Page 47 of Controlled Burn
“Fuck,” he breathed out, collapsing beside me.
He reached down beside the bed and came back up with a box of wipes, using one to clean me up. Once that was done, he pulled me into his arms and held me until we both drifted off to sleep.
Keith
I woke up the next morning with Caleb curled up against me. I let myself have a minute to take in the sight and feel of him. He was lying on his side, with the sheet covering most of his body. All but one long leg that was out from under the covers and wrapped in the sheet.
He stirred and let out a little sigh, and I just couldn’t resist. I brushed his hair back and kissed him on the temple.
“Mmm,” he hummed. “Is it morning time?”
“Yeah, baby boy, it’s morning time. You don’t have to get up yet unless you’re ready, but I’m gonna go down and fix us some breakfast.”
“Mkay,” he murmured, pulling his legs up so that he was curled up in a ball.
I slipped out of the bed and made my way down to the kitchen. I hadn’t planned on having anyone sleep over, so I wasn’t sure what I wanted to fix for breakfast. I wanted to pamper my boy a little, so I went with French toast and fresh berries.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d cooked breakfast like this for someone after a sleepover. Normally, I didn’t do sleepovers at all, but if I did for some reason, neither one of us hung around for breakfast.
I was just finishing up the last piece of French toast when he wandered into the kitchen wearing one of my VFD t-shirts that came down almost to his knees. And call me possessive, but damned if him wearing my clothes wasn’t even sexier than that little cropped top he had on last night.
“Good morning, Rabbit.”
“Morning.” He peeked around me, trying to see what I was plating up. “What’s for breakfast? And tell me there’s coffee. I smell coffee.”
I chuckled and handed him a mug. “You know where everything is. Help yourself.”
While he got himself a cup of coffee, I carried the food to the table and took a seat to wait for him. A minute later, he joined me, sitting in the chair across from me.
“This all looks amazing. You didn’t have to go to so much trouble.” He looked at the table like he wasn’t sure where to start.
“It wasn’t that much trouble. I make French toast all the time. Now, just enjoy it.” I shoved the jar of syrup toward him. He got a couple pieces of the toast and some of the berries, then picked up the syrup.
His eyes grew wide. “Did you warm up the syrup?”
“I did,” I said with a chuckle. “Warm syrup makes it better.”
He grinned and poured it over his food. Then looked up at me. “So, do you have plans for today?”
“I don’t. How about you?”
“I thought about going back to the Farmers’ Market since I have time to actually shop today, but other than that, I don’t really have any plans.”
“That sounds fun. Let’s go.”
“Okay.” He gave me a satisfied nod and took a bite.
While we ate, he told me about the book his book club was reading this month and all about the people who came. It sounded like he’d created a great little friend group for himself here in Vesper, and I was glad to hear it.
I was about to suggest we go out on the porch with a cup of coffee when my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and glanced at the caller ID. Robert. I looked up at Caleb. “It’s your dad.”
I pressed the answer button and put the phone up to my ear. “Hey, man, what’s up?”
“Not much. Del and I decided to go to Lake Bishop for the weekend. She has a cabin over there and wanted to show it to me.”
“That sounds awesome.”
“Right? I wondered if you would run by and feed Oscar tomorrow for me. Normally, I would’ve asked Caleb, but he’s busy with that book sale right now. I don’t want to add anything to his plate.”