29. Marnie #2
The silence continues as we clean up the table. Once all the dishes are in the kitchen, Caleb starts washing them. I don’t know what to say, so I begin putting the leftover food in containers and find a place to store it in the fridge.
I stare at the mountain of leftovers now occupying the fridge. Caleb will have enough to last him the rest of the weekend. All that hard work preparing a nice meal to celebrate his mother just ruined by his dad and his attitude. My heart squeezes at the idea of it.
Closing the fridge, I turn back to face Caleb.
Neither of us speak. I don’t want to be the first one to break the silence, even though it’s killing me not to say something to comfort him right now, but I know he needs to be the one to initiate.
He’s kept everything about his relationship with his father bottled up for so long that this might finally be the breaking point.
I need to let him have control over this moment.
We are only standing three feet apart, but the quiet energy in the kitchen makes it feel infinitely farther.
I knew tonight would be difficult. I never intended to add fuel to the fire by getting into it with his father, but I was not just going to sit by and let him imply that Caleb’s dreams and aspirations were any less valuable because he didn’t agree with them.
I can’t take it another moment longer. “I’m sorry about tonight,” I say. “I didn’t mean to cause a sce?—”
Caleb closes the distance between us and cuts me off with a kiss. I instantly melt into his body and wrap my arms around his neck. His hands find my waist and pull me even closer, deepening the kiss as he presses me back against the counter.
My hands find the back of his head, fingers weaving through the short strands of his hair. I give it a slight tug and he groans into my mouth.
The sound goes straight to my core.
His hands drift down to my hips and rest there briefly before reaching around to cup my ass and lift me onto the counter. My legs spread to invite him in, and he takes the opportunity to move even closer.
We finally break apart to catch our breath. His cheeks are flushed, his eyes molten. He plants a light kiss on my lips, this one far sweeter and gentler than the way he almost just devoured me.
He takes a small step back to look me in the eye. “You have nothing to apologize for. You were amazing tonight.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. I do not want to think about my father right now. I just want to enjoy this.”
“Okay,” I whisper into his mouth as I wrap my legs around his waist.
We fumble our way upstairs, knocking into several walls and his door without a care in the world. All that matters right now is this. Us.
We fall onto his bed, and he shifts his weight on top of me, pinning my hips in place.
His kisses start to trail lower, first along to my jaw, then to my neck, and finally down the center of my chest. His fingers find their way under the hem of my dress, lifting it up over my head.
Tossing it to the side, he quickly pulls his shirt off and it lands on top of my dress on the floor.
Caleb places a gentle kiss over the top of my bra on both breasts, and my nipples harden and strain against the lace.
“Tell me what you like,” he whispers against my neck. “I’m a quick learner.”
He slips a finger under the fabric of my panties, running it along my core torturously slowly while continuing to kiss every inch of my bare skin.
I let out an involuntary gasp. “That. I like that.”
He continues the motions for several minutes until I start to grind against his hand, desperate for more friction. I feel the pressure building and know I’m seconds away from finishing. Caleb knows it, too, because he removes his hand from my panties and licks it clean.
He unbuckles his belt and shrugs off his jeans. I quickly reach behind my back to unhook my bra and finish sliding the lace panties off my body.
“Are you ready for me, baby?”
I nod quickly.
“That’s not an answer. Use your words,” he commands, stepping out of his boxers.
“Yes,” I breathe out, taking him in. He’s beautiful.
Caleb pulls out a condom from his nightstand, tearing open the wrapper swiftly and sliding it over his cock.
He crawls back on top of me and lines himself up, pushing just the head of his cock inside, holding it there, before retreating.
He repeats this motion several times, teasing me, only giving me an inch.
I try to wiggle my hips lower, desperate to feel more of him inside me, but the more I move, the more he starts to withdraw.
A small whimper leaves my mouth.
“Ask nicely.” He toys with a loose strand of my hair and twirls it around his finger.
“Please,” I whine.
“Please what?”
“Please fuck me,” I beg.
A devilish grin spreads across his face. “As you wish.”
He pushes in the rest of the way slowly, making sure I feel every inch of him. “Breathe, baby.”
I do as he says, taking in steady, deep breaths while he starts to move. It starts out slow, then picks up speed as he sets a harder pace.
One of his hands finds mine, interlocking our fingers and pushing it further into the mattress with each thrust, the other reaching down to rub my clit.
Caleb moves his mouth back to my bare chest, sliding his hand up from my center to cup my breast, toying with me. He swirls his tongue over my nipple, and I arch my chest up into him.
His pace becomes frantic, losing its rhythm, and I know he’s close.
I use my free hand to grab the gold chain around his neck and pull him toward me and into a kiss as my orgasm takes over and I clench around him, needing to be even closer.
He buries his face into the side of my neck, while I ride out the remainder of my orgasm. He follows soon after, stilling inside me, panting against my skin.
I wrap my fingers around the back of his neck and hold him to me, using him to ground me and bring me down from the high.
After a few minutes, he shifts and pulls out, getting up to discard the condom and retrieves a warm washcloth. Caleb takes his time to clean me off and dries me with a fresh one.
He rejoins me and covers us with the sheets, tucking me into his side as we listen to the steady beats of each other’s hearts.
“I could stay like this forever,” he whispers against my brow.
Me too, I think. For a second—just a split second—I let myself imagine what it could be like to have this every day. To be tangled up in bed, cooking with each other, working on exhibits together.
I throw one leg over his and curl further into his side, savoring the heat from his body. His arms pull me in tighter.
“Caleb?”
“Yes?”
“I think you should pursue your dreams. You deserve to be happy. That comes first over anyone else’s feelings.” I hope he can hear the sincerity in my tone. The earnestness.
“I hope you know that you are part of that dream,” Caleb murmurs. I swat him on the chest playfully, but the confession makes my heart swell. His deep laugh rumbles against my ear and his fingers find the back of my head, playing with my hair as he asks, “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Working,” I chuckle. “Tomorrow’s Friday.”
“I want to take you somewhere in the morning. Can you spare some time?”
I tilt my head to look him in the eye. “Of course.”