Cal bats his lashes at me. “What about me?”
“What’s the point of saying anything? You always were a fan of having dessert before dinner anyway.”
“Only because you were on the menu.” He winks.
This man is the Devil.
He takes a bite of the cookie and lets out a mix of a groan and moan. It’s the hottest sound ever, and heat pools in my belly from it and the way his eyes shut. He was always the type to savor things.
Sweets. Drinks. Me.
The last thought triggers a memory of Cal tucked between my legs, his tongue and fingers working in tandem to make me come. My lower half throbs.
You need to get laid.
By what? A vibrator?
Huh. Now that’s an idea.
Although I won’t be able to make all my problems go away permanently, I wouldn’t mind trying to take some of the edge off tonight. At this point, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the fantasy of Cal between my legs from becoming a reality.
I’ve always loved having dinner with Cami. It’s the one part of the day where we can sit down together and enjoy each other’s company, and I thought life couldn’t get any better than that.
At least I did until Cal joined us.
Having him spend time with us at dinner feels natural. Like we were always meant to be a trio, even if we spent six years apart.
I prolong the dinner for as long as possible, solely because I want to relish in Cami’s happiness and Cal’s attention for a little longer. Cami gives me a weird look when I offer snickerdoodles for a second time today, but she doesn’t call me out on the fact that I already let her have dessert before dinner.
“Can we watch a movie?” Cami asks as Cal chomps on his fifth cookie. Seriously. Where does he pack it all, and how do I get my body to do the same?
“Sure. I’d love to see a movie.” I don’t think twice before answering. Cami’s bedtime is in a couple of hours, so we have enough time.
She clasps her hands together. “And build a fort?”
“That sounds like a fun idea.” Cal’s eyes lock on to mine as his tongue darts out to lick the crumbs away from his mouth.
That freaking tease.
I’m tempted to take a bite out of his bottom lip just to make a point.
“Who said you were invited?” I shoot him a look.
“Me!” Cami raises her hand.
Cal grins. “It’s settled, then.”
Asshole.
The only reason I decide to go along with their plan is because Cal hasn’t had a single drink all night. I can tell he is trying, so I don’t want to squash his efforts.
“Fine,” I sigh before turning to Cami. “But you need to wash your hands and brush your teeth first.”
“Okay!” Cami bolts for the bathroom.
Cal grabs blankets and a few spare pillows from the linen closet while I turn on the massive TV Cal bought during one of his shopping sprees. I download the KidFlix app and log in using my credentials.
“What’s that?” Cal drops the blankets on the couch.
“KidFlix?”
“Yeah.” He drags a few of the chairs over from the dining area.
“A streaming service.”
“What about DreamStream?”
My head tilts. “What about it?”
He freezes in place. “You don’t like it?”
I bite down on my lip. “Umm…”
“What?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” DreamStream is a Kane Company baby, so I have to be careful how I phrase my opinion.
“Then what?”
I consider how to mince my words before settling on the truth. “It’s just that it’s not that good.”
His eyes widen. “What do you mean?”
“We liked it at first. Cami really loved having constant access to all the classic Dreamland shows and movies.”
“So you had a subscription?” He unfolds one of the blankets. I grab on to one of the sides and hold it out while he ties the end to the back of one of the chairs.
“Yeah. For about a year or so.”
“Why did you cancel it?”
“A couple of reasons. First off, they increased the monthly price by double the amount last year. Then, they introduced ads on top of that, which I understand is necessary for making money, but it became too much. If we wanted to skip the ads, then it would increase our subscription cost by double.”
“So, quadruple the original price?”
“Exactly. That’s ridiculous for the content they were offering. For the price of a DreamStream subscription, I could pay for four other streaming apps.”
“Why would they quadruple it?” he asks, more so to himself.
“I’m not sure. It’s not like they were producing a lot of new content or anything that could justify the monthly cost. It was just reruns of all their famous shows and movies with a high price tag, and honestly, with a paycheck like mine, it wasn’t worth it.”
“What would have made the price tag justifiable?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe more new releases and less commercials. Oh, and maybe combining all the Kane Company channels into one place. It’s a bit ridiculous to ask people to pay for four different subscriptions all owned by the same media conglomerate.”
He rubs his stubble. “I think you’re on to something.”
“Me?” I laugh. “I don’t know anything about those kinds of things.”
“I’ve been wondering why the profits were going down when compared to our competitors.”
I laugh. “Oh, I could give you a whole list.”
“Would you?” His head tilts with interest.
“Sure. At this rate, I’ve probably had a subscription for every single streaming app available.”
Cami comes running out of the bathroom with toothpaste smeared across her cheek and soap suds stuck between her fingers. I take her back to the bathroom and help her while Cal finishes up the fort.
It’s a tight squeeze but somehow the three of us fit under the blanket fort, although the top part of the TV is cut off. Cami doesn’t seem to mind, her excitement about watching a movie outweighing the logistics.
I lie beside Cami, who chooses the spot closest to the edge, where Merlin sleeps while curled into a ball. Cal looks torn with what to do before settling on sitting crisscross near the opposite side of the fort. I’m not sure he can even see the TV from his position, let alone feel comfortable with how he needs to hunch his body to fit underneath the blanket.
“You can go next to Mommy.” Cami points to the spot on the other side of me.
Lovely. Look at Little Miss Cami playing matchmaker without even knowing it.
Cal glances over at me for approval before I nod slightly.
You’re totally going to regret this one.
With a little sigh, he lies down beside me. His proximity, combined with the smell of his bodywash and the rhythm of his deep breathing, makes my brain foggy and my skin tingle.
Cami picks the movie and gets settled beside me. I barely pay attention to what happens on the screen, my mind too attuned to the man next to me. My heart pounds furiously, the blood rushing to my ears as I resist the temptation to turn around and snuggle into his chest.
At some point, Cal locks his pinky finger with mine, linking us together for the rest of the movie. The connection that flares to life from a single touch makes my toes curl.