68. Calvin
CALVIN
“Come with me, I want to show you something,” Sienna says when I emerge from the bathroom and find her loitering outside, waiting for me.
She takes my hand in hers and begins leading me up the stairs.
“I think we’ve already given your family enough to talk about today, darlin’,” I tease. “But I’ll never say no to you, so…”
“Shut up.” She laughs. “I’m not taking you upstairs to bang your brains out.”
“That’s a real shame.”
“You’re insatiable.”
“It’s you. I can’t help it. I want you every single second of every single day.”
When she stops at a half-opened door, her cheeks are red.
I will never get bored of seeing her blush like that.
“No sex,” she warns.
“Okay,” I agree, stepping so close our chests brush. “What about fingering?” Her lips purse. “Oral?”
Her eyes roll as she shakes her head. “You’re a nightmare,” she mutters, reaching up on her toes to brush her lips against mine. “That’s all you’re getting,” she tells me before pushing the door open and walking inside.
I follow but quickly freeze. “Oh wow, this is…”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “I keep telling Mom to get rid of it all and turn it into a real guest room, but she won’t have it. I don’t think she’ll ever get over the empty nest syndrome.”
“It’s cute that she cares this much,” I muse as I look at each photograph from Sienna’s childhood and teen years.
There’s a small part of me that hopes I’ll find an old photo of myself hiding amongst them all, but I know it’s pointless. I’m the only one sad enough to cling to memories of that summer as hard as I did.
“You were a hot cheerleader,” I tell her when I find her in her uniform with her pompoms at her side. “Do you still have an outfit in here somewhere?”
“Come over here,” she says, and when I turn around, I find her sitting cross-legged on the bed with a scrapbook in front of her.
“What’s that? Tell me it’s a cheer scrapbook.”
“Come and look.”
I sit beside her and reach out to open it.
My breath catches when I read the handwritten title on the first page.
Summer Vacation at The Smythsons Ranch, Texas.
“Is this…”
“Keep going,” she encourages.
I do, and I quickly discover that this scrapbook isn’t really about her vacation that summer, but of the very beginning of our relationship.
I remember her having a digital camera hanging from her wrist the whole time. She was always snapping photos, but I never really thought about what she did with them once she got home. Well, apart from the one she printed and sent me that now sits in pride of place on my nightstand.
“Sienna,” I breathe as I flip through page after page.
“I told you I never forgot.”
“This is…this is incredible,” I say, flipping through all the pages, reliving those incredible two weeks.
When I glance up at her, I find that her cheeks are redder than ever.
“Are you embarrassed?”
She laughs that sweet sound I’m obsessed with. “It’s just so surreal. As soon as I got home after that vacation, it felt like nothing but a dream. You felt like nothing but a dream. And now…all these years later…it’s—”
“Unbelievable,” I mutter, feeling exactly the same. While I might have held out hope that one day I’d find her again, I knew deep down that the chances were slim.
I stare at the final image of us. We’re smiling, but it’s right before I was forced to say goodbye and watch her drive away.
That naive little boy didn’t think it would be forever. He was convinced we’d meet again.
Sometimes, I wonder where he went, because at some point along the way, I didn’t only lose my family, but I lost a lot of that hope and the positive outlook he had on life.
Things are changing, though. With Sienna in my life, I feel more and more of that little boy coming back to life every day.
“We can take this home with us, right?”
“Yeah, if you want,” she says, turning to face me.
“Good. And I think it’s time to start making new ones.”
“New scrapbooks?” she asks, her brows pinching.
“Yeah, and memories together.”
Her smile spreads slowly, and it’s the most incredible sight.
“Come here,” I say, wrapping my hand around the back of her neck and tugging her closer.
“I said no sex,” she blurts a second before my lips brush hers.
“Contrary to popular belief, I can be a good boy.”
“Is that right?”
“You know it is,” I say before diving into our kiss.
It lasts longer and is way filthier than any kiss should be under her parents’ roof, but I can’t help myself.
“We need to stop,” I finally say, pulling back and staring at her.
At some point during that kiss, we crashed back against the bed.
Her eyes are dark with hunger, and her lips are swollen from my kiss.
She looks incredible.
“I could shut the door and we could be really quiet,” she suggests with a naughty glint in her eye.
“You were the one telling me we’re not having sex.”
“I know. But that was before.”
“Before what?” I taunt.
“Before you reminded me of just how good you make me feel. I think I’m a little bit addicted to you.”
“Well, I’m a lot addicted to you. I was back then, and I still am now,” I say, shooting a glance at the scrapbook that’s been kicked to the end of the bed.
“Only a few hours before we can head back to the hotel.” She sighs impatiently.
“You really are horny, huh?”
The smile she gives me is full of wicked intent, but before she can taunt me into something we really, really shouldn’t be doing, there are thundering footsteps on the stairs.
A second later, the door is pushed wider and a head pokes around it.
“It’s okay,” Garrett bellows. “They’re not having sex.”
“Oh my god, Garrett,” Sienna squeals.
“What? Mom and Dad were convinced you’d disappeared to get it on. Mom’s words, not mine.”
“Fucking hell,” Sienna mutters as she pushes up until she’s sitting and I reluctantly follow.
“Dad is opening that game Mom bought him. You guys in?” he asks, loitering at the door.
“Sounds good. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Perfect. I’ll get drinks. Beer?” he asks, looking at me.
“Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”
He disappears, and no sooner do his footsteps fill the air again than Sienna drops her head into her hands and groans.
“Well, what did you expect them to think when you dragged me up here?” I tease.
“Stop it,” she whines.
I gather her up in my arms and hold her, chuckling.
The rest of the day is everything the holidays should be—fun, laughter, family, and love.
By the time we get up to leave, I’m ready to get my girl all to myself, but equally, I don’t want the day to be over. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this welcomed and content. But with my arm around Sienna’s shoulders, we say our goodbyes and head out to our awaiting car.
It’s only for a few hours; the Wentworths have a full day planned for tomorrow.
Although, despite my argument that it’s not necessary, they’ve had to change them because they usually spend the morning after Christmas hiking.
I told them over and over that they could still go.
I hate that they need to make allowances for me, but they were insistent.
So, instead of a hike, we all agreed to a more gentle stroll around town.
I’d have loved to have gone hiking, but I really don’t want to go back to work after the break and immediately piss off Darcy. Regardless, I’m looking forward to getting to know the area a little better. It might not be where Sienna grew up, but it’s a pretty good second best.
“Today was a good day,” I say as I slide under the covers and gather Sienna’s naked body up in my arms.
“Yeah,” she agrees. “It really was.”
“Your parents are great.”
“The best. I’m very lucky to have them.”
Agreement rumbles in my chest as I think about my family and what they’ve done today. Did they even, for the briefest moment, think about me?
“What was your Christmas Day like as a kid?” Sienna asks, as if she can read where my mind has gone.
I roll onto my back, and she curls up at my side, resting her head on my chest.
“It was the best,” I say, letting my mind drift back to better days with my family. “We’d all have to work—the cows and horses didn’t care that it was the holiday—but we’d all get involved and get it done as fast as possible while Mom prepared dinner.
“Once we were done, we’d lock the front door and shut the rest of the world out for a few hours.” As I think back, a small smile pulls at my lips.
“Mom was a fantastic cook; she’d make us a feast, then we’d do gifts, and then spend the rest of the day playing. Kinda like today, to be honest.”
“It’s the only way to do it.”
Suddenly, my brain drags me out of the past and throws me headfirst into the future.
Sienna and me in a house, a couple of kids and a dog running around. The excitement levels are sky high, and Christmas decorations are everywhere. I want it. I want it so fucking badly.
“Do you think you’ll ever find a way to fix everything that’s happened between you?” she asks, dragging me from that perfect little fantasy.
“Honestly, I don’t think so. They’ve been unable to accept my choices this far. I’m not sure that will ever change,” I admit sadly.
“Your mom and sisters still reach out, though, don’t they?”
“Yeah, every now and then. I don’t always reply. They have a way of making me feel guilty for what I did even without meaning to.”
“Have you been back home since you left?”
“No. I’ve never felt like I would be welcome.”
Sienna tenses beside me. “Maybe you should.”
Honestly, I think about it every now and then, but I’ve never been brave enough. If I were to turn up and they made it clear I wasn’t welcome, I think it would break me.
But now, I wouldn’t be doing it alone. I’d have Sienna at my side.
And if I’m being honest, I really want to go back where it all started with her.
I want to do a full circle. I want to take her out to that field we spent so much time in and watch as the sun sets and the stars twinkle to life.
“Yeah,” I agree.
“I’ll support you either way, but if you ever want to go, I’ll be right there with you. They’re your family, so you take the lead.”
I roll onto my side so we’re face-to-face before reaching out and cupping her cheek.
“Have I told you today how incredible you are?”
“Umm…I’m not sure you have,” she teases.
“Well, just to clear that up—you’re incredible, and I love you so much.”
A wide smile spreads across her face. “I love you, too. And no matter what happens with your family, you’ll always have a place in mine.
They love you, and not because you’re Calvin Keller, but because you’re you,” she says, wrapping her hand around the back of my neck and tugging me closer. “Because you’re mine.”
“I’ve always been yours, darlin’. And I always will be.”