Page 72 of Shake the Habit

“Really?” I rested my chin on his chest so I could see him. “I do that?”

“I feel light,” he said, nodding. “Free. Amazing.”

“I feel it, too.”

“I’ve never been good at relationships,” Caleb told me. “Never. I never put in the effort but I am now. You know, it doesn’t seem like effort when you want it so much. I want you, so much. I don’t want to be your roommate and I don’t want to leave things the way they are between us.”

Confusion washed over me, confusion and hurt. “You don’t?”

“No, I want more,” he said. “I want everything. I love you, Kayleigh.” He brushed back my hair. “Why are you crying?”

“You mean that,” I said. “My Lord. There are tissues in my bag but it’s downstairs.”

“Use this,” he directed, and dabbed at my eyes with his t-shirt. “I do mean it. I love you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m very, very sure.” He reached and pulled me up his body so that he could kiss me. “I love you so much. You’re the most wonderful woman, and you’re the perfect woman for me. I love you.”

Sir whimpered.

“I love you, too,” Caleb assured him. He kissed me again and this was contentment. This was joy.

Chapter 15

Iwoke up the next morning wrapped in Caleb’s arms, and it was like its own affirmation. Today will be wonderful, it told me. It was a gift.

But Sir was nudging me, telling me that it was also the time to get up because he needed to go out in the yard. I let him and then went into my bedroom, but instead of putting on my running clothes, I changed into something different. I brushed my hair and my teeth and then looked at myself in the mirror.

“You’ve changed,” I said to my reflection. “You really have.” It wasn’t a question anymore.

“Sir, stay here,” I told him, patting my bed, and he found a good spot and settled in. I went back into Caleb’s room, where I could hear the water running in his bathroom, and when he came out, I had settled myself against the pillows and was ready. I felt really, really ready.

“Uh…” He stared. “Hell. What are you doing?”

“You love me,” I stated, and he nodded. His jaw hung open. “You want more between us, and you want us to be together.” He nodded again. “I want that, too. Because I love you, too.”

Then a big smile spread across his face, one he didn’t try to hide. “You do?”

“My Lord, with your background in math, you could have added up all the signs! Or maybe we should have shown you more Scooby Doo demos about detective work.” I smiled back at him. “Yes, I do. I love you.”

He walked to the bed and sat next to me. “Is that why you’re wearing, uh, that?”

I also looked down at the teal bra and little shorts. My cousins had been right, and this had been a great purchase. “It is.”

He picked up one of the packets I’d placed on the nightstand. “Is that why you brought condoms?”

“It is,” I repeated. “Sir’s in my room, so he won’t bother us or be traumatized.”

“Look at you,” Caleb said again, and he did. “I’m having trouble remembering…I’m sorry, I’ve lost the thread.”

“This is the thread,” I said, reaching up to kiss him. I tasted the mint of his toothpaste. “We’re the thread.”

He put his hands on my shoulders and then rubbed them up and down my arms. “You feel so nice.”

It did feel nice, and even nicer when he leaned to kiss me again, putting his chest against the teal bra and my skin. His hands slid around me so that he could pull me closer. I wanted his toucheverywhere, because it felt soothing and exhilarating at the same time. It was just right.

So was the kissing, which started slow and easy but then, unlike before, built to more. We kissed harder and deeper, and he pressed me onto my back, then turned us over so that I lay on top.

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