Dear Heart, I Hate You
He slid over so he was no longer covering me completely, but parts of him still pressed against parts of me. I closed my eyes for only a moment, but when I reopened them, the room was dark.
Shit.
My eyes bleary, I glanced at the clock on my DVD player. It was a little after six. We still had plenty of time before we needed to be at Tami’s.
Relieved, I closed my eyes again and reveled in the fact that I was all tangled up in Cal, in more ways than one.
• • •
Cal was out. I wiggled myself out from under him and plugged in my curling iron, pulled out my makeup bag, and hung up my outfit in the bathroom. It would take me longer to get ready than it would take him, so I figured I’d let him sleep a little more.
He looked gorgeous, lying there in my bed, wrapped in my sheets, his dark hair all mussed. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of him with my phone. I realized in that moment that we hadn’t taken a single photo together since he’d gotten here. I’d make sure Tami remedied that later. No need to keep staring at the ones from Boston every night when I could have new ones to look at.
“Hey.” I shook his shoulder lightly and pressed my lips to his temple. “Cal?”
He grumbled before rubbing his eyes and blinking up at me. “Hi. How long was I out?”
“We both crashed, but you need to get up and get ready. Do you want a bourbon or some coffee?”
“Bourbon, babe. Always bourbon.” He reached for my waist and pulled me on top of his lap before tangling his hand in my hair and pulling my mouth to his. “I love kissing you.”
“You’re telling me.” I ran my finger along the curve of his bottom lip before taking it into my mouth and sucking gently.
“Better stop,” he warned, and I laughed.
“We can’t. We have to get ready. I’ll go get you that bourbon.” I smiled as I pulled out of his grasp.
“This is the night I’m dressing up, right?” he called out from the room.
“Yes!” I shouted back as I poured his drink and brewed some coffee for me.
A moment later, I walked back into the bedroom with both drinks in hand. Cal wasn’t in my room, so I headed into the bathroom.
My jaw dropped open slightly when I saw him dressed in a navy suit and a crisp white button-down shirt. The shirt’s top two buttons were undone, and I drank him in as he leaned toward the mirror and fussed with his hair.
“Wow. You look so hot,” I said before handing him his bourbon.
“Is this okay for Hollywood?” he asked, meeting my eyes in the mirror.
“It’s perfect. I’d better get dressed.”
I grabbed my outfit hanging on the back of the door and slipped out of the yoga pants and tank that I’d worn while doing my hair and makeup. As I tossed my clothes on the floor, I noticed Cal’s gaze on me. When he took a step toward me, I put my hand up to stop him.
“Don’t come closer, Cal. I mean it. We have to get to Tami’s on time.”
“You should have gotten undressed somewhere else then, Jules. What do you expect?”
“Self-control.” I narrowed my eyes at him as I took a tentative step back, and he sipped his bourbon, watching me through hooded eyes.
I stepped into my high-waisted black pencil skirt that fit me perfectly, hugging every curve on my body and stopping well above my knees. My black sleeveless blouse was beautiful, the material light and flowy as I tucked it in. Moving to the tub, I sat on the edge and slipped into my black heels with white pearl
straps. To finish off the look, I pulled on a white dress jacket, which added the perfect amount of pop to the otherwise dark outfit.
Checking myself in the mirror one last time, I fussed with my hair, which now had long, loose waves in it, and touched up the contouring on my cheeks.
“You look stunning.” Cal stepped behind me as we stared at our reflections in the mirror. We looked damn good together.
“Cal, we need a selfie,” I said as I reached for my phone. Holding it in front of us, we both smiled as I took a picture.