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My hands move up the big muscles in his arms and rest on his shoulders. I’m about to lean my head in to kiss him more deeply when Jaxon suddenly backs up and sits down in the desk chair. I’m a mess of panting, but Jaxon looks fine. How can he look so put together after that kiss? What made him stop?
When my mom opens the door and looks around the room, she answers my questions. She sees me standing next to the dresser and Jaxon holding a snow globe. “Hey, Ms. Dalton. Calla just told me about all the snow globes you’ve given her. You’ve been to so many places.”
My mom gives him a smile. “Yes, that’s one of the things I love about my job. The places are so different, even at the airports. When there’s a long break between flights, I get a couple of hours in the city where I land to explore. It’s definitely a perk.”
My mom looks at me, and I smile back. Maybe it’s a little too broad based on what she says next. “It’s getting late. I think Jaxon should leave now.”
“Okay. Just give me a few minutes, and then I’ll take him outside.”
“Okay. Goodnight, Jaxon,” my mom says.
“Goodnight, Ms. Dalton. Thank you for letting me stay at your house.”
My mom doesn’t say anything, but she does give him a little nod before shutting the door. I’m happy and surprised that she really closes it and doesn’t leave it open. She has to trust him.
“A*s-kisser,” I mumble to myself. Jaxon smirks and looks at me instead of the door. “A*s-kisser, huh?”
My mouth moves, but nothing comes out. I only whispered what I was thinking, but he still heard me!
“How did you…”
“I can hear very well,” Jaxon says. I stood there, not sure what to say. I had a lot of questions for him, so I just said the first one that came to mind.
I hate what I said: “So, do you have any plans this weekend?” I wish I hadn’t said it right away because it makes me sound desperate. For crying out loud, we just met two days ago!
He nervously rubs the back of his neck while sitting in his desk chair and looking for the right words. “Uh… I’m actually busy this weekend…”
That’s great! He’s nice even when he says no! I shake my head back and forth and try to hold back the tears that are coming. I walk toward the door, hoping he’ll follow me so he can leave and I won’t have to see him again. He probably thinks I’m needy and doesn’t want to spend two days in a row with me.
“That was a dumb question. Of course, you’re busy with other girls and stuff. Sorry, I asked.” My voice breaks on the last word, and I curse myself for being so sensitive. He didn’t lie to me. He never said he would do anything for me. I was just getting my hopes up.
One minute, I’m standing by the door, and the next, I’m up against the wall with Jaxon, who looks angry. He looks at me with his hands on my cheeks. Jaxon frowns and wipes away a single tear with his thumb right away. His eyes are black again, and I remember that he looks like that when he’s upset.
He kisses me harder than before, with his tongue going deep into my mouth. This kiss makes my stomach tingle. I let him in, and his tongue goes all over my mouth. I touch his tongue with mine, and that makes him want to go faster. His hands move from my face to my waist, then to my hips, and finally to my thighs. He picks me up, and my legs wrap around him right away. My arms naturally wrap around his neck. He keeps kissing me until I can’t breathe anymore. Even then, he seems to be fine on oxygen because his kisses go from my jaw to my neck and then to the spot where my neck and shoulder meet. He bites me there lightly, and I let out a moan. I don’t know why that spot is so sensitive, but it’s like he knew. He keeps kissing, biting, and licking that spot, and I keep feeling like I’m in heaven.
He stops and then puts his head in my neck and pants heavily. He slowly puts me down and then lifts my chin with his finger.
“Please don’t think I’m hanging out with other girls. I’m just going out of town for work, okay?”
I can’t breathe, so I just nod.
He goes on. “I really want to see you, but we’ll have to settle for texting and calling. I’m not talking to any other girls, and I don’t want you to talk to any other guys.”
I smile shyly at him, and my cheeks probably turn a deep shade of pink. I nod again.
He kisses me on the lips. “Okay. It’s done. You’re mine.”
His possessive comment makes me smile more. It’s really sweet that he wants me all to himself. And I’m so happy. I’ve never been this happy or light before. I give him a big hug and wrap my arms around his neck. He hugs me back and puts his face on my neck. We stay like that for a few minutes until he finally lets go of me.
“I should probably leave before your mom comes back.”
I laugh and say, “You might be right.”
I walk him to the door, and we say goodbye. He kisses me again and then says he’ll text me. I watch him walk to his car, and I don’t close the door until I can’t see it anymore.
************
I was in a state of pure bliss after Jaxon left last night. I couldn’t stop thinking about him all night. We haven’t known each other for very long, but I don’t feel strange about our kisses. If it had been someone else, I might have thought our relationship was moving too quickly, but with him, it just felt right.
We were also in the “talking” stage of our relationship. That’s what people say, right? He told me not to talk to other guys, but that doesn’t mean I’m his girlfriend, does it? I’m happy to learn more about whatever “we” are.
I woke up this morning with a smile on my face after falling asleep last night. I had a dream about him last night, and let me tell you, it was the hottest dream I’ve ever had. I’m not going to complain, though.
I rubbed vanilla body wash all over myself while I took a shower. I got dressed and then looked at my phone. I had a text from Jaxon.
Broody: Good morning, sweetheart
Me: Hello! How did you sleep?
Broody: I had a good night’s sleep. I had a dream about you.
I got hot in the face when I thought about my dream, which starred Jaxon. I decided not to tell him that, though. I told him what I was going to do that day, and he told me he was already in the car on his way to the airport for a business meeting. He said he would text me again later.
I made myself avocado toast and coffee after I said goodbye, but I groaned when the bitterness hit my tongue. I’ve been treating myself to Cafe coffee lately, and now I don’t want to drink anything else.
So, since I needed more coffee, I went to the Cafe to get some after I finished breakfast and drank the last of my coffee. I know I have a problem, yes. No, I don’t want to fix it. I brought schoolwork with me so I could get some work done. I had homework in all of my classes, so I could spend the whole day at Steamy Bean Cafe. Maisie and Mom are still sleeping at home, and Mom doesn’t have to work this weekend, so I can do whatever I want.
The walk to the Steamy Bean Cafe is short, and I make sure to pick up the pace to get out of the chilly weather. I walk by the bookstore and remember that I haven’t been in there in a while. I hope to have more time one of these days. I don’t have much time to myself because I have to do homework, go to class, work, and watch Maisie.
As soon as I walk into Steamy Bean Cafe, the bell rings and my friend and coworker Natalie greets me.
“Hey, Calla! How are you?” she says in a happy voice.
“I’m doing well. Classes are definitely a change from my normal routine, but I can handle it,” I say with a light laugh as I take my wallet out of my bag. “Could I get a big Cinnamon Dolce Latte with extra whipped cream?”
“Sure thing. That will cost $3.52.”
I take out the right amount of cash and give it to Natalie, who opens the register.
“Oh, what an angel!” she sings in agreement. “I don’t have to count out change.”
“Yeah,” I say with a laugh. “It’s so annoying when the order is $3.00 and the customer gives you a twenty.”
“Exactly!” Natalie shouts. “My job is to make coffee, not to count out too much change for you.”
I put my wallet back in my bag and looked around the coffee shop. There are a lot of empty tables.
She says, “Sit anywhere you want; I’ll bring it to you.”
I smile and say, “Oh, thank you!” Then, I walk over to a table in the corner of the store. I like this place the best because it has an outlet and the chairs are more like armchairs. Cozy, private, and useful.
I turn on my laptop and get to work on Calculus. I open my textbook online to the first chapter, get my notebook, and start the first problem. Natalie brings me my coffee halfway through the second problem. I say “thank you” softly and keep working.
Minutes turn into hours, and before I know it, I’ve been at Steamy Bean Cafe for three hours, finished two homework assignments, and ordered another coffee. It’s official: coffee runs through my veins.
The scariest thing happens as I take out my Ethics notebook. When I hear the doorbell ring, I go to see who it is and it’s that kid from my Ethics class. That timing is just insane, but there he is. As soon as he walks in, he sees me and waves. I wave back shyly. He walks over to me, and that’s when I see that he’s not by himself.
A girl with the same platinum blonde hair follows him from behind. She died the ends of her hair hot pink, which gave her a punk rock look. Felix’s clothes were dark, but she wore bright neon clothes. I could see that she had a lot of piercings. She had about five on each ear, a nose ring, and an eyebrow ring.
When Felix got to my table, he was smiling. “Hey, Calla. What a surprise to see you here.”
“Yeah,” I say, not sure what else to say. I don’t really know how to talk to people I just met. I run out of things to say, which makes the conversations awkwardly long. But Felix easily picks up the conversation. He looks at the notebook I just put on the table, and his eyes get big.
“Did you just pull out your Ethics homework? That’s creepy.”
I laugh at what he said. “It’s strange. Were you outside waiting for me to start my Ethics homework so you could do it for me?” I say in jest.
The corner of his mouth turns up in a smile. “I kept walking by this coffee shop, so I decided to bring my sister with me. By the way, this is Elise. Elise, this is Calla. She’s in my Ethics class.”