Page 169 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
I wanted to respond, but I was terrified. Doubts and second guesses still raced through my mind. Instead of replying, I closed my eyes and wondered how I had gotten myself into this situation.
And was it prudent to try and get out of it? I wasn’t sure.
CHAPTER 9
CAYDEN
I woke up to birds chirping and the sunlight peeking through my window shade. The world was rejoicing with me. Tiffany and I had mind-blowing sex last night. I turned over and Tiffany was fast asleep next to me. I didn’t blame her. I had given her two orgasms last night. She had gone out like a light. I think she was already asleep when I admitted that I really liked her. She must have been asleep, because she didn’t respond.
I quietly got out of bed and tiptoed to my kitchen. My stomach was growling. I needed coffee and food. I’m sure Tiffany did, too. I started brewing the coffee. I had to change it from the single cup to a full pot option. Not that I minded; I wanted the full pot option every day going forward. I wanted to share my coffee and my place with Tiffany.
Whoa, buddy, slow down, I heard Allen’s voice in my head. While he would be pleased that I had sex with Tiffany, he would not be thrilled with the thoughts going through my mind. As long as I had known Allen, he never had sex twice with the same girl. It was always on to the next one.
Truthfully, I did need to slow down. There was someone else in this equation – Austin. I couldn’t bring Tiffany around again until I knew things were serious. I wasn’t going to be one of those fathers that introduced every single girl they dated to their son. I wasn’t sure how Austin would react to Tiffany. Was he even old enough to understand?
As the coffee began to brew, I rummaged around, checking to see what I could make Tiffany. My kitchen was set up for a bachelor and I usually picked up takeout or ate at my mom’s house. However, I did have the basics – bread, eggs, and bacon. It wasn’t much, but I hoped she would appreciate the gesture.
I kept thinking about last night as I made a simple breakfast for us. Truthfully, I hadn’t expected to have sex with Tiffany last night. Sure, I had wanted to, but after the weirdness on Thursday and Friday, I thought it would be a longshot. With everything that had gone on, I had forgotten to bring up the awkwardness after our first date. I guess it didn’t matter now. We were back together and after last night, I think it was clear that we were headed for a relationship.
Tiffany would be my first relationship since Layla. There were times that I began to think that I would never be in a relationship again. I thought I might just focus on work and have a one-night stand here and there. But now that I had connected to Tiffany, I didn’t want to settle for anything less. I hoped she felt the same.
I plated our food and poured two cups of coffee. I wasn’t sure how she liked her coffee, but since we had other things in common, I took a chance and made her cup just like mine. Two sugars and two creams.
I walked back into the bedroom and she was still asleep. I set the food and cups down and watched her for a moment. She was so beautiful. I couldn’t stand it. She was everything I wanted in a woman.
I gently nudged her, not wanting her coffee and breakfast to get cold. She opened her eyes and smiled at me.
“Hi,” she said, her voice still scratchy. She sat up in a seated position and wiped the sleep from her eyes.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I said. “Did you sleep okay?”
She nodded.
“I slept great,” she replied. “You have a rather comfortable bed.”
“I made you breakfast.” I walked over to the desk where I had set our food down. I retrieved her cup of coffee and plate and handed it to her.
“Thank you,” she said. “No one has ever made me breakfast before.” I was surprised. Whoever her last boyfriend was, he wasn’t winning any points in my book. Tiffany deserved to be treated like a queen. We sipped our coffee and ate our food in bed together.
“You look beautiful even first thing in the morning,” I told her. She blushed. I could tell she wasn’t used to getting compliments. I didn’t want to come on too strong, but I wanted her to know how gorgeous she was.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, sipping her coffee. We chatted a bit more about random things, like our favorite TV shows and movies. After our breakfast was done, my phone began to ring.
I picked it off the table. Tom, our editor-in-chief at work. I groaned.
“Hey, Tom,” I said, answering the phone.
“Did you finish that article on Friday?” His voice boomed through the phone. Truthfully, I had forgotten all about it. I had meant to go into the office yesterday morning, but I got caught up in thoughts of Tiffany after she said yes to our date that night.
“No,” I admitted. I knew he would be disappointed, but there was no point in lying.
“I need it by 5:00 tonight,” he said. “No excuses, Lewis.”
“I will head into the office in a few minutes,” I said. We said our goodbyes and I turned to Tiffany.
“Work,” I said.
“On a Sunday?” she asked.
