“I have a few ideas,” she teases before smoothing her hands up my chest and leaning down to press her lips against mine. Her tongue teases the seam of my lips and I open, my fingers diving into her curls and dancing my tongue against her, feeling her body, smooth against mine.
“I like your ideas.” Though it’s still not sitting right with me that it’s her birthday and I had no idea. “But what do you actually want to do? Seriously? Do you want to go out?” She shakes her head with a tired pout.
“I don’t really want to be in public.”
“That’s fair.” I kiss her again, only because her delicious lips are right there and I can’t help myself. “I have an idea though.” I let my hands go to her hips, and I roll so she’s beneath me and Ikiss her neck, her collarbone, palming her breast and reveling in the way she moans under me. “Put some clothes on,” I whisper against her skin before quickly darting up and heading for her bathroom.
“Wait, what?!” When I spin with a grin, she shoots me a frustrated look that makes me laugh.
“Trust me?” I ask, hovering at the doorway to her bathroom. She rolls her eyes, but then a reluctant smile breaks across her face, and she gives a jerky nod. “Good, now get dressed—something comfy.” I give her a wink and then get to work.
CHAPTER 32
yeah…i think i might be
Caleb
“This is not how I pictured my twenty-ninth birthday, I’ll be honest,” Rosie teases as she climbs into the pillow fort. Yes, a pillow fort. Because I might be in my thirties, but I’m a kid at heart. And watching Rosie smile as she climbs in among the pillows and blankets on the floor of my apartment in front of the TV, it was doing a bunch of weird things to me.
“I still don’t understand why we couldn’t do this at my apartment.” She huffs, settling in, and I head to the kitchen counter to grab the snacks and sodas.
“Because I don’t know where your extra pillows and shit are, and I’m the only one with a key, so no one can interrupt us. I know Addy and Casey can just let themselves in and sue me for being greedy for your attention.” She narrows her eyes at me, making some humming noise, but her smile remains in place as I settle against her. I cranked the AC, making sure we could get cozy with the blankets, and I hand the remote to Rosie.“You pick.” She bites her lip playfully then falls back against the pillows, taking the remote.
“If someone had asked me what I imagined you did in your spare time, eating snacks and watching movies in a pillow fort would not have made the list,” she teases, scrolling through the streaming app.
“Oh yeah? And what would?” She looks over at me, taking a handful of popcorn and shoving it in her mouth. It was nice to see her finally smiling with ease after the events of the day.
“You admiring yourself in the mirror, you checking yourself out,” she continues to tick the items off her fingers and I can’t help the smile that remains in full bloom across my face. “Probably masturbating, a lot. Singing in the shower for some reason comes to mind, definitely to Beyoncé.”
“I am offended you have such a shallow opinion of me, Rosebud.” I snatch the bowl of treats from her and she snickers at my sarcastic tone, the remote landing in her lap as she turns slightly to look at me.
“Okay then, if you’re not a self-obsessed sex pest, then whatdoyou do in your spare time?” She purses her lips, and though the immediate reaction is to give her some sarcastic or teasing answer, I can’t help but take the opportunity to get closer to her. Maybe if I drop my walls, she’ll drop hers, so I try to tell her something honest.
My head falls back against the couch, looking up at the blanket roof of our fort, thinking. “Umm, well, mostly I go through my personal portfolio. I have meetings and phone calls, sometimes I go for a run with Lucas, or just by myself.” My eyes find hers. “I spend a lot of time thinking about you.” The words were quieter, but they are honest.
Her lips part slightly, but she tucks a hair behind her ear, breaking the eye contact and looking at the TV. “‘Personal portfolio’? What’s that?”
I bit back the chuckle at her obvious subject change, letting her get away with it. “My investments. I like to always be looking at possible investments, so when I’m not consumed by my job at Karvelas Media, I’m usually evaluating and expanding my personal assets.” I open a bag of the sour straps and hand them to Rosie, who takes a few.
“So,that’show you can afford all the designer clothing and this apartment.” She looks around, almost something like admiration in her eyes as they settle back on me. “Oh my goodness, Caleb Smith, you’re a rich boy. Exactly how much moneydoyou have.” She giggles as she bites and pulls on a sour strap. My eyes can’t help but latch onto her lips for a moment before looking back at her.
“Show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.” I wink at her and she grunts, shaking her head with a soft smile.
“Fine, what was your proudest investment? Like, what was the thing that you barely had to convince yourself to dive into, that you were excited to put your name on?” She adjusts more so she’s looking at me fully, and I turn to do the same, my chest aching with so many different emotions at her open expression, how comfortable she looks here, in my apartment, talking about nothing special. But her question doesn’t need much thought, I already know.
“I have two actually. Obviously, the first is Noah’s company.”
“You’re an investor?” She sits up, a little shocked, and I bask in that feeling of warmth at the proud look in her eyes.
“Yeah, I worked through college and saved a lot and started little investments here and there. I flipped a few properties, too, so I had a fair cushion to support me, and then when Noah started, I practically emptied my account for him. It’s actually one of my best returns at the moment. He’s killing it.”
With a dazed look across her face, she presses. “And the second?”
I let my smile split my face because I know she won’t be expecting it. “The Jenkinses’ lodge.” She chokes and coughs on the handful of popcorn she shovels into her mouth. “Shit.” I sit forward and hand her a soda as I pat her on the back. After a beat, she catches her breath, her eyes watery from inhaling the popcorn, and a sputtering laugh works its way up my throat.
“Shut up.” She huffs with a breathless laugh. “You purchased the house at Maplewood?” When I simply look at her with a full smile, she shakes her head, her eyes blinking a few times. “Explain?”
“Not much to explain, Rosebud. They had to sell most of their assets because of the court case and the divorce. The lodge went to market and I snatched it up.” I steal a bag of sour worms with emphasis and toss a few in my mouth.
