Releasing me from his grasp, he picked up a fork and stabbed a chunk of cake off the top edge. He popped the bite into his mouth, then went back for another forkful, which he brought to my mouth instead. He looked at me expectantly, lust flashing in his gaze when I opened my mouth and let him slide the fork inside.
Who knew eating cake could be so arousing?
Not me.
But maybe it had less to do with the cake and more to do with the company.
TWENTY-FOUR
LUKAS
I don’t knowif I’d stopped smiling since I walked into Sawyer’s place, and my cheeks were starting to feel it. When I met Sawyer, I’d known there was something different about him, something that made me feel seen. The last thing I expected when I’d come over was a birthday party, complete with cake and Nerf guns.
I fed him another bite of cake. The Funfetti was a little too sweet, but I’d eat the whole thing if it made him happy. I was an absolute fool for this man.
Sawyer reached for me, and his thumb swiped at the corner of my mouth.
“Frosting,” he explained, looking a little breathless. Suddenly, his eyes went wide, and he jerked like he’d been slapped. “Presents. I almost forgot.”
“Wait, what? Sawyer, no. That’s… you didn’t.” I put the fork down and watched as he disappeared down the hallway, thenreappeared a moment later with a couple more brightly wrapped gifts.
“The birthday boy needs presents.” Sawyer motioned for me to sit, and I did, only because I was having a hard time processing exactly what he had done for me.
It wasn’t my real birthday, but that didn’t matter. When I was a kid, there hadn’t been anyone to celebrate me. There had been no parties, no cake, or presents. No Nerf gun wars. There had been a little kid who made himself smaller every year.
I took the gifts from Sawyer. They were wrapped in fancy birthday paper and they even had bows on top. Tucked under a ribbon was an envelope with a birthday card. I grabbed it first, carefully removing the card. I told myself that I could read it later when I was alone, but I decided to make a show of it now.
When I opened the card, though, it spoke to me in Sawyer's voice.
“I know it’s not your real birthday, Lukas, but I’m hoping you’ll overlook that and have a good time anyway. Happy Birthday, Lukas.”
I closed the card and let out a shaky breath. “Sawyer, I?—”
Not knowing what else to say, I lifted my gaze to meet his. The tenderness I saw in his eyes took my breath away. Sawyer cared about me. Not only did he listen to me, but he made me feel heard. “Thank you.”
I carefully tucked the card away as I gathered my emotions and settled them. The presents were wrapped almost too nicely to ruin, but I tore into the smallest one with no regard for saving the paper revealing a box with a bright red yoyo.
“I’ve never had a yoyo,” I said stupidly.
“Neither have I, but I figured that it was a classic gift. Something that everyone should at least have had the chance to try before it inevitably ends up a tangled mess in the corner of their room.”
“Never.” I took the yoyo out of the box and ran my fingers over the smooth wood. “I’m going to have to watch a million tutorials on how to use this thing, but I’m going to learn.” I set it aside, almost unwilling to part with it, and I ripped into the next package, revealing another pair of Nerf guns.
“You need a set for your place.”
“The guys are going to be menaces when they see these.” I’d already made a mess of Sawyer’s dining room with my half-eaten cake and the wrapping paper, so I set the toys aside still in their packaging and went to open the third, and hopefully last, gift.
Never in my life had I ever thought someone would buy me a Lego set. When I was a kid, it was out of the question. Mom was broke and didn’t care even when she wasn’t. I used to think that she tried her best, but looking back made me wonder if she tried at all or if she’d given up long before she had me.
“Lego.” I exhaled, grateful to be sitting or I might have fallen over. And not just the kind of Lego that you’d get a grown up, that was like a giant Star Wars model or something that you built just to display. It was a scrapyard that even came with cars and little Lego people. Something meant to be played with.
Sawyer took the box from me and carefully opened it. “You should be okay to build it yourself too.” From the box, he pulled out the instruction book, and my heart stopped for a second. Then he opened the book and showed me the first step. Everything was in pictures.
Taking the book from him, I flipped through and with every page that I turned past, my heart got lighter. “This… are they all like this?”
“That’s how they come, yes.”
“Oh, this could get very dangerous to my wallet.” I closed the book and slid it carefully back into the box. “Sawyer, I don’t know what to say.”
