Two weeks together; two weeks apart.
That was the pattern for the near future. I was currently back in Los Angeles because I'd closed on the house the week before. After looking at a dozen other homes, I'd gone with the fixer-upper that Ceci had fallen in love with. She was right that it had character. It also had history, which I learned when I signed the papers on it. The first owner had been a famous silent film star who had built it to reside in during her golden years. It was passed on to her daughter, and she remained in it until she died at the beginning of the year. Her nephew who'd inherited it had no desire to keep it, which is why it had been on the market. He happened to be a well known TV actor from the early 90's, and I'd posed for a couple pictures with him at closing.
Ceci had decided to stay in Toronto for the time being. I'd been disappointed when she told me, but I understood. One positive thing had occurred, though. She gave up the lease on her tiny apartment and moved into mine, so that when I was in Canada, we were living together. It made leaving a little easier when I knew she was waiting for me at our shared home.
I really wanted to share the L.A. home with her, too. I'd fallen in love with it on a different level than I had my condos. It felt like a home, and not just a place to live. I could see myself raising a family in it.
Ceci was on her way to my place from LAX with the renovation plans she'd been working on with the contractor I'd hired. She was using some of her vacation time to stay for a long weekend, and even though we'd just been together in Toronto, I couldn't wait to see her. Her texts made it clear she felt the same way.
I'll be there in 10 mins
I've missed you ❤️
I smiled at my phone and then replied.
Missed u more ❤️❤️❤️
When she arrived, I gave her a long kiss and then took her bags to the bedroom, which like the rest of the house was minimally furnished. She'd said I should wait to buy anything until after the construction was completed so that it could fit the look. I'd bought a king sized mattress which was on the floor, a couch from IKEA, and a tiny table with two chairs.
Ceci looked around. "This is the closest to living like a normal twenty-three year old you are ever going to get."
I laughed. "Probably. I don't really hate it since I've got what I need."
"Just wait until you don't have a kitchen. You might hate that."
She apparently forgot how little I used my kitchen when she wasn't around.
"I'll only be here for a week of that, then I'll be back home with you."
Standing on her tiptoes, she gave me a kiss. "I can't wait. I don't like being alone in that gigantic condo. We should have kept my place and sold yours."
"But I'm Shawn Mendes. I can't live in a two room apartment," I joked.
"One day I'm going to get you to move into a tiny home with me. Just you wait."
"As long as it's got space for a piano and my guitars."
She took out her computer and showed me the 3-D plans for the kitchen. I'd seen them already, but it was different when she was next to me explaining everything.
"When is the pool going in?" she asked.
"I was hoping soon but my pool guy said he wants to wait until the interior is done because he thinks it would be too many contracting vehicles in my driveway. I guess they get cranky with each other when one is blocking in the others."
"But it should be done by June, right? I'm looking forward to swimming when I'm here for Wango Tango," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Swimming?"
"Among other activities."
"You've been here for forty-five minutes and we have not engaged in any of those activities yet. I've got a mattress on the floor that needs to be broken in," I said as I took her by the hand and led her back to my bedroom.
"Do you mind if I take a shower first? I feel icky after that long flight."
"You're never icky, and I'd know since I'm the one who frequently tastes you, but if it makes you feel better, then of course you can."
She took her clothes off, went into my outdated master bathroom, and stepped into the tiny olive green tub, pulling the shower curtain closed. Both bathrooms were being completely redone, too. I couldn't wait to have multiple shower heads because the one I had now sucked and frequently left me feeling like my hair still had shampoo in it.
While Ceci showered I considered joining her, but there really wasn't much room. While I struggled with this internal debate, she called out to me.
"Babe? Can you get the razor out of my suitcase. I just realized I missed a spot on the back of my leg."
This was obviously a sign that I needed to be in there with her. I found her razor, stripped naked, and pulled the curtain back before climbing in.
"Oh hi," she said. "Can you step aside while I shave this spot."
"Sure, no prob."
I moved to the back of the shower and watched as she put her foot on the soap dish so that she could reach the hairy spot. And then I watched that same soap dish break off the wall and fall to the bottom of the tub.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.
I picked it up and set it on the floor. "You're a one woman demolition crew."
We both looked over at the spot where the soap dish had been and started laughing. Then Ceci stepped closer to me, which wasn't hard to do since there was no space in the shower. She ran her hands up my torso to my collarbones and then back down again, grazing my nipples. One hand wrapped around my erection and started to slowly pump it. I bent forward so that I could kiss her while she gave me an amazing hand-job. Once my seed had washed down the drain, I used my fingers and thumb to get her off. Then I washed her long hair and soaped up her perfect body. Even though I'd already showered, she returned the favor and massaged shampoo into my scalp. All this touching had an effect on me, which I showed her by turning her against the wall and pinning her from behind.
That's when we got a little reckless. As she pressed her ass against me, I bent down slightly so that I could slip between her legs. Somehow I ended up inside her, and much to my surprise, she groaned and pushed back against me so that I'd go deeper.
"Ceci," I moaned into her ear, "are you sure this is okay?"
In a flash, she came to her senses and lurched forward.
"Oh shit. We almost did it again," she said.
"I already came, so in theory, I'm empty, right?"
"Maybe. I don't know how that works. We can google later."
We got out of the shower and dried off before taking things to my bed where we made sure to use a condom. Afterwards, she snuggled against my chest.
"I don't think I'm ovulating, so what happened in the shower is no big deal," she said.
"This would be easier if we didn't have to rely on remembering to have a condom on us at all times."
"I was on the pill in college for awhile and had several adverse reactions. That's why I'm not on it now. We could look into other methods, I guess."
I rubbed her bare back. "Condoms are fine but we've been a little sloppy lately."
She yawned since sex tended to make her sleepy. "I'll look into an IUD. Plus we don't even know if I can get pregnant. We might be worrying for nothing."
The rest of the long weekend was spent meeting with contractors, exploring furniture shops, eating decadent food, and making love.
In between those activities I played some of my new music for Ceci. My album was coming along nicely, though there was a lot of pressure to top Wonder, which had garnered high praise from the critics. My latest work had been developed during our pregnancy, our loss, and our eventual coming together. It was very much about my girlfriend and our complex relationship.
I was releasing a single on June 3rd, right before I started my festival run. Everything felt different in a post-covid world, including this. Wonder had come out during the peak of the second wave, which had given people relief and hope. I wasn't sure what tone was needed now, but I hoped that being honest about my experiences would work again.