“Okay. Please don't pick up anything. We'll see you in a little bit.” He hung up the phone. I was unsure if it was just me, but he sounded a little disappointed. I shook it off as I gathered up my stuff and headed out the door. I wanted to be able to catch Ben before he left.
As I pulled up to the house, I saw Richard’s gleaming BMW. He always kept it in such pristine condition. I always used to joke that he loved that car more than me. As I looked at how beautiful he kept it and how he let our relationship fall into the mud, I knew it was true. Ben, Richard, and Cee were all standing at the door as I came up the driveway.
“Thanks for letting me go with Dad this weekend,” Ben said as he beamed at me. I knew he was excited to spend time with his Dad, and I was glad that Richard had kept a promise. Maybe this was the first step to helping Ben get his father back.
“You have fun, and don’t stay up too late tonight. Remember you have a game in the morning. I'll see you there tomorrow.” I bent down and kissed him. He grimaced, and I knew he thought mom kisses were “uncool”.
I nodded toward Richard and turned to watch them get into his car. It had been months since Richard took Ben for an overnight. I grinned at the thought of the sudden freedom. I could go order some sushi, which Ben hated, and watch some of my trashy TV.
Richard's car purred to life and the two of them disappeared out of the driveway. I turned toward the door and saw Cee staring at me. He rapidly looked away.
“How was your day?” Cee asked, leading the way inside and holding the door open for me.
“Not too bad, just ridiculously busy. Glad to be able to put my feet up and take it easy.”
I walked through the door and was met by the most amazing aroma I had ever smelt. I set my bag down gently, inhaling deeply.
“What is that smell?” I asked, looking around. I half expected a chef to be standing in the kitchen.
“You like it? It was going to be your and Ben’s dinner. I guess now it's just yours. Ben wanted to make something special for you because you've been at your job for a month.” Cee motioned to the kitchen. “He recruited me to cook. He was even willing to try something new. I was surprised to hear him give up his preferred menu of chicken fingers. He came up with most of the choices, actually.”
I looked at the kitchen. I saw a fresh green salad with fruits and nuts in it, and vinaigrette on the side. There was a bowl of mashed potatoes with a giant slice of butter sitting in it, scallops wrapped in bacon propped up on a plate, and something boiling in the pot. The light of the oven was also on.
Cee continued. “For dinner tonight, we made garlic mashed potatoes, a berry almond salad, and scallops wrapped in bacon. The main dish is crab with melted butter.” He pulled the pot lid off the pot and let the steam escape.
My jaw was on the floor. I couldn’t believe he had made all of this. The oven dinged, indicating something else was done cooking.
“What’s in there?” I asked, wondering what other amazing thing he had created.
“Oh, I forgot about that.” He opened the oven and pulled out a cookie sheet with chicken fingers on it. “While I went shopping with Ben, he said he would eat everything I made,” Cee explained, placing the pan on the counter to cool. “I doubted it, though, so I made him some chicken strips so he wouldn’t go hungry. I know kids and seafood- they don’t mix sometimes.”
I laughed. I couldn’t believe Ben had been so thoughtful that he would try new foods for me. I knew how much he didn’t like seafood, even though I did. It was moments like this that I knew I was doing something right.
“I'll let you go at it. You can stuff yourself silly.” He finished pulling the two crabs out from the boiling water, put them on a plate, and brought them to the table.
My kitchen table was set for a queen. There were spoons, knives and even crab breakers. I could tell Ben had tried to make the napkins fancy, like they do in restaurants, but they had turned into more of a folded ball. In the middle of the table were yellow roses in a clear vase, and candles. I laughed when I saw them. They were giant round glass ones that I kept in my bathroom, dusty from misuse, and of the more fragrant variety.
Cee followed my gaze when I giggled. “Ben said it wasn’t fancy unless there are candles. These were the only ones that he could find.” Cee chuckled as he brought over the crab. “I'm not sure that ‘Very Vanilla’ and ‘Tropical Dream’ really set the mood for dinner, though.”
I looked, at the feast laid out before me. There was no way I could eat this all.
“Would you like to stay with me? I mean stay and have dinner with me?” I blurted out. “I know you usually have plans, but there is no way I can even attempt to eat all of this food by myself. I could try, but then you would get a call letting you know your employer exploded.” I gazed at him, trying to not look to hopeful.
He laughed and checked his phone. “Sure, let me check real quick. I'll make a call.” He walked into the other room. I perked up my ears to try and hear something without being an obvious ease-dropper. For as much time as we spent together, or that he spent with my son, I really didn't know much about him.
“Hey, how are you doing...? Well, I wanted to see if we were still on for dinner tonight? No? You are going to watch a movie with your friends... yeah that is fine... you deserve a night to relax and have some... yeah, I'll see you tomorrow night. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Cee hung up the phone and turned back to me, his footsteps alerting me to his presence. I quickly made myself look busy by organizing the table.
“It looks like my plans were canceled as well,” he said with a grin. “I can partake in the spread. Would you like some wine?”
“Sure, there’s a bottle of Moscato I have stashed in the cupboard. We'll just have to put in some ice cubes in it.”
“I already grabbed it and stuck it in the fridge,” he said, looking a little sheepish. “I was searching for your spices, and it almost fell off a shelf and killed me. You really have no organization to your kitchen,” Cee joked.
He strode confidently over to the fridge and grabbed the bottle and two glasses. As he opened the wine, it made that resounding ‘pop’ sound that I loved so much. He carefully poured the clear sparkling liquid into the two glasses.
“Let us feast!” he declared in a loud voice. It made me giggle.
“Wait, we can’t forget these.” I got up from the table and grabbed the plate of chicken fingers still left on the counter. “These really bring class to the whole meal.”
I sat them down on the already overflowing table. I started filling up my plate with heaps of food, motioning for Cee to join in and do the same. He wasted no time, his plate piled high.
Everything looked so good I didn’t know where to start. I wanted to eat it all.
“So, how was shopping with Ben?” I asked as I loaded up my for a first bite.
“It was fun, except Ben wanted to buy ten pounds of King Crab for some reason. He was under the impression that you eat that amount on a daily basis.”
I snorted embarrassingly. “You know, he wasn’t lying by a huge stretch. I entered into a lobster eating contest when I was younger, and yes, it weighed ten pounds with shell on,” I said with a grin. It was a little known fact that I rarely shared with people.
I watched in delight as Cee’s mouth hung agape. It was nice to be on the receiving end of that gesture.
“I was in my early twenties and couldn’t tell when I was full. A gift and a curse.” I smiled and shoveled another heap of mashed potatoes in my mouth, basking the buttery goodness. “Now, I want to know where you learned to cook like this.”
“I've always cooked like this,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, like his skills weren't worthy of praise. “I just normally don’t show off my gourmet skills because kids like macaroni and cheese, not smoked halibut.” He paused and took another bite of food. “When I was a kid, I helped out by cooking when both my parents worked late. I had to get creative with what we had in the pantry. We didn’t alw
ays have the finest ingredients, but I guess I managed a good meal. They never complained.” A smile flashed across his lips at the memory. “As I got older, they let me cook more fancy things when we could afford it. They even let me take some culinary classes at the community center.”
“Why didn’t you go into cooking?” I said in-between bites of scallops. The juice dribbled down my chin. I wiped it away, reminding myself that I was eating with an adult, not my son. A handsome and charming adult. I picked up my knife and cut my next bite smaller.
“I got that lacrosse scholarship to California State University and couldn’t turn it down. My family couldn’t afford to send me to any other school at that time. Besides, I love lacrosse.” He held up his fork and his hand as options. “It was either move to California or stay in my little town and go nowhere.”
“What did you study?” I asked, curious and excited to learn more about him. I had read all of this information on his resume before but, it was different hearing it instead of just reading it on a piece of paper.
“Business. It seemed like the most practical thing at the time.”
“I didn’t see you have a Bachelors listed on your resume?”
“Yeah, I dropped out my senior year and never finished.” He cracked a crab leg, focusing intently as he did it. It made him difficult to read. Was he ashamed of not finishing? Or was it something to do with the reason why he didn't finish? I wanted to probe further but he started talking again.
“I really wasn’t the college type, though. Or maybe I was, and that was the problem. Partied more than studied.” He cracked another piece of crab, using more force than was really necessary. “Finally decided in my senior year that I needed to do my own thing and drop out of school.”
“Oh.” I didn’t want to show my surprise, but I knew my face betrayed me. I never imagined Cee was anything but perfect, like he was now.
It left me with a set of questions I was too afraid to ask. What was he like during that time? It wasn't that long ago, but the way he handled himself now made it apparent it was really a lifetime ago.
I wanted to ask him why he dropped out, but before I could, he changed the subject to talk about what happened on the reality TV episode we watched last night. I didn’t want to press further and ruin the mood, so I let it slide from the conversation but not my mind.
Chapter Fifteen
My stomach felt like it would explode. I knew I could not fit another bite in my mouth.
“What are your plans for the rest of tonight?” Cee asked as he rinsed the dishes in the sink and put them into the dishwasher.
“Nothing really, just sit and watch the TV,” I said as I put the leftovers in Tupperware.
“Not until we have dessert.” He grinned.
“Dessert? What’s for dessert?” Excitement filled my voice as I looked over at him, watching him rinse each dish, bending down, his ass firm and visible.
I already had my eye candy, what else did I need?
I knew I couldn’t eat another bite of food, but maybe I could pack dessert away somewhere. I had such a sweet tooth.
“I made black forest brownies.” A wicked gleam sparkled in Cee's eyes.
“What are those?” I was intrigued. It wasn’t often that I met a dessert that I never heard of before.
“We start with a gooey brownie,” he instructed as he grabbed a pan full of brownies cooling on the counter. “Then, we then put some delectable cherry pie filling on it.” He pulled out a can of filling and opened it.
He cut the brownies out and put them on two plates, then he placed a heaping spoon full of cherry pie filling.
“Then, we put on ice cream,” he said, dishing out some ice cream from the freezer.
“They look delicious,” I said, licking my lips. Delicious was an understatement.
“You have to taste it first before you start saying things like delicious,” Cee playfully scolded me.
He grabbed the two plates, added spoons, and brought them to the table. I took a seat in front of one of the plates, watching as the ice cream melted a little bit against the warm brownie.
“Tell me what you think,” Cee said. I greedily picked up the spoon and contemplated where to start first. Everything was just begging for me to eat it. The ice cream seemed to be the best place to start, so I took a bite of it.
“No, no, no!” Cee exclaimed, smiling and shaking his head. “You don’t eat them like that. This is how you do it.” He took his spoon and dove into his brownie concoction scooping up a mix of ice-cream, cherries and brownies all in one bite. He brought it towards me slowly, keeping his other hand underneath the spoon.
I was hesitant at first, but opened up and let him put the spoon softly in my mouth. I closed my lips around it. It was delicious- the creaminess of the ice cream, the tartness of sweet cherry pie filling, and the brownies were moist and filled with dark chocolate bites. I let out a slight moan.
“This is delicious,” I said. I looked up at Cee and his dark eyes seemed to darken to a stormy blue with the sound. He blinked, and his eyes returned to their normal light, violet color.
“It's all about the cherry, brownie, ice cream combination. Has to be just right.” He took his spoon back and took a bite out of his own piece.
I picked up my own spoon, and took a couple more bites. I was careful to eat it the way Cee had instructed, savoring each bite.
I peeked up from my plate to Cee smiling at me.
“What are you looking at?” I asked, flustered and unsure why he was staring at me.
“I have never seen someone devour dessert quite as thoroughly as you just did.” He smiled, cocking his head slightly to the side. “I think you got most of it on your face.”
I blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I hurriedly wiped my face with the back of my hand. I felt some crumbs fall off.
He chuckled, his eyes still gazing at my mouth. That wonderful darkness started to creep back into his eyes.
“You missed a spot,” he said. He took his thumb and wiped the corner of my mouth. I trembled at his touch. It awakened a part of me I had forgotten existed
“There, just a little ice cream.” He brought it to his mouth and sucked the melted ice cream from his thumb. I shivered.
“You aren't such a clean eater yourself,” I said as I wiped his cheek to get rid of the brownie crumbs.
“At least I don’t have ice cream on my nose.”
“I do not!” I quickly touched my nose making sure that it was clean.
“Might want to check again.” He dipped his finger into the leftover ice cream on his plate and rubbed it on my nose.
“Hey! That’s not fair!” I quickly dunked my finger in the remaining cherry sauce on my plate. I went to rub it on his nose. He grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
“Hey, this is the good stuff. We can’t waste it.” He slowly put my finger in his mouth, and sucked gently. “Tasty.” He looked at me, those eyes swirling full of so much emotion, like a storm about to hit. He had a devilish grin on his lips.
Before I knew it he, was pulling me into his arms, closing them around me, the warmth in them spreading through my body. I looked up at him, and then he dipped down, his lips capturing mine.
He stole my breath with that kiss, and I lost all sense of time and place. I tried to steady myself, but he was there, holding me. Keeping me steady, making me fall at the same time. I hadn’t had this feeling in years. It left me breathless and aching for more.
He pulled back to look at me. The only traces of the light violet in his eyes were on the outer edges. I felt like I was looking at the eyes of a wild animal, ready to take its prey. I wanted to be taken.
“I've been wanting to do that since you slammed the door in my face on that first day.” He smiled at the memory, waiting for my reaction. I hadn't moved yet. The smile slowly started to fade.
“Cee...” I couldn't find any words to say. I was still shaking from the kiss, still lost in a whirlwind of emot
ion.
His own smile faded as he seemed to finally realize what was happening, what he had gotten caught up in. “I'm so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” He shifted from confident and lustful to unsure and respectful. “You're my employer. I don’t want to mess anything up with Ben.”
Every muscle in his body was tense. I gently grabbed his hand, to make sure he wouldn’t run away. My head was still swimming from his kiss. I opened my mouth and could only make an inaudible grunting sound. My legs felt like Jell-O, and my insides were starting to burn with desire. That kiss had awoken in me something, a hunger that I let starve for years. Before I had time to let my thoughts cloud things, I let my body make my decisions for me.
I stood up and grabbed his head, pulling his lips down to mine. His body was stiff at first, his brain still trying to process what I was doing. He pulled back one more time to look me in the eyes. They had finally clouded back to that dangerous stormy color I yearned for so much.
“Cee...” I begged.
Before his name had finished escaping my lips his mouth was back on mine. I could taste the rich chocolate from the brownies in his kiss. He put his hands in my hair and pulled me in deeper. Every breath of his pushed into mine and made me crave him more. I couldn’t tell if it was his heart or mine that I felt furiously pumping against my chest.
He wrapped his muscular arms around me with his hands grasping my ass. With one fluid motion my body was lifted up and placed on the cold table. I grabbed at his blue T-shirt, pulling it up over his head. He obliged, and stooped over slightly so it was easier for me to take it off. I stared greedily at his chest and traced my hands over the smooth outline of his muscles. The sight alone made me heat up like an inferno.
I threw his shirt somewhere into the kitchen, and started kissing his chest. His smooth skin hard and even under my lips. The desire was building inside of me. I went to unbutton his pants, wanting to get to the trophy that I had been thinking about for months and denying myself.
Reasons of why we shouldn’t do this started to pop in my head like weeds. Thoughts about what this might mean for the future started to pull me out of the moment. Before those ideas could take complete hold his warm lips traced down my neck killing any thought except for the desire to get those pants off. He pulled back, and shook his finger at me.
Walking on Sunshine: A Sweet Love Story (Seasons of Love Book 1) Page 9
