40. Celeste
Celeste
Two pairs of eyes are on me as soon as I step out of my bedroom.
“There she is.” Kourtney smiles. “How do you feel?”
“Groggy as fuck.” My voice sounds like I swallowed a frog but feels like I swallowed razor blades. “What time is it?”
“A little after noon.”
My gaze drifts to Jason, sitting on the couch next to Kourtney. “You look worse than I do right now, boss man.”
His lips tip up, but his smile doesn’t stretch across his face.
Kourtney runs her fingers through his hair. “Pretty sure he listened for your breaths the entire night.”
Guilt clutches my stomach. “I told you, you didn’t have to worry about me.”
He hikes a shoulder, like he couldn’t help himself from worrying. Purple rings line his undereye skin, and his eyes are bloodshot.
I stride across the room and climb onto his lap, wrapping my arms around him. “Thanks for taking care of me last night. Sorry that I was such a mess.”
His hands slide around my waist, and he rests his chin on the top of my head. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
I reach out and lace my fingers with Kourtney’s. “Your husband is going to have to try harder next time if he wants to get rid of me.” He digs a finger into my ribs, and I squeal. “What, too soon?”
“Your safety will never be a joke to me.” His low voice floats over my skin, and the magnitude of how seriously he’s taking this settles deep in my bones. “This won’t ever happen again.”
Being here with the two people I care about most in my life, feeling the way they care for me, knowing I can depend on them…it terrifies me and calms me at the same time.
It feels a lot like a family, or what a family should feel like—not like my parents ever gave me that example.
I can’t get too attached. I can’t fool myself and think that this will continue forever. We have an expiration. A couple more weeks, and I’ll go back to my apartment, and they’ll go back to being the happy, perfect couple.
I’ll be on the outside looking in, left with all the memories of what we had.
I slink off of Jason’s lap, needing some space.
He jumps up and follows me into the kitchen. “What do you need?”
I bite my tongue to hold myself back from making a joke about how I don’t trust him to feed me after what happened last night. “I’m just making some toast, boss man. I can handle it.”
He reaches for the bread and turns over the package to show me the ingredients. “There’s no dairy in this bread. I checked at the grocery store before I bought it.”
I glance over at Kourtney, who’s watching us from over the back of the couch with a knowing smile on her face. “Is he going to be like this from now on?”
“He already cleaned out the fridge this morning.” She opens her arms wide. “We’re officially a dairy-free household.”
I shake my head. “That’s not necessary, Jay. Just because I can’t have dairy doesn’t mean you two can’t enjoy the wonderful world of lactose.”
He pops two pieces of bread into the toaster oven. “I’m not taking any chances.”
I press my fingers against the puffy skin surrounding my eyes. “At least we’re wearing masks for the camera, so I can cover my face.”
Kourtney joins us in the kitchen and snags a water bottle out of the fridge. “We don’t have to make a video tonight if you’re not up to it.”
“I’m fine.” I shoot a glare at Jason. “I’m fine. Plus, we should get one more in before Erika’s surgery tomorrow.”
Kourtney nods. “Then we can spend the week editing them before we make the next batch.”
Jason pulls a plate out of the cabinet and sets it down on the counter. “I’ll go move your things into our bedroom so you can get settled.”
I pat him on the shoulder. “Thanks, boss man.”
The toaster beeps, and Kourtney sits with me at the kitchen table while I enjoy a couple of slices of dry bread, praying I don’t puke them up after.
“How’s your stomach?” she asks.
“We’ll find out.”
She grimaces. “I’m sorry you got so sick last night. I know how much you hate anyone seeing you like that.”
“It is what it is.” I speak around the ball of dough in my mouth. “I just hope he can still get it up around me after seeing me puke up my guts.”
Jason pops his head out of my bedroom and holds up my double-sided dildo that he must’ve found in my nightstand. “We’re definitely using this for the video tonight.”
Kourtney throws her head back as she laughs. “I don’t think he’ll have any problem getting it up.”
“Hey, guys,” I call over my shoulder. “Did someone order food?”
Jason strides toward me from the hallway. “That was me.”
I glance down at the cart and the man standing behind it at our front door. “Uh, are we having a party I don’t know about?”
Jason ties the drawstring on his waistband before reaching for his wallet in the bowl on the entryway table. “No, this is all for us.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Damn.”
The delivery man’s eyes roam over Jason’s bare torso as he fishes a fifty-dollar bill out of his wallet. “Are you…oh my god, are you Jason Stamos?”
“I am.” Jason offers him a polite smile before handing him his generous tip. “Would you like an autograph?”
He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Would you mind taking a picture instead?”
“Of course not.”
I hold out my hand. “I’ll take it for you.”
His eyes light up as he hands me his phone. “Thank you so much.”
Jason steps into the hallway and wraps his arm around the man’s shoulders, smiling wide as if it’s totally normal to be posing for a picture with a stranger while he’s half-naked.
“Thank you.” The man practically drools on his chest. “Enjoy your food.”
After he wheels the cart away, I start hoisting the tote bags onto my shoulders. “What is all this food for?”
Jason slings the remaining bags on his arms. “I looked up vegan food markets in the area, and this place had the best reviews.”
I gesture at the bags. “So, you bought everything from the entire store?”
He chuckles as he locks the door behind us. “No, just the important stuff.”
I shake my head and carry the bags into the kitchen, setting them down on the counter. “Are you going vegan now? I heard a lot of athletes are doing that.”
“No, but I got a bunch of dairy-free stuff that I think you’re going to love.
” He talks a mile a minute as he unloads the groceries onto the counter.
“I got the basics, like vegan butter and vegan cheeses. I wasn’t sure which brands would taste the best, so I got a variety.
They also had vegan parmesan cheese, so we’ll see if that’s any good.
I got dairy-free cereal and dairy-free gum.
Did you know some brands put milk in their gum?
Crazy. I never would’ve thought to check the ingredients on gum.
” He holds up a box. “They had vegan granola bars with only, like, four ingredients. They might taste like tree bark, but we’ll see.
Oh, and I also got coconut milk ice cream in a few different flavors. ”
I blink up at him. “Why did you do all of this?”
He pauses and turns to face me, his eyebrows pinching together. “I don’t want to order takeout and chance you having an allergy attack again. I figured if I cook for you, we can guarantee that you’ll be okay.”
My heart constricts inside my chest. “Jay, you didn’t need to go crazy over this.”
He reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “To me, this isn’t crazy. This is just me making sure you have everything you need here. This is your home just as much as it is ours.”
Home.
My eyelids flutter closed as I lean into his touch. “You’re always looking out for me.”
“I always will.”
“This really wasn’t necessary though.”
He brushes his lips against mine. “Just say thank you, Jay.”
“Thank you, Jay.”
“I appreciate you, Jay.”
I nip at his bottom lip. “I appreciate you, Jay.”
“You’re a sex god with the world’s most perfect cock.”
I roll my eyes as I laugh and shove his chest. “Don’t push it.”
“Just say it one time,” he calls after me as I head down the hallway.
I cup my hands around my mouth. “Hey, Kourt!”
“Yeah?” She pops her head out of the bedroom, fresh out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body.
“Your husband is a sex god with the world’s most perfect cock.”
“Don’t I know it.” She shoots me a wink. “Now hurry up and get in here so we can put that perfect cock to use.”