Cade turned toward me, stark naked. “You got a problem with something?”
I giggled. “It just doesn’t really seem sanitary,” I called as he walked out the door. Not that I had any problem with him strutting his stuff around my house, butt freaking naked. I wasn’t going to get tired of seeing his ass - that was for sure.
I laid back against the pillows, pulled the sheets up, cool around my nakedness. I wasn't sure what to think about all of this.
Cade, making me breakfast in bed.
Cade, back in my bed.
Axe, or whatever the hell his name was now.
Bailey jumped up on the bed, interrupting my thoughts, and tucked herself by my side in her usual place, whimpering.
"Hey, baby, do you need to go out again?" I asked. She laid her head down on me and sighed, settling in. Scratching her behind the ear, I spoke to her softly. "I know you're used to having me to yourself, but..."
But what, exactly?
But Cade is going to be around here more now?
Because he's not.
I swallowed the lump in my throat that formed as I thought about him, and shook my head. There was no use in getting upset about it.
It is what it is. A short-term reunion.
Ex-sex, that's all.
He'd be leaving for California soon. And, even if he were here, did I think he was going to magically become a different person? Sure, the past week he seemed clearer somehow...sober, even - but that didn't mean anything.
People don't change.
Short-term with him was okay, I told myself. When I'd left high school, it was sudden, yanking me away from Cade. Here I was, getting the chance to revisit the past. I was fortunate. Not many people had the opportunity to do that. Just because it was a short-term thing didn't mean it wasn't any less meaningful than something long-term, I reasoned. This, the time with him now, would be the last chapter in our story. It had to be.
Cade just wasn't a long-term guy.
"I hope you're resting up." Cade entered the bedroom, a tray in hand, wearing one of my aprons. And nothing else. He set the tray on the bed in front of me, and I laughed.
"What?" Cade asked.
"Nothing," I said. "I'm just laughing at the sight of your naked ass in that apron."
"You always said you liked a man in uniform," Cade said.
"Oh, that's a uniform, now?"
"If you had a chef hat, I'd have worn that for you instead. But all you had out there was an apron."
I laughed, although I had to admit, the image of Cade wearing nothing but a chef's hat wasn't exactly unappealing.
"Are you still laughing at my apron?" Cade asked. "That's pretty brazen, considering I'm the guy with the food."
"No," I admitted. "I just pictured you wearing nothing but a chef's hat."
Cade raised his eyebrows and handed me a cup of coffee, nudging Bailey over. "Scoot, you," he said softly to her. Then, to me- "What? I would even wear it on my head, just to be polite."
"Where else would you wear it?" I asked, automatically. Cade glanced down.
Oh.
Yeah, Cade the ex-sniper Marine, the outlaw biker covered in tattoos, naked in my kitchen, a chef's hat covering the goods...that was definitely not funny.
Sexy as hell. But not funny.
Cade must have noticed the look on my face. "Eat your french toast and stop thinking about me naked."
"You don't know what I'm thinking about," I said. But I felt a warmth on my cheeks anyway.
"Junebug," he said. "I can read you like an open book."
I hope not.
I averted my gaze, feeling guilty that I'd been thinking about him and me and what it all meant. Then I looked down at the plate. "You made us french toast?" I asked. "I hope we're going running since we're carb-loading."
"You couldn't keep up with me, Junebug." Cade speared a bite of french toast and put it in his mouth.
I laughed. "Give me some of that," I said, grabbing a fork. "Somehow I think your decrepit old ass would have a lot harder time keeping up with me."
"Nice try," he said. "We're the same age."
"Yes, we are," I agreed. "But unlike you, I've aged well."
"Are you saying I haven't aged well?" Cade asked, gesturing to his naked body, covered in the apron. "Because this is grade-A meat right here in front of you."
I rolled my eyes and popped a bite of the breakfast in my mouth. Who knew Cade could cook? "Mmm. This is good. I guess you have learned some things since high school other than boozing and riding on motorcycles."
"You already saw some of what I've learned." His hand brushed mine as we reached for the plate, and I felt a tingle run up the length of my spine in response to his touch.
"Well, I seem to remember you being pretty good at that in high school."
"I remember both of us being pretty good together," Cade said.
We were pretty good together. Were being the operative word.
We ate in silence, and then Cade finally spoke, his gaze focused on the bedspread, not looking at me. "Do you ever think about what it might have been like if you'd have stayed here?"
I swallowed hard. If my parents hadn't been killed? If my sister hadn't committed suicide?
I think about it every day.