Page 12 of Unearthed Dreams (Sable Point #3)
Chapter Eleven
CHARLIE
The screen door creaked behind me as I stepped into the kitchen, hit by a blast of blessed air conditioning and the smell of Mom’s lasagna lingering, still in the air hours after dinner.
My skin was tingling from... everything that had happened at the bar, and all I wanted was to sprint upstairs and process Kai’s words alone in my room.
But of course, because the universe hated me, half my family was seated around the kitchen table.
“Where’ve you been?”
Jasper’s voice cut through the rhythmic sound of cards being shuffled. Mom, Dad, and Natalie looked up from their euchre game.
“Oh, um, I was at the bar.” I tried to sound casual, like my heart wasn’t still racing from the way Kai had looked at me while describing exactly how I should... nope. Not thinking about that with my family right here.
“The bar?” Dad’s eyebrows shot up so high they nearly disappeared into his slightly receding hairline. The cards in his hands stilled. “With who?”
Heat crept up my neck. “Myself. I stopped for a drink after work.” The shock on their faces made something snap inside me.
Here I was, twenty-two years old, being interrogated like a teenager who’d missed curfew.
I threw my arms wide, my voice rising. “Is that alright with everyone? Am I allowed to have a life?”
Mom set down her cards, concern etched across her face. The timer on the oven beeped, but she ignored it. What the heck is she cooking so late? “Of course you are, sweetheart,” she said in that soothing voice that somehow made everything worse. “Callaghan’s just doesn’t seem like your scene.”
I shifted my weight, my backpack suddenly feeling ten times heavier against my shoulder. “Well, I don’t exactly know what my scene is, so I guess I’m testing out my options.”
“Barely a week since graduation and you’re already hanging out at bars,” Dad muttered.
“Hey, Callaghan’s has a little something for everyone.” Natalie’s lips curved into a knowing smirk as she rearranged her cards. “Plus some decent eye candy.”
When she noticed my brother’s scowl, she rolled her eyes and laughed, but I was too busy trying not to choke on air. If they only knew what that “eye candy” had just suggested I do tonight...
“I’m going to bed.”
Mom’s gaze softened with that look she always got when she thought one of us wasn’t taking care of ourselves properly. She set down her cards, the jack of hearts face-up.
“I saved you some lasagna. It’s in the fridge. ”
I adjusted my backpack strap, desperate to escape before anyone noticed the flush creeping up my neck.
“Thanks. I’m not hungry. Maybe for breakfast.”
Jasper’s nose wrinkled. “For breakfast? Gross.”
I smiled, remembering all the mornings I’d snuck downstairs before everyone else, eating cold lasagna straight from the Tupperware.
“Have you never had your mom’s leftover lasagna for breakfast?” Natalie asked, her wedding ring catching the overhead light as she rearranged her cards. “It’s the best.”
Their conversation faded as I made my way upstairs, straight into my Pepto-Bismol bedroom. I locked the door behind me and leaned against it, letting my backpack slide to the floor with a thud. My whole body was still humming from Kai’s words.
God . How was I supposed to do... that ... here? In my childhood bedroom with its stupid pink walls and the teddy bear collection Mom refused to let me get rid of? With my entire family right downstairs?
I flopped face-first onto my bed, groaning into my pillow. Twenty-two years old and I’d never... The heat crawling up my neck had nothing to do with embarrassment this time. Just the memory of how Kai had looked at me while describing...
A knock at my door made me jump so hard I nearly fell off the bed.
“Charlie? Honey, are you sure you’re okay? You seemed a little flustered down there.”
I pressed my face harder into the pillow. “I’m fine, Mom!” My voice came out muffled but steady. “Just tired from work! ”
“Well, if you’re sure...” She paused. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
Oh God. If she only knew what I was actually thinking about right now...
“Thanks, Mom! Really tired though! Goodnight!”
Her footsteps retreated. I rolled onto my back, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that had been stuck to my ceiling since middle school. Between my legs, that dull ache was getting harder to ignore.
Start with your fingertips. Light touches. Teasing.
My hand slipped beneath my waistband, hesitant at first. This felt different than my previous fumbling attempts at self-pleasure. This time, I had... instructions.
Slide them through your center. Feel how wet you are.
I followed his directions, breath catching as sensation bloomed under my fingertips.
Heat pooled between my legs as I realized just how.
.. ready I was. Just from his words at the bar.
Just from the way he’d looked at me. My other hand gripped my pillow, muffling any sounds that might escape.
The last thing I needed was another concerned family member at my door.
Slow circles. Build the pressure gradually.
My movements grew more confident as tension coiled tighter in my core. I bit my lip, thinking of Kai’s hands, his voice, the way he’d...
A door slammed downstairs, and I froze. But the house settled back into quiet, and I let out a shaky breath.
Find that sweet spot.
When I found it, my whole body jerked. The sensation was almost too much, making my toes curl against the sheets. I pressed my face harder into the pillow, trying to muffle the small sounds.
When it feels too intense, when you’re right on that edge…
Everything was building, the pressure almost unbearable. My thighs trembled as I chased that feeling, remembering how Kai’s voice had dropped even lower as he’d given this final instruction.
Don’t stop until you come apart.
Wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me as I buried my face in my pillow, trying desperately to stay quiet while my whole body trembled.
Well... homework completed.
And yet, instead of satisfaction, all I felt was more . More want. More need.
I wanted so much more from Kai Callaghan than a fantasy.