AARON—
Can we wake her up yet, Daddy?”
“Shh,” I said, rushing down the hallway. “Not yet.”
She was about to knock on Callie’s door, waking her early even after I told her to wait until at least eight a.m.
“Why?” she shouted.
I reached and took her hand, leading her toward the stairs. “First off, don’t shout.”
She crossed her arms and pouted, but when I raised my eyebrows, she knew I was waiting for an apology. After mumbling an “I’m sorry” under her breath I pointed downstairs. I followed her and when we got to the bottom, I took her hand.
“Second,” I said. “I told Callie to sleep in today. She’s been so busy with taking care of you and finishing school a few weeks ago that I thought she needed extra sleep.” It was the last Saturday in May and Callie had finished up her finals, planned and thrown Delilah’s fifth birthday party, and had barely had a break since. Plus, with her nightly visits to me, she could’ve used the added rest.
She brushed a curl out of her face, her eyes still sleepy. “Okay. But when she wakes up then we can tell her the surprise?”
“Yes, but not—”
“What surprise?” Callie asked from the top of the stairs. Even with her hair in a messy bun on top of her head and no makeup, she still gave me an eyeful. Her short T-shirt that exposed a sliver of her midsection, and lounge pants that were sexier on her than anything else she wore just made me want her more. I recalled the night before, the way I peeled off her clothes, piece by piece, kissing and tasting my way across her body. I needed to have her; she had almost become my obsession, and I didn’t see that ending anytime soon.
“Well?” she asked, crossing her arms.
It was the same pout-arm cross as Delilah had just done. Two women under my roof, and I had to answer to them both.
“We have a surprise!” Delilah said, jumping up and down. “Can I tell her, Daddy?”
I narrowed my eyes at Callie, watching as a smile overtook her morning crankiness. “How about we give her a hint and see if she can figure out?”
“Okay!”
I knelt down and whispered in her ear. When I stood again, I nodded at her to tell Callie.
“Pancake beans!” she shouted. “It’s a hint, Callie!”
“Pancake beans?” Callie asked confused.
Delilah and I nodded. Technically, it wasn’t exactly what I said, but it made for a more interesting reveal.
“Delilah? Do you want to go eat a banana? We aren’t going to eat breakfast for at least an hour.”
“Yes, please. I can do it,” she said, running down the hallway.
Callie descended the stairs, shaking her head at me. “What are you up to?”
“Just…nothing.” I winked and pulled her into me as soon as she stepped off the bottom stair.
She buried her face in the base of my neck, inhaling softly. “I don’t like surprises,” she mumbled against my skin.
“Sorry she woke you,” I said, rubbing my hand across her back. “You looked so exhausted last night.”
“She didn’t wake me. I’m on automatic once the clock hits seven a.m.”
She lifted her head and looked up at me. Her hands wrapped around my waist, her fingertips dipping below the hem of my shirt. As soon as her touch met my skin, a heat came over me. I closed the gap between us, pressing my lips to her as she softly sighed.
As we pulled away, she ran her tongue over her lips, like she was saving a bit for later.
“Pancake beans, huh?” she asked.
“Nothing fancy. I’m taking my girls out for the day.”
“I’ll go get ready,” she said.
And just because I couldn’t help myself, I slapped her perfect ass as she started walking away.
And then left coffee in her Tinker Bell mug on the vanity of her bathroom so it was ready for her when she got out of the shower.
* * *
“So, I get the pancake part of the hint now obviously,” Callie said, slicing into her blueberry pancakes. Wildberry Cafe was my favorite brunch spot, and it was the perfect first stop for the day. It was always ridiculously busy, especially on the weekends, so by the time we got our food, we were all starving.
“Was the beans coffee?” she asked, tapping her coffee cup.
“Nope,” Delilah said, her mouth full of pancakes and lips smeared with chocolate. “It’s the Bean.”
Callie brought a napkin to Delilah’s face, wiping away the mess. When she was done, she placed the napkin in Delilah’s lap and whispered something in her ear. Delilah nodded and went back to her pancakes. There was nothing on the surface of the interaction, but something inside me hurt. Callie had more maternal instinct than I ever saw in Lexie, but it was her genuine affection toward Delilah that made me see past the “nanny” label. It wasn’t just a job to her. It was who she was.
“What are you staring at?” Callie asked.
I shook my head out of my thoughts. “I wasn’t staring. I was just—”
“Staring,” she said. Instead of probing further, she saved me any explanation. “This is so good. Thank you for taking us. I’ve never been.”
“How could you live in Chicago and have never been to Wildberry?”
She shrugged, dragging her fork across the syrup that had gathered in the corner of her plate. “Well, before,” she said, motioning between us. “If I wasn’t still sleeping through breakfast or recovering from work the night before, then I was in class. I didn’t get out for brunch much.”
It was a subtle reminder of her life before she was with us. “You weren’t always so busy, right?”
“Always,” she said, without missing a beat. “When my dad died, I had to step up with my little sisters and help my mom. Then, I had to take care of myself on top of that.”
I didn’t know any of this, but really, I didn’t know much about Callie.
“Your daddy’s in heaven?” Delilah asked.
Callie closed her mouth and mumbled something to herself. “Sorry,” she said to me. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
I reached across the table and put my hand on hers, a gesture neither of us was used to in public. “You can answer her. She gets it a little.”
She held my gaze for a moment, a mixture of sadness and fear hidden behind her green eyes. Just as soon as my grip on her tightened, she pulled her hand away and shifted to Delilah.
“My daddy got hurt in a bad car accident and went to heaven. I was fourteen years old then, and I still miss him a lot. But”—she brushed her hand across Delilah’s curls—“you don’t need to worry about that. You have one of the best daddies ever, and he’s not going anywhere.”
“I’m five now since my birthday, and I still don’t have a mommy,” Delilah said matter-of-factly. “Like how you don’t have a daddy.”
“And I think we’re both pretty amazing,” she said. “All families are different, right?”
Callie looked at me, and I winked. She handled it perfectly. She’d never mentioned her dad before. In fact, she never mentioned much about her family at all. She knew a lot about my family already, about my history, but there were these large chunks of her life I was missing. I was going to have to make it a priority to get in there and find out more.
“You’re staring again,” Callie said annoyed. “Do I have something on my face?”
She wiped at her face with her napkin, but I yanked it out of her hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. I just wanted to say I’m sorry about your dad.”
She took in a deep breath and blew it out in a long, staggered exhale. A pain that profound never lessened. I could see it all over her face.
“Thank you,” she said. “It was a long time ago, but…thank you.”
The remainder of brunch was quiet, the noise of the restaurant and Delilah’s chatter filling in the gaps between us. Once finished, we moved on with the rest of our day. First, the Art Institute of Chicago and then a visit to Cloud Gate.
“Can you believe I never knew it was named Cloud Gate?” Callie said. The lake breeze blew her hair around her face as the sun warmed her cheeks to subtle pink. My eyes drifted between her and Delilah, who was running and twirling beneath the sculpture.
“No. I can’t believe it,” I said, laughing.
“I thought it was just the Bean, you know? I mean, that’s what everyone calls it. I thought—” She paused and pointed her finger at me. “Bean. Pancake beans.”
“Now you got it.”
She was smiling into her reflection off the stainless steel panels of the Bean. I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She instantly struggled to get away, but I held her tight.
“Aaron.” She squirmed. “Delilah.”
I wanted to say “Who cares?” but I knew she did. We both did, but for a moment, I wanted to pretend we were just us. I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and held it up to our reflection.
“Look up there, Calliope,” I said.
She backed herself in to me, tilted her head up, and matched her smile to mine as I snapped the picture. We were just another couple among hundreds there doing the same, but we were different. We only had moments, and we had to take those moments when we could. I glanced over at Delilah who was making silly faces at the Bean.
“Now, look at me,” I said.
She dipped her head back, and I kissed her only briefly, but long enough for me to snap another picture. “There,” I said. “I wanted documentation of kissing you at the gate to the clouds.”
Her head shook as she spun around. “So full of schmoopy, you are. Delilah,” she called. “Come here!”
She ran over, slipping her hand into Callie’s. “What?”
Callie brushed Delilah’s hair back and straightened her shirt. “Take a picture with your Daddy.”
Callie started to step away, but I grabbed her hand and tugged her back. “Let’s take one all together.”
“Aaron.” She sighed.
“Come on. It’s just a picture,” I said.
I didn’t want to push, especially over something simple, things like photos. So I waited to gauge her reaction.
“Yes!” Delilah said. “Come on, Callie.”
She smiled. “You, I can say no to,” she said, pressing her finger into my chest. “You, I can’t, Delilah.”
The three of us squeezed together, grinned into the Bean, and I snapped another picture. Another moment saved.
“Now what?” Callie asked. “Home?”
“Nope,” I said. “I thought we’d head over to Lurie Garden, walk around a bit, and then Sophie is coming to pick up Delilah for the rest of the day.”
“Who’s Sophie?” she asked.
“She’s the other lady that watches me sometimes. Can we go get a pretzel when she gets here?” Delilah said.
Callie raised her eyebrows and smirked. “Two ladies not enough for you?” she asked.
“Actually,” I said, “anything more than one is one too many for me, which is why Sophie is coming for her.”
She began to fidget again, shoving her hands into her pocket and avoiding eye contact. “And what does that mean?” she asked.
“A few more surprises.”
“I hate surprises, Aaron.”
* * *
Once Sophie picked up Delilah, after we went to Lurie Garden, we took a stroll down Michigan Avenue to Water Tower Place. It was a beautiful day, one of those rare early summer/late spring days in Chicago where it was warm enough to go sans jacket, but cool enough to not get overheated. With her done with classes for the semester, and the first time we’d been alone in ages, I’d never seen Callie so relaxed and completely mindful of her surroundings.
I trailed behind her, an opportunity to stare at her ass and take in her excitement. She was viewing the city like a tourist, and it made me wonder so many things.
“I remember you saying in your interview you hadn’t always lived here,” I said. “When did you move to Chicago?”
“Ah, six years ago,” she answered without turning around.
“For school?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Where did you grow up, then?” I asked.
“California. Central coast. Do you think we can take one of those architectural tours of the city sometime?”
She was deflecting. Maybe. Or maybe she really was just enjoying the day and didn’t want to talk about her past. Either way, I wasn’t going to push it. There would be plenty of time to hear, to know, all I needed to.
We crossed Michigan Avenue and were a few blocks down before turning to head down Rush Street. Distracted, I almost bumped into her when she abruptly stopped in front of a bar.
Her head tilted up to the sign, RETROCADE—AN OLD SCHOOL ARCADE BAR. “Are you kidding me?” she asked. She stepped up to the tinted windows and leaned in, cupping her hands over the glass to try to see inside.
“What?” I questioned.
“This is seriously awesome,” she said with her face still pressed up against the glass. “I haven’t been to an arcade in like, well, since I was kid.”
It certainly wasn’t a stop I’d planned for the day, but it couldn’t hurt to make a detour. Spontaneity and unexpectedness was something I wasn’t used to in a relationship, especially when I was with Lexie.
“Want to take a look?” I asked.
Her head spun around, and she nodded. “Do you mind?”
“Like I can say no to you,” I said, opening the door for her.
I followed her inside, taking a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dimness in contrast to the sunny outside. It was crowded for late afternoon, the bar area filled with twentysomethings drinking draft beer and watching a NASCAR race. Callie stepped farther inside, turning around to take in her surroundings. Her face lit up from excitement and the glow of the games and neon signs.
She grabbed my hand and dragged me through a maze of games before stopping at a row of old-school ones. “They have so many,” she said.
She looked back and forth between them all, and I didn’t know if she was deciding on what to play or waiting to see if I was game.
If she only knew.
“Are you waiting for me to impress you with my above-average arcade game skills?” I asked. I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was looking, and when I saw no one was, I grabbed her ass, giving it a playful squeeze. “Or we can just get out of here and get a hotel room for the rest of the afternoon.”
I pressed my lips to the side of her neck and waited for her to agree that a place alone to do whatever we wanted was a better option than a large arcade with sticky floors.
She snorted and turned. “I wouldn’t underestimate my Ms. Pac-Man playing abilities, Matthews. I would annihilate you.”
Always keeping me on my toes.
I had to bite down on my lower lip to keep from smiling. “Is that a dare?”
She shrugged. “Call it whatever you want, but if you’re game, you’re going to need a whole lot of quarters, so I can wipe that grin right off your face.”
This was a side of her I hadn’t seen much of outside the bedroom. Of course, there were times she was dominant there, but outside? Not so much. It was both a turn-on and, well, a massive turn-on.
“Keep smiling, pretty boy,” she said. “I’m going to wreck you.”
I leaned up against the machine and folded my arms. “You’re pretty confident, huh?”
“Yes. And you’re not. I can tell you, I’m very confident.”
“Okay. How about a friendly bet, then?”
“Name it.”
I ran through a list of possible wagers, most of them deviant in a sexual nature. It must have been written all over my face because she called me right out on it.
“And before you even go there, no. The answer is no,” she said.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“Yes, I do. You were either going to propose breaking the World Record for the amount of blow jobs in twenty-four hours or, well, butt sex, of course.”
I let out an incredulous gasp in an attempt to fake my way out of her spot-on prediction. In my defense, I hadn’t thought about the twenty-four-hour blow job.
“That is ridiculous,” I said. “Despite what you think, I am able to think of other things involving you that don’t include sex. Frankly, I’m offended, Calliope.”
“See,” she said, pointing at me. “I know you’re lying because you only call me Calliope when you’re trying to butter me up or get in my pants. And for the record, I’m an exit-only girl, so you can just get any kind of bum fun out your mind.”
She had me again. Shit.
“In an attempt to save what little is left of my dignity, I’m going to get quarters and then we’ll get down to business. Want a beer?”
“Yes, please,” she said, smiling. She hopped up on the stool next to Ms. Pac-Man to await my return…
And have me embarrass her.
But it was Callie who embarrassed me. Badly and by over one hundred thousand points. In fact, if there was a term for utter obliteration with a side of eating crow, it would be referred to as me.
“Well done,” I pouted while draining my beer.
“Thank you,” she said, wrapping her arms around my waist. “And now I know what to bet on.”
“You can’t make a bet after you’ve already won,” I said. “Besides, isn’t my humiliation enough for you?”
“Aww. Poor baby,” she said, playfully tapping my cheek and giving me a quick kiss. “Actually, I think the win for me can be mutually…beneficial…for the both of us.”
My internal antennae became alerted. “What did you have in mind?”
She took my hand and led me out of the bar, the sky slowly losing the sun to night. We walked, with our hands to ourselves, a few blocks until we reached Red, a small, romantic Italian restaurant hot spot. She paused in front of the door and jerked her head toward the entrance.
I looked down at the front of my jeans. “Not really dressed for a nice dinner. Plus, you had me waiting so long while you played, I ate a slice of pizza because I got hungry.”
Her laugh came out loud. “I had no idea,” she said. “And I don’t want to go in for dinner. Just want to pick up something that’s a favorite of mine from here.”
Intrigued, I followed her inside and up to the crowded wait stand.
“Can we get one slice of tiramisu to go, please?” Callie asked the hostess. She side-eyed me and winked. “And one spoon. If that’s okay with you, Aaron?”
My plan was to take her to dinner and a movie, but the arcade messed up my plans. Retrospect? It was the best thing that could’ve happened. We were able to step outside the box, and because of that, we both were able to see a different side of each other.
“There’s nothing wrong with a little sugar from time to time, Calliope.”