She didn’t say anything for so long that I looked up cautiously. Her chin rested in her palm as she studied me.
“I think you’ll make a great dad.”
“What?” I barely breathed the word. It wasn’t what I thought she would say. I figured she’d make a comment about how I would never fill this house if I didn’t start filling a woman. But this was Oaklyn. She never judged me; she never made a snarky comment diminishing my issues.
“You’re so passionate in class, how could you not be passionate about everything else? I bet you’d take the kids to a planetarium and force astronomy on them.” She smiled. “Probably have them reciting constellations before their ABCs.”
A lump at the base of my throat threatened to choke me. I smiled with her, imagining the picture she described.
“But it will totally play in your favor when you make your wife fall in love with you by taking her stargazing. A romantic nighttime picnic.”
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and saw it. Saw myself curled up with a woman with light brown hair and golden eyes. I saw myself making love to her under the stars.6Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I somehow managed to speak. “What about you? What does your future look like?”
“A stable family. A home we feel secure in. One that I can provide because I have my degree and make a shit-ton of money.”
“A shit-ton? Is that more or less than a fuck-ton of money?”
“Less. I don’t want to be greedy. Especially since I want more. I want a house full of kids. I mean not an army, but definitely more than three. I hated being an only child.”
“Did your parents not dote on you since you were the only one?”
“They did. They tried to be the best they could. They just worked a lot. We seemed to always just be on the edge of making it. So, I was alone as they worked two jobs each. I would have loved to have a sibling to share that time with.”
“Well, I think you’ll make your dreams come true. You’re too determined to not have them happen.”
“True,” she agreed with a hard nod. “Now, let’s clean these dishes up and go make-out on your over-sized couch.”
“We could always just toss them in the sink.”
She cocked an eyebrow at me. “I want your full attention, and if we leave a mess, you won’t be able to focus. I know you, Callum.”
In awe of how well shedidknow me, I stood and grabbed both plates and took them to the sink. She followed behind me with the cups and grabbed a towel as I started washing. Her hips swayed to the music I had playing in the background, and I was about to say fuck all these damn dishes and attack her. Instead, I settled on flicking soapy water at her.
“Hey,” she screeched, dodging more splashes of water. “What was that for?”
“If you don’t stop shaking your ass, I’m going to end up putting you up on the counter and eating you for dessert.”
She slicked her tongue across her lips and tugged the bottom with her teeth. Too tempting to pass up, I leaned down and sucked it in my mouth, loving her moan.
“Now hurry up and dry so we can get to dessert.”
She gave a mock salute and grabbed the dish from my hands to dry, but continued to shake her hips, peeking over at me to make sure I was watching.
“Fucking tease.”
She giggled and tapped my hip with her own.
Once I handed over the last dish for her to dry, I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her back to my front. I brushed her hair to the side and began working my lips down her neck.
“Callum,” she groaned.
“Better focus. Wouldn’t want to drop that dish.”
She swiped the towel across the glass and then set them both on the counter, not bothering to try and put it away, and turned in my arms. Her hands slid over my shoulders and burrowed in my hair, pulling me down so she could feast on my lips.
I seriously considered hoisting her up on the counter, but decided I wanted to have her laid out for me and instead gripped her ass and lifted. Her legs wrapped around my waist, and I turned, not taking my mouth from hers, and headed to the living room.
I wasn’t ready to have her mouth off of mine just yet, so I sat back, and we made out like a couple of teenagers. I cringed a little when I remembered she actually was a teenager, but when I looked at her, I didn’t see her age. I saw comfort and caring and a future. I made sure to never pressure her or feel like she owed me anything because of my position in her life. She was there because she wanted to be, and she was an adult able to make her own decisions.
