Simmer Down - Sarah Smith Page 0,59
week-on, week-off thing. Like divorced parents.”
“Not the most positive spin you could’ve put on it.”
“Screw spin. Are you interested or am I keeping Lemon and her future baby kitties all to myself?”
He kisses my cheek before giving Lemon a head scratch. She nuzzles his knee appreciatively.
“I would love that,” he says.
“Great. I’ll leave her here tonight and get her next week.”
Callum scratches under her chin while peering down at her. “You hear that, Lemon? We’re officially one big happy family.”
I swig more champagne. “One big drunk happy family.” I giggle so hard, I nearly drop my bottle on the floor.
He straightens to a sitting up position, takes the bottle from me, and leans forward to deposit it and his own bottle on the coffee table.
“But the contest . . .” I say before hiccupping.
“Let’s take a break.” His tone is low, soft.
Hugging me tighter against him, he gives Lemon another pat. Then he presses his lips against my forehead. I close my eyes, a happy hum emanating from my throat. His lips on me, our bodies pressed together, our cat between us, and two cheap bottles of champagne. Such an easy recipe for a perfect night. I let the moment sink in, then promptly melt into the couch.
“This is perfect,” I say. “Like, literally perfect.”
He gazes down at me with cloudy eyes. I’m guessing he’s tipsy, too, but less so than me since he’s got the body of a muscled warrior. “Is it?”
“I like doing this with you. I wish we could do it every night.”
It’s a nervous moment while I wait for him to say something. But only silence from him. Great. I made things weird with an unintentionally touchy-feely comment.
To recover, I stand up and grab my bottle from the coffee table, then quickly down the remaining champagne. I spin around, narrowing my gaze at him. An amused expression dances across his face.
“I believe I just won the contest. You know what that means?”
He smirks before gently scooting Lemon next to him on the couch. “Not sure if that counts, petal. We were in the middle of a break.”
I bite my lip, giddy at the very English nickname he’s chosen for me. This is feeling more and more like an actual relationship by the minute, and it’s nowhere near as terrifying as I thought it would be.
I quickly tuck the errant thought aside. Everything seems ideal when you live in a fantasy world like this, when you don’t actually have to do the dirty work of a relationship, like arguments, sharing chores, splitting bills, enduring annoying relatives, all that. When a relationship is simply hanging out and mind-blowing sex, it’s easy to idealize—because you’re only experiencing the best parts.
I’m thankful for the reminder my tipsy self manages to give. I focus back on the task at hand: bantering with Callum in the lead-up to sexy fun times.
I shrug. “Too bad. Those are the rules; you said so yourself. Whoever finishes their bottle first, wins. I finished mine first, which means I won. Which also means . . .”
I twist my head in the direction of the hallway to his bedroom. Just then Callum stands up and grabs me by the waist.
“Which means I owe you a favor,” he says.
“You do.”
I press against the front of his shorts and lick my lips at the hard feel. Mischief dances across his face. Any awkwardness from the moment prior is gone. We’re back to playful and horny.
“What would you like?” he growls.
I scrunch up my face in mock indecisiveness. “What are my options?”
He leans down, softly pressing his lips to my neck. “Anything and everything,” he whispers.
My answer is wordless. It’s just me tugging him by the shirt to get his mouth to mine. After a minute of rabid kissing, I finally voice my request. “Your bed. Now.”
In a split second, Callum bends down and tosses me over his shoulder. He heads in the direction of his bedroom. On the way, he slides his hands up my shorts, squeezing a palmful of my ass. I squeal and giggle.
“Whatever you say, petal.”
* * *
• • •
I dunk another basket of lumpia into the fryer, unable to wipe the smile from my face. It’s only been two days since Callum and I last hooked up, but our meetups have become my own personal sexy rewards program. Bust my ass during the day, act professional around all these customers, then when evening falls, I treat myself to a naked Callum making me howl into