Page 53 of Be Your Somebody
The most delicious smell has my stomach rumbling with the same intensity as a monster truck revving its engine. The thought of Cas cooking me breakfast brings a smile to my face. I turn to check my phone for the time and squint at the brightness. I put my phone back down but not before noticing I had unanswered text messages. It's seven in the morning, and Iknowwe didn't get much sleep last night. Cas loves his sleep and gets grouchy when he doesn’t get enough, so why is he up early making breakfast?
I shrug my shoulders and head towards his closet for something to wear before heading downstairs. Even though his grandparents aren't home, I still don't want to walk around their house completely naked. My fingers come across one of Cas’ favorite hoodies. I hurriedly put it on, noticing that it comes to my mid-thigh. I search everywhere for my underwear, finally noticing it hanging off a lampshade. I shake my head and can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.
I make my way downstairs, fully intending to give him shit. “Cas, why was my underwear hanging on the lampshade? You must have been desperate to fuck m—" My words fall out of my mouth when instead of Cas in the kitchen, I see his grandparents. My eyes widen, and my cheeks are hot and flush.
Oh my God.
“Well, good morning to you, too, Avery. Boy am I glad our plans were cut short due to the birth of a great-grandbaby. Michael, remind me to send them a card,” Evelyn says with a smirk while sitting at the kitchen table, drinking her coffee. “How did you sleep last night?” she asks.
“I, um, fine. Thank you.” I look behind me as my brain calculates the best way to escape this situation without being rude.
“Sit down, hon. I’m making pancakes and bacon,” Michael says. His back is to me, but I sense him holding back his laughter.
“Oh no, that's okay. I’m not that hungry. I, uh, I’m just going to head upstairs and take a shower.” I turn around and run up the stairs, but Evelyn stops me.
“Please, sit down, dear. I'd love the company. Coffee?” My mind is flashing a giant error message, preventing me from formulating coherent thoughts. I answer her with a quick nod. She goes up to the counterand pours another cup. I sit there, silently cursing Cas and his audacity. She returns to me with coffee and a plate of food. “Eat up. It looks like you need the calories this morning.” She winks at me.
“Oh my God.” I place my face in my hands to hide the embarrassment. I can only imagine how red it is.
“Oh, sweetie, don't be silly. You and Cas are both adults. And, honestly, it's about damn time y’all got together. Isn’t that right, Michael?”
“Sure is, Evelyn. And I believe I owe you twenty dollars, too,” he says, then pulls out his wallet and hands her the money.
“Wait, why do you owe her twenty dollars?” My brows furrow, and a small frown breaks out across my face.
“Oh, we had a bet, you see. Michael thought y’all would never figure your shit out whileIthought y’all would be getting it on as adults. And even without the outfit you’re wearing, the look on your face says it all. All I have to say isfinally.” We sit in silence for a while as I scarf down my food and coffee as quickly as possible and then get the fuck out of there. The coffee scalds my tongue, but that’s the least of my worries right now.
I quickly finish my last bite and start to rise out of my chair when she places her hand on my arm. “I am happy for you, darlin’, but I want to make sure that this is something you want. Don’t want to have any broken hearts to mend if it implodes.” I knew this was a conversation that was likely to happen, but I wasn’t expecting it this soon.
I swallow my mouthful of food and take a breath before responding. “I’ve wanted this since I was fourteen. I don't plan on breaking his heart,” I say.
“Honey I said, broken hearts. Plural. You both can break each other’s hearts, and I don't want to kick his ass if he breaks yours. You’re family, Avery, and no matter what happens, we’ll always love you like our own.”
My throat feels tight with emotion. Standing up, I pull Evelyn into a hug and plant a kiss atop her head. “I love you guys, too.” My voice comes out thick and shaky. I walk over to Michael to hug and kiss him before going upstairs to shower. I stop midway on the stairs and look down to see them dancing together in the kitchen, breakfast temporarily forgotten. The love they have for each other is something I’ve wanted my whole life. Something I’ve wanted with Cas. And now, it might just be a possibility. I let out a soft sigh and continued walking up thestairs.
I step out of my clothes and into the shower, hoping to wash away the embarrassment of that entire conversation. The sound of a door creaking open and closing causes me to freeze.
“What the fuck? I'm in here. A little privacy, please?” My demand doesn’t deter the intruder, but I hear a familiar voice.
“Oh baby, I know. But your request for privacy has been denied,” Cas says. He steps into the shower with me, backing me into the tile before I can tell him to fuck off.
“Hi, freckles.” And then his mouth crashes into mine, my protest dying on my lips. His tongue tangles with mine and a moan escapes me before I can stop it. My hands move from his chest into his hair to drag him closer to me.
I push him away as I remember who’s downstairs. He looks at me with lust and confusion, then tries to bring his mouth back to mine. I place both hands on his chest, stopping him.
“Absolutely not, Cas. Your grandparents are downstairs. And while we’re at it, a little heads-up would have been nice. I walked downstairs in nothing but your hoodie and my underwear, thinking it was you cooking me breakfast. I talked about my underwear being on the lampshade and admitted to us having sex to your grandparents. Yourgrandparents,Cas!” He looks at me for a second, then starts laughing. What a jackass.
“It's not funny, you asshole. I was mortified.” I slap at his chest repeatedly before he finally takes my hands and pushes them over my head as he presses me against the wall.
“I texted you this morning saying I was going out for a run and that they were back early, but you didn't check your messages, did you?” he asks.
Damn it. IknewI should have checked my texts “Fuck. No, no, I didn’t.” I sigh.
“So thentechnically,what happened downstairs isn't my fault.” He can sense me getting ready to argue, so he continues quickly. “Still, I'm sorry you were embarrassed, and next time, I will try to warn you ahead of time.” His lips crash into mine, causing my head to spin.
I pull back again, thinking of my conversation with Evelyn. “Thank you, that's all I ask. Oh, did you know your grandparents placed a fucking bet on if and when we would have sex?” His stunned expression tells me he is just as shocked as I am. Still, in disbelief, I recount whathappened downstairs, but leave out the part about potentially breaking each other’s hearts.
He thinks about what I said for a minute before I see a wicked grin cross his face. “So, want to make it so Gram really earned her twenty dollars?” he asks, wagging his eyebrows at me.
