That must have been some dream he was having. I closed my eyes again.
My alarm blaring woke both of us the next morning. I blinked, struggling to come back to consciousness as Caesar reached over me to stop the noise on my phone.
His voice was low, scratchy. “Is it nine? Really? I slept all fucking night.”
So had I. It took a second for me to rouse enough to realize how we were lying together. I was still pressed against his chest, but I clung to his shirt like it was a lifeline. He had swung one leg over me, and my head was officially on his arm.
He was also hard. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t terrified of that thought. Mom’s guys got erect all the time around me, and I hated seeing it, like something bad was about to happen. Here, warm in bed with Caesar, it was an entirely different feeling. My nipples hardened, and I ignored that occurrence. He smelled clean and male. I closed my eyes and just held on to him.
“Five minutes.” I whispered. “And I can let go if this is strange.”
“Don’t.” He kissed my neck, breathing me in as he did. “I love this. I don’t know how we ended up like this, but it’s my best wake up ever.”
I smiled against his chest. “You pulled me to you in the middle of the night.”
“Should I apologize?”
I shook my head. “Best sleep ever.”
“Maci…” His voice trailed off, so I lifted my head to make eye contact with him, which did mean I had to shift a bit and let go.
“Caesar?” He’d said my name, so I responded with the same.
“You’re so fucking beautiful. You know that, right? So beautiful.”
I shook my head. “I’m not. You’re the beautiful one. Have you looked at yourself?”
He leaned in and kissed me square on the lips. I sighed against him. Yes, I’d wanted that. Needed it, even. “Trust me, you’re the beautiful one, Maci. Those eyes have slayed me for years. Thank you for finally talking to us.”
I leaned up on my elbow. “How many years?” Just then, a noise sounded in the hall. I sat up, grabbing the blanket and pulling it to my neck. “Your dad?”
“Not at this hour. I bet it’s Ace. Boy couldn’t wait an hour.” Caesar tugged me back down just as Ace came in carrying a coffee holder.
“Morning, you two. That looks so comfy. Thought you might all like some of this after the not-sleeping that went on all night. But…I’m thinking maybe you did sleep, which is even better.”
Caesar put out his hand, and Ace placed a cup in it. “Thank you. Yes, all night. Give me a second to get up, then we’ll let Maci have a few minutes alone to get ready. Good morning, Ace. I’m almost sluggish.”
He dislodged himself from me, more gracefully than I would have done, and in a quick move, headed to the bathroom.
I smiled at Ace and took his offering of coffee. “Good morning.”
“I’d love you at my house, Maci. But my father is there right now. I’m so glad you look okay today.”
I felt okay. Better than I should have, considering the situation. I sipped my coffee. “This is awesome. Thank you.”
He squeezed my foot at the end of the bed. “You are so welcome.”
Seven
They waited in the kitchen for me. It took me ten minutes to find it. I was pretty sure there were thirty rooms in this crazy huge house. If I hadn’t heard their voices, I might have never found it. I could see the headlines now… “Girl Lost in Big Mansion, Never Seen Again.” I smiled at my own stupid thoughts.
“You’re doing it wrong.” Ace sighed. “Seriously, that’s how you make scrambled eggs?”
“This is how everyone makes scrambled eggs.” Caesar sighed. “If you make them differently, you’re doing it wrong.”
I grinned. “Hi.”
They both turned to regard me and smiled almost simultaneously. “Hi,” they said together.
“Eggs look good.” I approached slowly, and my stomach grumbled. I guessed I was hungry. I almost never noticed anymore.
“Told you.” Caesar grinned, winking at Ace. “Come. Sit down. Ace, you want some?”
“Of your poorly made eggs? Absolutely not. I ate some very good ones before I left my house—over easy. I would love to make you some sometime, Maci.” Still, he sat next to me at the counter when I sat down.
I took his hand in mine, admiring the way his hand looked so much bigger holding mine. He stroked his thumb over my palm. “I don’t think I’ve ever had eggs over easy.”
“Well, we need to correct that.” He kissed my cheek. I grinned at him. Affection seemed so easy for Ace. Like his eggs. “I’ll make them for you tomorrow morning.”
I swallowed my anxiety before I took a bite of my eggs. “I don’t know if I can put Caesar out two nights in a row.”
Caesar sat on my other side. “It wasn’t putting me out. I loved it. You’re welcome to stay here whenever you want. In fact, I hope you will. Feel free to move in.” He spooned some eggs into his mouth. “Except on the rare occasions that my father is here. Then stay away, Maci. Please stay far away.”
“Isn’t your father the mayor?” The way Caesar spoke about his dad went in direct contrast to the way I pictured the mayor.
“That’s what they tell me.”
“Hey,” Ace said, taking my attention. I knew I was being misdirected, and that was fine by me. I’d pretend I hadn’t been, and I wouldn’t ask. “Do you want to watch a movie tonight?”
That sounded like an amazing idea. “I do if you do. I mean…is that okay? I know there were problems yesterday.”
“We’ll do it here.” Caesar smiled. “The trouble is going out in public and only recently, so we’ll watch a movie here. Unless you had big plans, Ace, to take her to the theater, in which case I can shut up and let you.”
He shook his head. “We’ll all watch a movie here. Get everyone and do it together. It’ll be fun. We haven’t done that in a long while.”
The eggs were warm in my mouth, and I closed my eyes to savor the taste. Wow. I lifted my lids. “These are fantastic.”
They stared at me, both of them, and I had no idea what either of them were thinking in that moment. I set down my fork. “Did I do something weird? Weird number one for the day, and I don’t even know what it is.”
“No.” Caesar pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. “You didn’t. I’m so glad you like the eggs. I’ll make them for you every morning. After you try Ace’s really bad ones, that is.”
Ace laughed, throwing back his head. “Okay, maybe you cook better than me. Fine, I concede. I didn’t have your teacher. I’ll take you out to eat after work, Maci? Then we’ll come back here and watch the movie.”
“Sounds good.” I continued to eat my eggs, and they dug into their own. I still wasn’t sure what to make of them having stared at me, but maybe it was that I’d looked so odd in that moment and they just didn’t want to be rude about it. I wished I’d spent more time studying people and less time trying to figure out how to get away from them.