His body gets tight, and I see his knuckles turning white from how hard he is gripping the doorknob. His head drops for a second before he turns and stalks over to where I’m standing in the middle of Greg’s office. Without giving me a second to guess his intentions, he grabs my head with gentle strength and crushes his lips against mine.
It feels as if every single inch of my body is on fire. He doesn’t make a move to deepen the kiss, but it still feels like one of the most intimate kisses we’ve ever shared. My hands resting against his sides dig in when he brings his body closer until he has me pressed against the wall. He keeps his lips pressed tightly to mine, before lifting off and giving me a few smaller pecks. He pulls his face away, but keeping his hold on me, he smiles; all the love he wants me to believe in shines so bright that I feel physically warmed by it.
“Don’t you know by now? You couldn’t keep me away if you tried.” He winks and presses his lips once more to mine. Then he’s out the door, and even though he closes it softly, the click as it shuts echoes throughout the room like a shot. I can still feel his delicious kiss for minutes after he’s gone. I stand here in the same spot, with my fingertips pressed to my lips, and for the first time in a while, I smile a true smile of pure happiness.
Maybe things are starting to look up.
****
It takes me a good thirty minutes before I look normal enough to return to the madness erupting inside of the Cage household. The second I round the corner and enter the kitchen, I run right into the birthday boy himself.
“What are you doing in here all alone? Looking to steal some ice cream when your mom isn’t looking?” I smile, but like always this kid can see right through me. He crosses his little arms over his chest and tilts his head to the side, studying me with an intensity that makes me nervous.
“Aunt Dee, your face looks funny.” Leave it to Cohen; I swear that kid has no filter.
“Thanks, little dude. Your cape looks funny.” I stick my tongue out at him, and when his adorable face breaks out into a huge smile, I know he’s forgotten all about my ‘funny face’.
“My cape is awesome. It gives me magic, and makes everyone love me.” He plants his hands on his hips and looks at me as if all this should be common knowledge, which it is, but it’s still cute to listen to him explain it. His tiny brows are crunched together, and his lips are pulled into an adorable little pout.
“Uh huh, and I bet that magical cape keeps you out of trouble, too?” Bending down and kneeling in front of him, I look into his brown eyes that are so full of innocence that uncomfortable longing shoots through my heart. “You really are the coolest four-year-old I know.”
“I know.” He smiles big.
“And how many times since you put it on this morning have you gotten in trouble?” I ask with a smile.
His grin gets even larger, to the point where it looks like the creepy is coming out of him. “Two times!” he screams in my face, holding up his fingers. “Two times, but it was Mommy’s fault the first time. Daddy’s wiener was out, and I was just trying to keep her from seeing it.” He leans into my face, so close that our noses touch. “Girls aren’t supposed to see wieners, Aunt Dee. And Daddy’s wiener was mad that Mommy saw. It was so mad, it was pointing at her!”
Oh. My. God. How the hell I’m able to keep from busting out a laugh is beyond me. When I look over his head, and see Greg shaking his head with a slight blush on his cheeks. I lose it, laughing so hard that I fall onto my ass. Cohen, completely oblivious to the fact that he just let me know he busted Greg and Melissa, just starts laughing with me. I try to stop, but the laughter just keeps coming. Maybe some of the tension from earlier is still trying to escape, but hell, this kid could make the worst of days better.
“All right, all right… come on, Birthday Hero, you need to go use the bathroom and get back to your party.” Before I stand up, I pull him into my arms and give him a big hug. His little arms wrap tight around my neck, and he squeezes me hard. “I love you, Cohen. You’re right, that cape sure does work.”
“I know!” He gives me a kiss on my cheek before rushing past me and slamming the door to the bathroom.
Well, guess I’ll join the party by myself. I stand up and dust off my rear. When I look up, I notice that Beck has joined Greg in the kitchen. He gives me a warm smile, and I can tell just by looking in his eyes that he caught that moment with Cohen and me, too.
“I love hearing that laugh, Dee. It’s been too long.” And with that, he turns and walks back through the doorway and into the living room.
I must have been standing there for a while, just zoning at the doorway that he walked through, because when Greg clears his throat, I jump slightly.
“Must have been pretty far away just then. You didn’t even notice Cohen run flying right past you.” He smiles, but it’s guarded.