“What?” he asked, confused. Kingston and Jesse smashed their lips together, picking up on where I was going with this.
“You didn’t let me drag my feet with unpacking, so turnabout is fair play. Chop chop, let’s go,” I directed with another few claps. This time Jesse and Kingston couldn’t keep their laughter contained. Reid sighed and dramatically got up from the table, swinging his arm out wide.
“Lead the way, milady.”
Shooting him a triumphant smile, I moved around the table and toward the stairs. As I did, Stella and Kaleb both gave me a thumbs up when Reid wasn’t looking, the Bell stamp of approval for my methods of getting him to unpack.
It was a quiet walk to his room, my eyes trailing over the soft gray walls as we made our way there. I loved the one dark green accent wall that his bed was pushed up against, but it was a bit plain and empty since he had moved in. The room only had a bed, a single nightstand, and a small dresser with an unopened tv sitting on top. Scanning the room one more time and seeing all the boxes shoved into one corner, not even touched, my chest ached all over again.
“Ready, babe?” I asked him, trying to keep my voice lighthearted.
“Yeah,” he mumbled, eyeing the pile with such sadness that I almost started to cry.
“Reid,” I started, grabbing his hands and dipping my head low enough so he would look me in the eye. “It’s okay to be sad and grieve and be angry. What happened is honestly bullshit, but I also want to make sure you realize you have a family here with you. One that accepts and loves you as you are.” Reid’s hazel eyes were watery, but a soft chuckle bubbled out of him.
“The cursing is coming out again,” he murmured, his smile genuine despite the wall of tears in his eyes. “Only when you’re really angry.”
“Yes, well… what happened to you was dumb, and your parents are poop nuggets,” I countered, enjoying that I could cheer him up even if it was only a little bit. His grin grew slightly, another laugh resonating before he took a deep breath.
“All right, Cali girl, you’re right. Let’s tackle this,” he agreed, sounding more like himself than he had since slumping down at the table. Before I could step back and start on a box, his hands cupped my jaw and he kissed me hard. The movement took my breath away, the butterflies fluttering in my stomach like crazy with the claiming kiss. After a brief moment, he pulled back. Green and gold irises streaked with hickory brown looked down at me, the warmth glimmering in his gaze making my toes curl. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” I whispered. The smile that tried to stretch across my face was smooshed between his two palms, breaking the moment in a fit of giggles. “Come on, I think we can knock these out before food.”
“Whether we do or not, I’m sprinting down to the table for some cinnamon rolls,” he told me with a typical cocksure smile. Shaking my head, I began to open the boxes and pull the items out.
Poster after poster, I helped unroll and tack them up to the wall. Reid stayed quiet for the most part, save for the occasional ‘does that look okay there’ question, and after only a little while, all his wall decor was unpacked and put up. As he broke down those two boxes, I opened a third one and debated where to start.
“Most of this looks like clothes, but it seems like there are a few other things mixed in,” I relayed. “Anywhere in particular you want them?” He looked in, digging around before answering.
“The lacrosse stuff can stay in there. I’ll take it out to the garage and see if they have any empty storage bins. There should be video games and my alarm clock in one of these boxes along with my Bluetooth speaker, so those can go onto the dresser and nightstand for now for me to sort.”
I started to open the last couple of boxes, noting they were filled with random items, not organized in the slightest. In the last one, I found a small handmade ornament. It caught my eye immediately, not because it was among the video games, books, and other random stuff, but because it was hot pink and glittery. Did Reid make something so girly? I wondered curiously. Glancing over my shoulder, I found Reid’s head buried in the bottom of another box.
“Anything else I should be aware of?” I questioned as I started to pull the video game cases from inside and stack them on the dresser. He can let me know what he wants to do with the bright Christmas decoration when he’s done deep sea diving in the clothing box. I giggled at the picture my thought had conjured.
“Well, I have porno magazines, lotion, and lots of old crusty socks in one of these boxes.”
My jaw dropped, my attention whipping to him.
Holy crap.
Did he seriously just go there?
It wasn’t until he burst out laughing hard enough for tears to streak down his cheeks that I realized he was teasing me.
“Oh my… god… your face,” he struggled to get out between his laughter. I stood there, trying to stay stern, but I couldn’t, cracking up along with him.
“You’re so mean to me,” I whined, but I knew my smile gave me away.
“Aww, Cali girl, you know I could never be mean to you,” he cooed, scooping me up into his arms. “You’re just so cute when you blush that I can’t get enough.”
He didn’t wait for me to say anything else, pressing his lips to mine. It wasn’t hesitant or sweet but confident and strong. A calloused palm cupped my cheek, the soft sweeping of his thumb a nice contrast to his toe-curling kiss. My hands ran over the front of his shirt, the fabric warm from his heated torso. Relaxing into him, I felt my own boost of confidence at his boldness. His tongue darted out, but before it could brush the seam of my lips, I met him halfway. The hold he had around my waist tightened slightly as our tongues tangled around one another.
“Reid! Emma! Dinner is about done!” Stella’s voice reached us from downstairs, the sudden reminder that we weren’t alone startling us apart. The adrenaline that had flooded me made me feel like I was being pricked with a thousand needles, and the butterflies that had soared with Reid’s passionate kiss only fluttered more.
“Coming!” Reid hollered, his gaze warming when I felt my cheeks start to burn. “Come on, Cali girl, I’ll be polite enough to not sprint down the stairs to claim the best cinnamon roll as it comes out of the oven.”
“Oh, how gentlemanly of you,” I teased.
“No, it’s how knightly of you, milady,” he countered with a smirk. Rolling my eyes, I started down the stairs with my hand nestled in his. As soon as we reached the kitchen, Reid practically squealed in excitement and darted toward the fresh cinnamon rolls. As he neared them, Stella swatted at him with a dish towel to keep him from eating all of them. Shaking my head, I made my way back over to the table where Kingston and Jesse were finishing packing up their stuff. I didn’t know what came over me, whether it was the confidence Reid had kissed me with, or the sense of family that filled me when I was surrounded by my guys and the Bells, but I walked up behind Jess and King and curled my arms around their necks. Pulling one to me, then the other, I kissed Kingston then Jesse.
“Ugh, gross,” Killian groaned, but I ignored him and just started talking.
“How was studying?” I asked, enjoying them curled in my arms despite Kill’s comment.