An Innocent Thanksgiving

It wasn’t exactly the way it would be if Cal and I had been honest with them for a while, or if Cal and I hadn’t told them. My dad was a bit subdued. Cal and I were overly careful in our behavior. But it was good. It was really, really good.

The four-hour drive back to Nashville was buoyant. I was riding on cloud nine, and couldn’t stop grinning at Cal. Fern picked up on the good mood and was filled with joyful energy, singing along loudly on the radio and pointing out all the things she saw along the side of the highway, like the cows.

I felt like I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for anything. This whole thing had gone so much better than I had feared and expected. I’d thought that Dad would never come around, or that it would take him a lot longer. That there would be weeks where he wouldn’t speak to me. That he would stop wanting to see Cal. But instead… instead we were on our way to being a full family.

Cal insisted on driving so that I could get some more work done, and I did get some done, it was true, but mostly I just kept smiling at him and at Fern, playing games to help keep her entertained. It was like… all those ridiculous songs I’d always heard, like “Walking on Sunshine,” they all made sense now.

Cal dropped us off at our apartment, letting me know that he was going to work on his mural a bit and then be back later. We waited until Fern was occupied before we kissed—Cal pulled me in, his large hand spanning the small of my back, his tongue sliding between my lips like he was claiming me.

I didn’t mind in the slightest.

Soon, we wouldn’t have to hide anything from Fern. We could explain it all to her. But that would be a conversation for—tomorrow, perhaps. When we could sit her down and tell her the story in a way she could understand it.

Fern and I had dinner—some leftovers I had in the fridge—and then I put her to bed. Hmmm.

Maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea, but… we could be quiet, right? We’d already had sex once at my apartment without Fern knowing. And if Cal stayed over—that might be a good idea, actually, to have him stay over for the night, and then in the morning…

With that in mind, I put on a pair of sexy lingerie that Jenn had gifted me for my birthday last year. I’d told her that I was never going to wear it, that I didn’t have time for dating, yada yada yada, but she’d insisted.

“You need it for yourself,” she’d said. “Who cares if a man never sees it? Sometimes you just need to look at yourself in the mirror and think that you look sexy. Sometimes you just need to go through the day knowing that underneath your ho-hum clothes you’re rocking it.”

Jenn had been right, but usually, I had just put on the lingerie and then stared at myself for a few minutes before taking it all off again. But now—now I had a reason for it.

The dark blue lace went well with my skin and my hazel eyes, if I did say so myself. The straps of the bra crisscrossed over my back, and then there was a sheer dark blue negligee to go over it all. I didn’t put on any makeup, but I brushed out my hair and gave it a onceover with the straightener. Nothing too crazy since it would be getting messed up the moment Cal got his hands in it—he loved to tug my hair and I loved for him to do it—but something to make it all look nice.

The doorbell rang and I grinned to myself. I was surprised Cal was ringing it instead of knocking. I double checked my phone. Huh, he hadn’t texted me to let me know he was on his way. No matter.

I hurried as quietly as I could to the door, pulling it open—and froze.

It wasn’t Cal. It was Leo.

He stared at me in shock for a second, and then a hungry gaze entered his eyes. I could feel myself flushing with embarrassment, and I instinctively went to close the door on him, but he stuck his foot out, blocking it from closing.

“Leo, I’m sorry, but this isn’t a good time,” I told him.

Leo shoved the door open with his shoulder and I stumbled back, caught off guard. Fear curled heavy in my stomach. I had never been scared of Leo before, although I’d been wary, knowing that he liked me and not wanting to lead him on. But this was a whole new feeling.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, mindful to keep my voice down. I didn’t want to wake up Fern for this and upset her—or give Leo an opportunity to use Fern against me.