When Calder’s lips met mine, it was as if a universe had been born in my soul. I closed my eyes, and it seemed as if a series of lights were crossing over my vision. The taste of him was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The sensation of his tongue in my mouth was warm and passionate, even if every movement he made was carefully controlled. It was like he was holding back a beast waiting to break away from its cage.
Then, suddenly, a loud beeping broke the spell, and Calder pulled away from me. I fell forward in surprise for a moment, but caught myself.
Calder pulled a pager from his waistband, and frowned when he looked down at it. “I’m sorry, Rhea. I have to go.”
5
~
Rhea
That night, my dreams were wild and full of fantasies of Calder. By the time I woke up to my alarm, I was somewhat out of breath and in need of a cold shower. With my mind still reeling, I hurried to get ready for work.
It was hard to go back to the normal world after such an incredible date, and especially after that kiss. It felt like leaving magic behind after just discovering it. Still, I had a brand-new mortgage to pay and groceries to buy, and that meant another day on the grind.
I left the house in a rush after realizing that traffic might make me a few minutes late, which wasn’t a great look for a manager.
But as soon as I opened the door, I was met by a vision. Calder, Beck, and Ash were on my porch, working on the floorboard that I’d given up on. Each was wearing a pair of jeans, and none of them had a shirt on. I immediately gasped as my breath caught in my throat at the sight.
There was a very slight sheen of sweat on their skin as they worked, and I was sure I had never seen that much lean muscle in my life.
“Uhm, hello?” I finally said, my voice coming out as more of a squeak than I intended. “What’re you guys doing here?”
They all looked up at the same time, Calder and Beck crouching and Ash standing up. Calder wiped at his brow with the back ofhis arm, while Beck smiled brightly at me. I could feel my ears heating up under their gaze.
“We have the day off,” Beck answered, running a hand through his glorious hair. “Thought we could help with this thing. It seems…”
He glanced at Calder. “That it might be a bit of a tripping hazard for some people.”
Calder grumbled something under his breath, and I held back a giggle.
“You really want to spend your day off… Working?” I finally asked, though I didn’t actually want to complain. It would have been nice to take a seat on the porch chair to simply watch them go at it.
“Ah, it won’t take long,” Calder pointed out. “We’re almost done, actually. Thought we might look around and see if there’s anything else we can help with after.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say no to that,” I laughed, thinking of the various little repair jobs that the house still needed. I’d pretended that they didn’t exist, hoping that they wouldn’t cause any serious problems in the future. Frankly, having three absolute beasts of men fixing it all for me hadn’t been a solution I would have thought of, but it was one I was all for.
“Great,” Beck grinned, getting up from where he was crouched and taking a step closer to me. I felt my heart flutter and my pulse race, and I was instantly transfixed. I had to swallow the sheer heat that threatened to overwhelm me.
Beck seemed aware of the effect he had on me. He crossed his arms, which flexed his muscles, and he stood with his shoulders wide and a sly look on his face.
“Are you going to stay for the entertainment?” He asked as he studied my outfit, something which made me somewhat self-conscious. I was suddenly very aware of the fact that my store uniform, nametag and all, wasn’t exactly the sexiest outfit on the planet.
It also reminded me, however, that I was already going to be late, and standing here drinking in the situation wasn’t going to make that any better. I checked my phone and my heart dropped at the realization that people were likely going to be waiting for me to open far before I arrived.
“No, uh, I…” I started, getting caught up in Beck’s eyes for a moment before I collected my thoughts. “I have to get to work, actually.”
“Well that sucks,” Beck admitted with a deep, melodramatic sigh. “But I’m still seeing you forourdate tonight, right?”
I glanced over his shoulder, and noticed the jealousy coming from both Calder and Ash’s glares immediately. They looked away when they realized I was watching them, but I’d already seen it.
“Bowling alley, wasn’t it?” I asked, which caused Calder to scoff. Ash rolled his eyes. Beck, however, was still smiling.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “Trust me, it’ll be better than any date you’ve ever been on; and you might just decide to cancel the next one.”
“Please,” Ash interrupted. “Bowling alley? She’s not a middle school child.”
“You’re welcome to try and beat that dinner,” Calder added, winking at me. “But I doubt that you could.”
