Her eyes went wide. “You think he lives in San Diego?”
I pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, then slid my hand up to cup the back of her neck. “I think it’s worth a shot to find out.”
“So, you think I should call him?”
“If you want to meet him, then yeah, I think you should call him, babe.”
“Okay,” she whispered, but didn’t move off me, keeping her eyes on mine. I put pressure on the back of her neck, bringing her mouth to mine. I kissed her and felt her relax into me, her hands sliding up my chest and up into my hair. When the tip of her tongue traced the seam of my lips, I groaned, opening for her. I loved being in control, loved having hold of her and taking what I wanted, all the while knowing I was going to give her exactly what she needed in the process. But when Kalli initiated, when she took the lead and let me know what she needed, that was sexy as hell too.
So I was following her lead. Kissing her, stroking my hand through her hair, letting my hand roam over her body, but not taking it any further. This particular moment wasn’t about sex for her, and I could tell. It was about a connection. Her kiss wasn’t telling me she wanted me, it was telling me she was glad I was hers, that she was grateful for us.
“I love you,” she whispered against my lips.
“I love you too, baby.”
She rested her head on my chest and we let our breathing return to normal, let our heart rates settle.
“You feel like going to San Diego soon?” she asked after a few minutes.
“Babe, he wants to meet you, he comes to LA.”
“Right. Okay,” she said, pushing out a breath, trying to build up her courage.
“Do you want to wait? You don’t have to call him now.”
“I feel like I should just get it over with.”
I could understand that. “Whenever you’re ready.”
She pushed off me and reached for her cell phone on the coffee table. Then she dialed the number from memory, which made my chest feel tight. She’d stared at that card enough to memorize his phone number. She took in a deep breath and then hit Send, and then the speaker button.
I took her free hand in mine, and brought it up to my lips, kissing her knuckles, watching her facial expression alternate between worried and scared. It started to ring and I felt her tense, and after three rings, I could hardly feel my fingers anymore because she was squeezing them so hard.
But then there was a click on the line and I heard Kevin’s voice say, “Hello?” He sounded hopeful, as if he saw the phone number and was wishing it were hers.
Kalli was frozen, mouth open, prepared to say something, but nothing came out. With wide eyes she turned to me, eyes welling with tears.
“Is this Kevin?” I asked, gently rubbing my thumb over her hand, trying to bring her back.
“This is.” His voice turned harder, hearing mine. He obviously didn’t want to talk to me.
“This is Riot, Kalli’s boyfriend. She’s here, listening, and we have a few questions.”
“Kalli’s there? She can hear me?” All hardness was gone from his voice again, and the hope was back. His voice was soft and warm, and I would have bet money he had tears in his eyes, exactly like Kalli.
“She’s here, and yes, she can hear you.”
“Kalli…,” her father said, obviously overcome by emotion. “God, baby doll, I’ve wanted to talk to you so many times throughout the years.”
And with that, I knew Kalli would be unavailable to talk to Kevin. Her phone dropped to her lap, her hand wrenched itself from mine, and she used both of hers to hide her face. I took the phone, but wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her over to me. I could feel her shake against me, silently crying.
“Kevin, we noticed you have a San Diego area code. Is that where you live?”
“Yes, I’m in San Diego.”
“Kalli would like to meet you. So if you could come to LA, where we live, we’d appreciate it. Are you free this weekend?”
“Uh, I’m free whenever. I’ll be there whenever she needs me to be.”
I had to hold back my acidic response, literally bite my lip to make sure I didn’t tell him that she’d needed him for over twenty years and that one eager phone call wasn’t going to make up for his absence.
“This Saturday. Noon. There’s a coffee shop on the corner near her place. We’ll text you the address and meet you there.”
“I’ll be there, Kalli,” he said, obviously hoping she was still listening. He couldn’t hear her, but she was still silently crying against me. “I’m so grateful you called.”
“We’ll see you there, Kevin.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.”
I didn’t bother saying good-bye, just ended the call, dropped the phone, then wrapped both my arms around my girl. Once she knew the phone call was over, she started crying in earnest, not holding anything back.