Page 29 of Catching Our Moment
Shaw
With Kelcie’s father still off RVing with his wife, and my mother living in Florida, our Thanksgiving plans consisted of my brother and our friends.
I was more than a little relieved not to have to sit across the table from Coach Hammer quite yet—although I knew that conversation was necessary.
He and I had to have a come-to-Jesus moment about my feelings for Kelcie and his opinion on us being together.
We weren’t kids any longer, and as much as I respected the man’s opinion, I was done living by it.
For now, my belly was “Thanksgiving-full,” and the tryptophan was kicking my contentment into high gear.
I drew in a deep breath and let it out before taking a swig of the beer Grace had given me.
I was lounging on Grace’s sofa, Kelcie next to me, my friends surrounding us, and my world was complete—well, almost, since Aaron wasn’t with us.
Because there would be a next year. And every year after that. We finally got off our asses, and while we agreed to take things slow—both to savor the new us and to give everyone else time to adjust to the idea—my mind was way ahead of the game.
I surveyed my friends in Grace’s cozy family room, the game playing on the television, and was very aware of my arm on the back of the sofa behind her, of the way our bodies weren’t exactly touching but how badly I wanted to lean her into my side and kiss the top of her hair.
It was where she belonged. Was that allowed? Was that “taking it slow”?
I let my finger caress the back of her shoulder and saw the corner of her lip curve.
The sexual tension wasn’t one-sided. Good.
She shifted, straightening her back, and took a sip of her wine. She curled a leg under her and…there—she leaned against my side.
Bingo. I didn’t hide my satisfaction as I let my hand lightly rest on her shoulder. I peered up to meet several sets of knowing glances and warm smiles. Our friends were happy.
“Even with Kelcie joining us, our group seems smaller this year,” Dylan said.
“Well, the fact that all of us are single certainly slims down the crowd,” Grace said.
“I’m not single,” Aliya said, coming into the room carrying a newly opened bottle of wine.
While none of us rolled our eyes, none of us acknowledged her statement.
“Where is the love of your life,” Dylan said.
Aliya poured a healthy glass. “He’s on a guys’ trip to the Rockies.” She took a sip and did not make eye contact but, faking the casualness of the explanation, added, “It was booked over a year ago.”
No one commented on Aliya’s boyfriend’s constant excuses for not being around us. “What about Wyatt?” Dylan said.
“We are going to do a video call with him in a bit,” Grace said, grabbing her laptop. “He got stuck out in Seattle.” No one was quite sure what Wyatt did in Seattle. Venture capitalist was our closest guess. Maybe something with investments?
The conversation slipped into the background as I watched the game and enjoyed the warmth of the company. I cued into the conversation when the tone of the women changed to Aliya’s latest recommendation.
“So, our friend over here”—Kelcie pointed at Aliya, who flashed an expression of mock innocence—“recommended a new audiobook a bit outside my usual genre. She wouldn’t even tell me what it was about.
She even went so far as to send it to me as a gift.
‘ Just download it, listen, and call to thank me later ,’ she’d said. ”
Aliya leaned back on the chair and studied her wine glass. Her hesitancy in discussing her boyfriend switched over into full amusement as she grinned like the Cheshire Cat.
Grace leaned over. “What did you send her?”
“You’ll see.” Aliya took another sip, hiding her devilish smile.
“I dropped Aaron off at school and had to drive to the next town over for my annual woman’s appointment .” Kelcie’s neck flushed, and the pink traveled up to her cheeks. This was going to be good.
She took a deep, thorough drink. “I can’t believe I’m telling you all this story.”
“Take another sip.” Aliya rested her chin on her hand and giggled. “Keep going…”
Kelcie covered her eyes, ran her hands over her forehead, and leaned into me further.
“After I dropped off Aaron, I had my earbuds in and started the audiobook, listening to it all the way over to the doctor’s office and.
..” She let it trail off, not making eye contact with anyone, but her blush deepened.
“What kind of book was this, Kelcie? If it had this kind of reaction, it must have been interesting,” Dylan said, leaning forward.
“It was a…ahem… steamy romance.” She straightened, waving us off. “That wasn’t the part that’s embarrassing. I read those all the time.”
“Which book was this?” Grace asked.
“The one I told you about with the house contractor,” Aliya said to Grace, waving her off and not taking her eyes off Kelcie, to whom she said, “Keep going…”
Dylan held up a hand, sitting up so straight he almost fell off his seat. “House contractor…nice.”
Aliya motioned with one hand to get on with it while she drank from her glass in the other one.
“So, when I got to the doctor’s office, things in the story were, um…reaching the pivotal scene Aliya had warned me about. So, I paused it and went to check in.” Kelcie sipped her drink, and we all sat in silence, waiting.
“Once the nurse took me back, I changed and was sitting on the table, waiting for the doctor. The nurse said he was with another patient and would be in shortly. I pulled out my phone and started checking emails and such.” She shifted and, still not making eye contact, continued, “The doctor came in and startled me, and I didn’t manage to close all the apps on my phone.
” She looked up and gestured to the girls.
“He darted around the room, getting things together, pulling out the stirrups, and chatting while he worked, and I, um…assumed the position.” She gestured with her hands as if she were talking about the weather, not lying buck-ass naked, legs spread in front of a man who wasn’t hers.
She continued, “The doctor asked, ‘How are things? How’s your son?’—the normal chit-chat that he always does—so I didn’t think about the fact that I was spreading my naked lady parts open to him, and he was inserting a mini-metal pry-bar inside me.”
Dylan and I simultaneously cringed. It was more than either one of us wanted to know about gynecological exams. Our enthusiasm for the story lessened slightly.
“I laid down, holding my phone next to me as he started the breast exam.”
Dylan put up a hand and said, “Whoa. I understand that we’ve all been close friends for a long while, but there are certain images I don’t think I need to have in my head, Kelcie.”
She rolled her eyes. “Anyway…I went to lift my hand holding my phone, and it slipped, fell, and after a bit of juggling, it landed on a chair nearby. But not before it tripped my audiobook into playing…quite loudly at a very…um…eh…descriptive, intimate moment.”
“Which scene?” Grace was on the edge of her seat.
Kelcie took a sip of her drink and said, “The shower scene…”
Aliya’s face beamed. “Ohhh—no.”
Grace’s mouth fell open, and she let out a roar, “No!”
“Yep. Just as the doctor was scooting his stool around and propping my legs in the stirrups, my phone blared out, “Oh, yes, baby! Right there. Please, don’t stop?—”
Dylan made the rookie mistake of having a mouthful of beer. Kelcie delivered that last description in an overly dramatic falsetto, and beer sprayed from his mouth.
She continued, “There was a good deal of descriptiveness of body parts and moaning before I could work my fingers well enough to shut it off.”
Kelcie simply downed the rest of her drink as our friends enjoyed her embarrassment. As her newly minted, self-appointed boyfriend, I took the glass from her, stood, and went to refill it.
Kelcie joined the laugh-fest with a freeness I didn’t think I’d seen in…God, in ages. Before Aaron, before James. Her smile was sunshine with a hint of that rascally smirk that told us that she liked the fact that she still had it in her to shock us.
It was my kryptonite.
My eyes burned. “There you are,” I whispered without even realizing it.
She turned to me, and our friends faded into the background, discussing the details of the book.
Kelcie leaned into my chest. The alcohol had relaxed her enough, so her estimation of personal space was slightly off, and her lips were centimeters from mine. “What did you say?”
A different kind of light had returned. Uninhibited. Unhindered.
“What are you mumbling about, Shawfield?”
I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “There you are,” I repeated, taking in every inch of the girl I remembered, the one who’d been hidden behind responsibilities and obligations. Tonight, we’d pulled her out.
“I haven’t gone anywhere.” Her laugh died, and her smile softened.
I played with the wisps of hair falling out of her ponytail, staring at them, and didn’t say another thing.
“Just kiss her already,” Aliya yelled at us. “And put us all out of our misery.”
I hadn’t realized how quiet it had fallen and how all their eyes were on us, like a bride and groom at a wedding. Before I knew it, Kelcie’s hand was on my cheek, and she was kissing me, giving them all something to talk about.
“Okay, okay,” Dylan said to Aliya. “Do you see what you started?”
A flash went off, and Kelcie drew back, her face flushed, her smile a bit shy and—damn me—flirtatious. I liked it.
“I think it may be time for us to…” I stood, pulling Kelcie off the sofa, ready to make our exit.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Grace said. “We’re doing a video call with Wyatt over pie. Then you can go home to your love nest. You have all night.”
“Damn, Grace, with the cock block,” I said.
“Anticipation—makes the heart grow fonder,” Aliya said.
“I think I’ve had enough anticipation to last a lifetime,” I grumbled, pulling Kelcie’s back against my front. I nuzzled her ear.
“Give it a rest, Romeo. Wyatt wants to see everyone,” Grace said. “Give him ten minutes.”
I sat back down on the sofa, pulling Kelcie down on me and cradling her on my lap.
She stiffened at first but then sunk into my chest. We talked with Wyatt as Grace handed out a variety of pies.
Kelcie snuggled into me as we caught him up on the latest happenings, but my attention was on holding her, feeling her warmth against me, the scent of her hair, the way her voice reverberated against my chest, and how my hand molded to different parts of her body (of course the PG-13 versions, for now).
She fell asleep on the way home, and I coaxed her into her side of the house, wishing I could hold her in my arms. The indulgence of food, wine, fun, and what I suspected was pure relaxation for the first time in a long time caught up with her.
She changed into a strappy nightgown, and I stripped down to a modest t-shirt and boxers, and we both crawled into bed without any discussion of me being there.
I held open my arms, and she sleepily crawled up onto my chest.
The moonlight was just bright enough for me to see her beautiful eyes, which were half-open. “Shaw, I?—”
“Go to sleep, beautiful. We have all weekend,” I said, kissing her chastely on the lips. James wasn’t bringing Aaron back until Sunday. That gave us plenty of time, and I wanted her to be well-rested for everything I dreamed of doing with her.
Besides, holding her, knowing this was where she wanted to be… Hell, I wondered if I would be able to sleep in this condition, let alone with this goofy-ass smile on my face.