This chapter was inspired by the song Guys My Age by Hey Violet. Feel free to listen as you read!
Morning came even quicker than last time. I feel the warmth of his body against my back. It was so comforting, his lean arm draped over my body, connecting us.
I studied his forearm. His skin looked and felt so smooth, not oily or dry, but just healthy and clear. I outlined his arm, taking in the shape with my hands.
Remembering it.
Memorizing it.
I glided my fingers down to his hand, tracing his palm. His hands weren't as soft and smooth as his arm. Callouses outlined his palms, either from working out or all that housework he must do. The memory of his cart full of household cleaning items came across my mind. Funny thing, Mr. Leto never talks about gardening. It must be for the houses he sells.
My mind wandered back to his warm body pressed against my back. I lapsed back into the memories from last night of us wrapped in each other's arms, inseparable.
I felt myself melt into his arms. A soft kiss on my neck broke my train of thought.
"Someone's awake," he said groggily. The huskiness in his voice sent chills down my spine and was literally, the sexiest thing to wake up too.
"Someone's still sleepy, " I retorted playfully as I turned to face him .
"For you, I'd be awake in a heart beat." He said suggestively.
His voice paled in comparison with his looks. Yep, he was just as flawless as he was before. My eyes outlined his perfectly handsome features. I started with his eyes, then his cheek bones, his jaw , down to his neck and stopped at his clavicle. I decided to give my eyes a break and grazed my fingers against his shoulders and chest.
He stared back at me calmly as I touched him. I felt peaceful in the oddest way.
"I don't want to leave. I could stay in bed with you all day." I said out loud to myself.
"Don't say that Kerri, or I'll just might have to make that happen." He tapped my nose with his finger.
I laughed as I inched closer to him. He leaned in, kissing me tenderly. He proceeded to kiss down across my jaw tracing down to my shoulders.
It felt so good. I laid there taking in the tantalizing feeling of his lips against my skin. My eyes roamed about his room, taking in the rows of pictures on his wall and shelves.
"Mr. Leto?"
"Hmm..?" he hummed against my skin as he continued to kiss me, giving me goose bumps.
"How many pictures do you have in this house?"
I could feel him smile against my skin as he chuckled.
"You really wanna know?" he asked.
"Well, yeah. I wanna know more about you."
"Gosh, you're cute." He flashed his signature smile. "That's my Kerri, always so curious." He said before kissing me, his lips lingered on mine.
His Kerri. I almost fainted at those two words. Suddenly, my whole body felt hot.
"Okay. I'll show you." He said getting up, exposing his sculpted back. One of the many features I didn't get to trace. It was a masterpiece within itself.
"Pick one. And I'll tell you anything you want to know about it."
There were so many, I didn't know what to choose. One caught my eye. It was laying on the dresser by his walk-in closest. It was almost singled out from the rest. The frame was the thickest out of the others with golden trimming and not to mention, looked super fancy. It was a picture of a 3-story brick house with several windows.
"Umm...how about this one?" I pointed as I walked over to it and picked it up.
"Be careful with that one." He said as he took the frame from my hands to place it back on his dresser safely. "This is one of my ultimate favorites. That's the third house I sold in this city. I sold it to a business woman years ago." He was so engrossed in his memories. I could tell this meant a lot to him.
"Cool. It's such a nice house." I said moving closer to the picture.
Mr. Leto stepped back as he continued. "Yeah, they were built in the 60s. A classic. One of the best houses I ever sold. And that's why it's here." He snapped out of his memory and turned back to me. "Now..." he said wrapping his arms around me from behind, "you have any more questions?" he whispered as he placed kisses on my neck. His hands roamed over my hips and down to my thighs.
"Um..." I hesitated distracted by him. "I'm good."
"Good." He said bringing his mouth to my ear as he spoke softly "I'm going to take a shower now. Feel free to join me." He sauntered to the bathroom.
There he goes again, leaving me breathless in my PJs in the middle of his room. It took some time to let what he said sink in. A shower? Dear Goodness!
I heard the water begin to run, inviting me in.
Excitement crept back up and I was rearing to go like a revving up car. I hopped around as I flung off my pants.
As I scurried to get my pajama top off, my hand got stuck in the shirt. I stepped back to pull my night shirt over my head and my arm hit something and heard a crackling thud on the floor behind me.
There it was, the golden-rimmed prized frame Mr. Leto just claimed as one of his prized possessions. My eyes darted to his bathroom, hoping he didn't heard anything. I could only hear water from the shower smack against the tile, so I was in the clear for now. .. Mr. Leto would flip if he found out!
I bent down to get a closer look. The frame was split in two and the glass had several cracks in it.
I picked up the frame, trying desperately to put it back together. No luck.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
I stared at the door frozen in panic.
The knob started to turn and it just dawned on me that I didn't lock the door this time. Crap, crap, crap!!
I grabbed the broken frame, my pajama pants and craned my head about the room like an owl, trying to find the best place to hide.
The door opened.
"Dad?" It was Allegra.
I scuttled across the floor, darting into Mr. Leto's walk-in closet, praying she didn't catch a glimpse of my foot as she entered the door. I held onto my pants and frame in my hands.
I backed myself into the corner, my head brushing against the tailored suits. I squeezed the frame so tightly and as a piece of the glass scraped against my palm, drawing blood. The sharp pain caused me to drop it.
"Dad, you in there?" She sounded annoyed. I could hear her footsteps coming towards me. I bit so hard on my lip as I said a little prayer hoping something anything would stop her.
"Oh, hey kiddo. What's wrong?" His sounded shocked.
"Nothing's wrong. Kerri's in the bathroom downstairs. I tried to wait until she got out, but I can't hold it. Can I use yours?"
Oh no.
She assumed I'm in the bathroom downstairs because I'm not on the couch. Thank God she didn't go to the bathroom to see if I was there.
"By all means, Legra." I heard her feet as she rushed into the bathroom. The door closed.
I quickly dress and I carefully placed the frame under my PJ top, so Mr. Leto wouldn't see. I came out the closest to see a relief wash over his face. I dashed to the door, when I felt him grab my arm.
This is it. I'm screwed. He must see the frame.
He cupped my face and kissed me. "Next time, don't take so long." He whispered. I didn't have enough time to realize how crazy he was.
WE ALMOST GOT CAUGHT. And all he cares about is why I didn't make it to the shower? Has he lost his mind?
I rushed down the stairs and carefully placed the frame in my book bag and made a running jump for my cold spot on the couch. As I pulled the covers over my head, I heard Allegra coming back to her spot.
That was too close.
------
Breakfast was somewhat quiet. Well, at least for me. My head was spinning too much from last night to this morning; I was just shoving food in my mouth so I didn't have to speak.
"So, how'd you sleep, Kerri? Allegra asked at the table. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as they ate.
She couldn't possibly know, could she? What if she heard him or heard us kiss?
"I mean, this week has been such a fun-filled week, with your birthday and Homecoming and all." She grinned.
Oh, thank God.
I made a slight sigh of relief, "Uh...I slept really well, actually."
"That's good." She said coolly.
"What about you, Dad?" Her face looked stern this time.
Fear trickled down my spine.
Oh no! She must know. Why does she care how we both slept?
"Well," he paused, before answering. He bit his lip elongating the awkward silence.
Was he trying to kill me? How can he get even hotter after I spent the whole night with him?
I shook myself back into the moment. I looked down at my plate as I anticipated his answer.
"I slept heavenly, sweetie. Thanks for asking."
"No problem, Dad. You seemed tired from last night. Glad you got the sleep you needed." She cheered up again.
This suspense is going to put me in cardiac arrest. At least now I can finally calm do-
"Kerri, what's that on your hand?" Dasha exclaimed. "Is that B-blood?" she stammered. Dasha hates blood.
I looked down at the red stain against my sleeve. Oh God. The cut from the glass.
"Uh...I don't know. I must have bumped into something on the way to the bathroom."
"Bathroom? That looks like more than that!" Sydney said.
Mr. Leto cocked his head in genuine concern. "Let me see." He said taking my arm. "Hmmm. Allegra, can you get me the first aid kit? And Sydney, why don't you take Dasha in the living room to watch TV?" he stated
They both nodded in agreement and followed Mr. Leto's orders.
Things were looking bad. I was hiding from Allegra and now Mr. Leto himself. It all happened so fast.
Once they left the room, he turned to me. "Kerri, what in the world did you do?"
I had to think quick. "I cut my arm against a hanger when I ran in the closet. Allegra was coming in and I had no choice. I had to go somewhere. I totally forgot to lock the stupid door." I explained.
Mr. Leto shook his head in disbelief. "Okay" he sighed. He actually bought my story.
"We'll just have to lock the door next time." He smoldered.
This man is going to be the death of me this time, for sure. All he can think about is next time.
"Here Dad." Allegra passed him the kit.
"Why don't you join the girls in the living room?"
"No it's okay. I don't mind being here for-"
"Go in the living room, Allegra." He cut her off. "I can handle this." His tone was demanding. His face was stern.
Allegra huffed out as she walked to the living room with the other girls.
He dabbed hydrogen peroxide on my wound.
I flinched at the sting.
"Shh...It's fine." He cajoled. "Almost done..."
He placed the Band-Aid on my palm. It was the most awkward place to have a cut. "There! All finished." He smiled as he looked over his shoulder at the girls. Their eyes were glued to the TV. Without taking his eyes off mine, he took my hand, brought his mouth to my palm and softly kissed over the bandage.
"Better?" he asked dreamily.
"Yeah" I breathed out.
"Good girl." He bit his lip.
"You better go and join the girls while I clean up."
"Okay." I agreed as I floated into the living room.
"We know what you did, Kerri." Sydney said.
"Huh?! What?!" I asked alarmed.
"Kerri's over here hurting herself so she gets extra special 'Mr. Leto Time'" she teased.
Everyone laughed.
"Shut up, Sydney!" I pushed her with my good arm.
As we watched TV, reality sunk in my mind reminding me of my situation. I weighed the pros and cons. The bad news was, I had to find a way to fix that once beautiful broken frame. I couldn't tell Allegra because then she would know that I was in her father's room and I couldn't tell Mr. Leto because he'd be pissed. But at least there was some good news: Now I had an excuse to spend the night again.
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~ Cade