true. If he can just keep fighting, he’ll have everything he ever wanted.
“You ready?” Birdie asks in a gentle tone.
“Yes.”
I reach for her face and brush my thumbs along her smooth skin.
She leans forward and presses a lingering kiss to my lips.
“If you need me to pause it, just let me know, okay?”
“Okay,” I nod.
“I love you, Cal.”
“I love you too, baby.”
She places a string of kisses from the tip of my nose to my jaw and, finally, my lips. My heart pounds against my chest when she gets up and presses play on the laptop.
When she returns to the couch, I slide back against the armrest and pull her to me. She settles between my legs with her back to my chest. I kiss the hollow of her neck and wrap my arms around her waist. Her hands search for mine, intertwining our fingers together.
The second the video projects onto the big screen, all the air in my lungs evades me.
Because there we are, front and center.
Little Birdie and Callum. Ten years old.
My eyes instantly fill with tears as I watch the memory play out before my eyes.
“Alright, everyone! Gather around the table,” Birdie’s mom calls out. “It’s time to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to my girl.”
We’re all gathered in Birdie’s home for her tenth birthday party.
In a group of fifteen kids, I make sure to run the fastest so I can sit next to Birdie. I grin proudly as I take the seat to the right of Birdie just as Winnie rushes to her other side.
“I want cake!” One of the kids at the end of the table shouts.
“Shut up!” Winnie barks at him.
“Winnie May,” her mom scolds. “There is no need to be rude. Apologize.”
Winnie crosses her arms over her chest before scowling and saying, “Sorry.”
“Once Birdie blows out her candles, everyone will get a big slice of cake.” Birdie’s mom smiles at the little boy who’s eyeing the cake like it’s a treasure chest. She bends over the table and lights all ten candles.
I lean next to Birdie so only she can hear me and whisper, “Happy Birthday, Birdie.”
I already wished her a happy birthday when I first got here, but I wanted to tell her again before everyone starts singing.
“Thank you, Cal,” she grins. “Can you believe I’m ten years old? I’ll never be a single-digit number again.”
“Welcome to the club,” I say because I turned ten this year, too. Birdie surprised me with a cool skateboard that I ride around before my dad gets home from work. I keep it under my bed because he would take it away if he saw it.
The candles glow against Birdie’s golden hair as everyone sings and wishes her a happy birthday. She’s so pretty, but I’m not sure I'll ever tell her that. It might freak her out. But she’s the prettiest girl I will ever see. I just know it.
“Blow out your candles and make a wish, sweetheart!” Birdie’s dad grins when everyone finishes the song.
Birdie inhales a deep breath and then stops herself. She pinches her brows together like she’s thinking hard. Everyone watches her as she stares down at her lit candles.
“Make a wish, babe,” her mom finally says.
“I know my wish!” Birdie shouts enthusiastically.
She spills the wish out loud before anyone can stop her.
“I wish that Callum will be at every single one of my birthdays! Because he’s my best friend.”
My heart bounces around in my chest, and my cheeks feel warm.
Birdie’s dad holds back a laugh as a smile cracks across her mom’s face.
“Honey,” her mom starts, “you're supposed to keep your wishes inside here.” She points to her head.
“Hey! What about me?” Winnie thunders, staring angrily at her sister.
“You’re my sister,” Birdie rolls her eyes. “You have to be at all of my birthdays, silly.”
Winnie stops and thinks before responding.
“Oh, that’s true,” Winnie exhales. And just like that, all is well between them again.
My chest feels all tight and fuzzy when Birdie turns to me and grins.
“Help me blow out my candles, Cal,” she says. “So we can make sure my wish will come true.”
I’m not sure that’s how this works…but I’m not going to tell my best friend no on her birthday.
Birdie reaches for my hand beneath the table and wraps her little fingers around mine. We both smile as we lean forward and blow out all ten candles.
And when my eleventh birthday comes around the next year, I close my eyes and wish for the exact same thing.
“I.”
Kiss.
“Love. ”
Kiss.
“You.”
Kiss.
“So.”
Kiss.
“Fucking much.”
We only made it halfway through the movie before I had Birdie naked and writhing beneath me on the couch. Now, she’s lying on our bed as I place open-mouthed kisses down her exposed body.
I knew we weren’t going to make it through the entire movie. There was no fucking way in hell. As soon as we made it to the bedroom, she stripped me down and got on her knees. The second her plump lips wrapped around my cock, I had to stop her. My control is thin tonight, and I want to come deep inside her pussy while it’s clenching around my length, sucking me in.
Her hands sink into my hair as I take one of her hard nipples into my mouth. Her fingers claw at the bed sheets as she wiggles beneath me.
“Callum,” she whimpers as I suckle and bite on the tight bud. My dick is aching, leaking against the bed as I move to her other breast and show it the same attention.
“God, these tits,” I mutter against her wet skin. “The perfect mouthful. Made just for me.”
She moans when I kiss the spot between her breasts and continue my onslaught down her stomach. Her hips jerk when I dip the tip of my tongue into her belly button. Every inch of her is so sensitive right now, singing for my lips, teeth, and tongue.
I practically growl as I run the tip of my nose from one hip to the other. I love the smell of her. The taste of her. I love this woman with every fiber of my being.
“Oh, God,” she whines when I part her slit with my tongue and lick her from entrance to clit. I swirl my tongue around the sensitive nub before assaulting it with hungry flicks. I curl my arms around her thighs, holding her still as I suck on her clit until it’s swollen and full of blood. I want her just on the brink of release right before I slide my dick into her tight hole and fill her up until she’s dripping my cum.
I want her coming around my cock so hard that we both see stars.
“Callum, please,” she begs when I place a kiss to the inside of her thigh and position two of my fingers at her entrance. I rub the pads of my fingers around her slick opening, gathering her wetness but not pushing inside.
“Please, what, baby?” I groan while rubbing her clit with my thumb. “Talk to me.”
Her face scrunches together with need.
“I need you,” she pants, “inside of me. I need you to fuck me.”
I arch a brow and look up at her from between her legs, flashing her a devilish grin.
“How do you want me to fuck you?” I ask, my voice low. “Should I be gentle and fill you with my fingers to get you ready? Or should I go ahead and stretch your tight little pussy with my cock until you’re screaming my name?”
I watch as her core clenches at my filthy words.
“I don’t want you to be gentle,” she shakes her head. “Not tonight.”
Thank fuck. Because I don’t think I have it in me to be soft tonight. I’m fucking ravenous for her.
“That’s my girl,” I groan against her pussy before placing one last kiss to her clit.
I rise to my knees before climbing off the end of the bed. With my arms still curled around her thighs, I pull her body to the edge of the mattress. Birdie’s gaze lowers to my cock, twitching against my lower belly, dying to get inside her.
“Turn over, baby,” I instruct, running my hands up and down her butter-soft thighs. “On your belly.”
She doesn't question me or hesitate. She rolls right over before glancing at me over her shoulder. It’s so fucking hot how hungry she is for my cock.
“Such a good girl,” I praise, staring at her exposed center. She’s wide open for me, giving me a perfect view of the juices leaking from her entrance. I need to get inside of her before I blow right here and now.
She buries her head into the mattress when I give her ass a firm slap. A mixture of a whimper and a moan slips past her throat when I cup her core in my hand and rub her slick flesh.
“Fuck!” she curses when I lift my hand and spank her pussy, giving it a light tap.
“Callum,” she cries out. “Please. I’m begging you.”
“I know, baby,” I groan. “I’m about to make this pussy weep for me. Then, I’m going to take care of it. I’m going to kiss it and lick it until it’s begging for me to fill it again. And when you can’t take anymore, I’m going to wash it clean and let it get some rest. Because I plan to do this all over again when you wake up in the morning.”
“Oh my God,” she pants, “ Cal– ”
Her breath halts when I grab her hips and pull her ass up to my groin. My jaw flexes as I position my tip at her opening and slam inside her.
“Fuckkkkk. ” I throw my head back as her tight heat envelopes me. “Holy fucking shit, Birdie.”
I know that Birdie’s already close. I can feel it in the way her inner walls quiver around my cock. And I’m not far behind her.
She was right; trying to sit through a movie when all you want to do is fuck is the best kind of foreplay. I’ve been hard for over an hour, and my balls are ready to combust.
Goosebumps trail down Birdie’s spine as I start to fuck her. Her back arches when I pull all the way out to the tip and ram back inside. My large hands span across her waist as I rut into her, grunting with each thrust. I lose track of time as all the blood in my body rushes to my dick. I’m about to fucking lose it.
My left hand reaches beneath Birdie’s front until I find her neck. I wrap my fingers around her delicate throat and pull her body up until she’s on her knees with her back flush against my chest. She calls out my name into the night air when I lower my free hand to her clit and rub circles against the swollen bud.
“Come for me, Birdie Wren,” I demand against her ear. “Let go, baby. Milk every last drop from me. Take what’s yours–”
“Callum!” Birdie screams, succumbing to her building orgasm. She throws her head back against my shoulder as her body shudders and shakes.
I dig my fingers into her neck as my dick erupts, shooting endless streams of hot cum deep inside her core. My teeth find the hollow of her neck, biting down as I give her everything I have.
“I love you,” I mutter as we ride out the remainder of our release.
“I love you,” I breathe as I slip from her body and roll her onto her back.
“I love you, Birdie Wren,” I repeat as I kiss and cherish every inch of her skin with my lips and tongue.
“I love you, my girl,” I confess as we stand under the warm spray of the shower, caressing and washing each other.
I’ll never stop telling her how much I love her. After eleven years of thinking I had lost her for good, I will never take for granted getting to say those three words to her whenever I want.
“I love you, Callum Pierce. My only one.”
Those are the last words Birdie says to me before we drift off to sleep hours later, naked and clinging to each other in the dead of night.
I fall asleep dreaming about all the birthdays we’re going to spend together.
I dream about our best years.