“Thinking about getting frisky, Blue?” he teased.
“Nah.” I playfully rubbed up against him.
Chuckling he said, “Okay, then what did I do to deserve the rough treatment.”
I brought one of my hands up and touched his lower lip. He parted them, and his pupils dilated. “I wanted to say thank you.”
He licked his lips and his tongue touched the pad of my thumb. “For what?”
“For saying what you did downstairs. You called me your friend to your mom, and it was a sucker punch, but I get it, we don’t have labels. Except, when Turner pushed, you staked your claim. Not only that, but you did it in front of your brother and dad. So thank you. It made me feel wanted.”
“You are wanted, Keegan. More than I think you know. And I’m sorry about my mom. I wasn’t sure what your comfort level was, so I didn’t want to push the issue. If you are wanting to define us, then we can do that.”
I shook my head. “No I don’t want to force you into something you might not want to do.”
He furrowed his brows. “What the hell are you talking about? Am I with you right now?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about that says you’re forcing me? Nobody forces me to do anything. You should know that more than anyone.”
Sighing I looked down. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start a fight.”
“Are we fighting? Pretty sure if we were, you’d fucking know it.” He tipped my chin up with his finger. “But, if we are, I’m ready for the make-up sex. It’s my favorite kind.”
Now I was the amused one. “I thought gym sex was your favorite.”
“That too.”
“Mhmm…”
He brought his lips down to mine and kissed me so softly it felt like a feather’s touch. The delicate sensation of this kiss gave me butterflies; it made me feel like I was floating, it made me wonder how deep my feelings were for Camden. What began as a slow caressing of our mouths shifted into something more. I leaned into him, pressing my full weight into his chest and stomach. His tongue glided along the seam of my lips wanting access to more of me. I could feel his arousal against my front, and I let myself forget where I was and who was downstairs. Camden made me lose myself whenever he kissed me like this. He consumed me.
“Turkey’s ready!” Sarah yelled from the bottom of the steps.
My sweet brooding man tenderly pecked my mouth once more and smiled down at me. I pouted at the interruption. The look in his eyes seemed different. More loving and open. I knew every wall I had was crumbling down, and I felt my heart pick up its pace. I was falling for Camden Brooks, and the “L” word was trying to sneak itself into my vocabulary. He made me very happy, happier than I think I’ve ever been. I needed to slow myself down though. There was no way, despite how it seemed like he was seeing me right now, that he could be feeling anything but like. Camden didn’t do love, and least of all, not with me. I’d have to be more careful with my emotions around him so that I didn’t slip and say something that could make him walk away. The “L” word would ruin everything.
“Come on, let’s go eat. I swear I could hoover a whole cow right now,” he said, breaking up my thoughts.
“You mean turkey,” I corrected.
He laughed. “You’ve never seen one of my mom’s Thanksgiving spreads. I meant cow. Come, I’ll show you.”
He tugged my hand, and we went downstairs to join the family at the table.
“OH MY GOSH SOMEONE IS GOING to need to wheelbarrow me out to the field,” Paul said, rubbing his distended belly. “The turkey was delicious dear, you outdid yourself again.”
She beamed at him.
“Yeah, I feel like a stuffed bird. Get it? Stuffed….bird?” Wrigley joked, trying to be sarcastic.
A napkin was chunked at his face, and there was a round of grumbles. In the short period of time that I’d been at Camden’s house, I’d learned that Wrigley liked to tell the cheesiest jokes. What made them even funnier was how he delivered them. Being the baby of the family, he got the most flack but could get away with anything. Turner, the oldest, was the practical one. He’d gone off to college at LSU on a baseball scholarship, then was picked up by a major league team. However, he chose to come back home and work on a doctorate degree. Their parents were very proud of him despite loving the idea of one of their boys joining the big leagues. I think they were actually holding out hope for Wrigley. Scouts had their eye on him, and it was his last year in school. Camden was the serious brother, the one that took on the role of family protector. During dinner I listened to him grill his brothers on the things going on in their lives, letting them know that he’d be there if they needed it. Always my broody man. Dodger’s personality was easygoing. He was the most passive of the four of them, but I knew from the Halloween party that he had a strong side that didn’t take shit. He was like the quiet storm that brewed out at sea. I could easily see how someone like Dodger was good for Macie. He let her get away with things when necessary, but reeled her in when she needed to be caught. I loved all of their individual personalities, and yet they somehow were all the same, because they were the product of their parents. Parents who looked on with pride while we ate. This was a family who was close and supported each other no matter the battles. I envied them.
“Ready to get your asses whooped?” Dodger stood up from the table and pulled out Macie’s chair.
I had been slightly shocked that their parents weren’t offended by some of the things that their boys talked about, but I realized that not a lot really bothered them.
Turner barked a boisterous laugh. “In your dreams Wild Thing.”
I leaned into Camden who was grinning from ear to ear. “Wild Thing?”
“Yeah, Dodger here, thinks that he has the best pitch in the family. Except he can’t get it over home plate for shit. He started calling himself Wild Thing after Charlie Sheen’s character in the movie, Major League. He even has some of those black frame glasses around here somewhere,” he replied.
“My pitch is awesome, you fuckers. Keegan, you can be on my team, that way you know what winning feels like.”
Camden shook his head. “She goes to bed with me every night, so I’m pretty sure she already knows what winning feels like.”
“Camden!” I scolded. Could he embarrass me any more today?
Paul chuckled when Camden shrugged. “No worries honey, we all know Cam’s all bark.”
Oh boy they had no idea there was certainly more than a bite that went along with his bark. He looked down at me, confirming that he was reading my mind. Winking at me, he got up as well. “We’ll divide the teams when we get to the field. Let’s go.”
I started picking up my plate to take it into the kitchen when Donna put her hand on my forearm and said, “Don’t worry about that, we always clean up after we play.”