Page 51 of Beyond the Cage

He takes my hand, leads me to his chest of drawers, and pulls out the top drawer. It’s empty.Holy crap!

“You’re giving me a drawer?”

With a smile, he drags me to the closet next. A section at the front has been cleared, empty hangers waiting to be utilized.

Wow…this is big. Isn’t it?

“Cameron…”

I throw my arms around his waist and bury my face in his chest. I do that a lot, don’t I? He’s serious…like,reallyserious. Thank God I’m not alone in this. I don’t know exactly what his feelings are, but he wouldn’t do this if he wasn’t feelingsomething. It makes me even more confident of the place he holds in my heart.

“Thank you.”

He kisses my forehead, and we head back to the bed. My new clothes are strewn all over it, so I get to work putting them away. A thought occurs to me, and I shoot a smile in his direction.

“No more walks of shame?”

He grins, patting the space next to him on the bed.

“In a minute.” As I walk to the bathroom, I glance back at him over my shoulder. “And don’t think I forgot that you broke my orgasm rule, mister.”

He chuckles, shaking his head. When I turn on the bathroom light, the first thing I see is a small, green robe hanging next to his big, blue one.Aww…

I also notice a bunch of products in a corner.O.M.G!I see my deodorant, favorite perfume, hair products, lotion, body wash, and my hair brush. What did he do, raid my apartment? Examining them more closely, I realize they’re all new. I had no idea he was paying such close attention. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. He’s…nesting. I brush my teeth, wash my face, and hurry back to him.

It’s my turn to observe him from the bathroom door. He’s watching his DVD again, so absorbed in it he pays me no attention when I move to the bed. I pick up the remote, hit Pause, and climb on top of him. He places his hands on my hips and smiles up at me. I cradle his face and lean forward.

“I could do major damage to your reputation if anyone found out what a sweetheart you really are.”

I touch my lips to his in a gentle kiss then lay my head on his shoulder, wiggling my hips to get more comfortable. He grabs my hips and groans.

“Oh, God, I’m sorry!” I exclaim, realizing what I did. I look down at him, truly remorseful. “Do you want me to go?”

He shakes his head, so I carefully move to the other side of the bed.

“Okay. I won’t bug you anymore. Goodnight.”

He leans over, plants a chaste kiss on my lips, and returns his attention to the TV.

Lying on my side, I watch him. God knows he’s not what I thought I wanted…but He knows best. What I thought I didn’t want is turning out to be exactly what I need.

CHAPTER 13

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle

I survey my surroundings in disdain. If it wasn’t for Cameron, I would never have set foot in a place like this again. The smoke from the special effects mingles with smoke from cigarettes and cigars. I know I smell weed in the mix, too. Chelsea seems unaffected, bouncing around like an excited child. I hope he’s as quick with this fight as he was with The Pitbull.

I didn’t see much of him today. When I woke up, he was gone. I heard the noise coming from the gym and didn’t want to bother him, so I stayed upstairs. The text I woke up to had me feeling so good, I cleaned, changed the sheets, and did laundry.

Cameron: As long as you’re my woman, you’ll never have to “take care of it” yourself.

I thought that also warranted him a home-cooked meal. There’s a meal plan stuck to the fridge, so I fixed his lunch. Everything I did made him ecstatic, which, in turn, made me ecstatic. Since he was busy, I spent the rest of the day with Chels. Cameron and Jared picked us up, and we all came here together.

“Helloooo…Earth to Planet Jasmine.”

“Huh?” I turn to Chels in confusion.

“Where’d you go?”