Ilaugh, throwing my head back and letting the sound reverberate through me. We’re all at a large table at the restaurant. The lights are low, soft music pipes through discreetly placed speakers, and everyone is having a fantastic time.
Every plate Jackson and Gwen have put in front of us has been like a bite of heaven, and I’m in a happy, floaty place. My stomach is pleased, the wine has flowed, and my muscles feel like Jell-O.
But the best thing about the night is Caden next to me—his hand on my leg, his fingers brushing over my thighs as we’ve talked and laughed. It almost feels like we’re a real couple, our heads bent close as he whispers something in my ear. We’re all relaxed and loose, and a feeling so foreign to me I almost can’t name it settles deep into my bones.
I’m…carefree.
Like I don’t have a worry in the world.
It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten what it felt like. But now that it’s upon me, I find I’m hungry for it.
I want to kick off my shoes and slow dance on the table.
To run outside and feel the warm air on my skin.
I want to skinny dip in a moonlit pool and have sex on the grass.
I want everything I’ve been denying myself.
But most of all, I want to bottle up this feeling so I can remind myself over and over again why it feels so good. So I don’t forget again.
Caden’s fingers slide up my spine and wrap around the nape of my neck. His lips brush the shell of my ear. “I love the way you look right now.”
I turn toward him, my lashes fluttering. “And how do I look?”
His fingers brush the curve of my shoulder. “Like you’ve been well fucked.”
I giggle, pushing at him gently. “So this is really about you, not me.”
“You didn’t let me finish.” His attention moves to my mouth.
“By all means, continue.” I wave my hand.
“You’re beaming. Your eyes are bright, your cheeks rosy.” He nuzzles my neck. “And best of all, you have no tension at all right now.”
We never made an agreement, never spoke about it, but we’re not hiding what’s happened between us, and I like it. It makes me feel like… I don’t know…like I belong somehow.
Like I’ve clicked into a place that feels like home.
I’m not sure how he’s managed it—to fill a space I hadn’t even known was empty—but he has.
I brush my mouth over his. “I want to drive out to the lake after this and swim naked.”
He chuckles. “Oh yeah?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“What about gators?”
I shrug. “I want to live dangerously.”
“I like it.”
There’s the sound of metal clinking against glass, and I turn to see Gwen and Jackson at the end of the table, wine goblets raised.
Gwen smiles. “I want to thank you all for coming and helping us run through the menu before the private event. Your support and honest feedback have been invaluable to us, and we can’t ever repay you. If you’re at this table tonight, it’s because you’re important to us, and we love you, and I’m so happy you’re here. I know it’s late, so not tonight, but tomorrow, we’d like to sit down with each one of you individually and go over all the dishes—what you loved, what was okay, what you hated.”
Payton shakes her head and yells, “You know everything was fantastic.”