Only Oscar (Wattys 2022 Shortlist!)

Chapter Nine

Elbow resting on the counter, chin propped on her palm, Callie idly stirred the spoon in her coffee mug while staring through the kitchen window. 

It was lovely outside. Cloudless blue skies, bright sunshine, the kind of summer day which filled the city's parks with picnics and sunbathers. 

But Callie wasn't thinking about joining them. She was too busy reminiscing about a magical kiss in the rain, wondering why no-one had ever kissed her like that before.

The atmosphere probably helped. Storms had always done it for her and Oscar knew that, so kissing her while her body was in a heightened state of nature-induced arousal was a smart move on his part. Not that it was an event he could have controlled. 

The anticipation helped, too. The slow build of sexual tension which brought them to a point where, if he hadn't kissed her, she might have made the first move. In a way, she supposed she had, by dropping enough hints about how she felt to make it obvious she was open to being kissed. He wouldn't have kissed her unless he thought she wanted him to. 

All those details made perfect sense.

It was her response to him that blew her mind.

Initially, it was the tenderest form of seduction she'd ever experienced. As his lips explored her mouth, it felt like something delicate unfurled inside her, like the petals of a flower opening to the warmth of the sun. Kissing him back was as natural as breathing, as necessary to her as oxygen. She could have kissed and been kissed that way for hours. 

It was beautiful. He made her feel beautiful.

Then it changed. He demanded more from her body and it instantly obeyed. His to command, his to control, his any time and any place he wanted it. The spark of attraction she'd felt earlier flared into an inferno. She'd never wanted anyone the way she wanted him. 

And that it was Oscar...?

Yep, mind officially blown.

When her phone chirped, she almost knocked over her mug in the rush to get to it.

'Morning sunshine.'

The message put a goofy grin on her face. It was him.

'Good morning to you too,' she texted back.

'What you doing?'

Callie glanced at the abandoned coffee mug sitting on the counter. 

'Making coffee.' She didn't mention it was her third attempt at drinking it. 'Want one?'

Lifting the mug, she took it to the sink and disposed of the contents, returning to the nearby pot to start the process a fourth time as another chirp sounded.

'Got one thanks. You free after lunch?'

She glanced at the door of the room she'd turned into a workshop and thought about the commission she should have been working on while she was daydreaming.

'Yes,' she replied. 'What you got in mind?'

If it meant working through the night so she could spend time with him, she was okay with that. She needed to see him, to discover if what happened the night before was an anomaly, an error of judgment which could take years to get over or the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.

Suddenly she was nervous again.

She didn't think she'd blown it out of proportion. She knew what she'd felt. And she hadn't been the only one caught up in the moment, He'd been right there with her. Another chirp sounded.