“Yeah, there aren’t any requirements around here, Cassie.” I winked at her, and she grinned up at me.
I reached out and touched her shoulder when I put the pancakes down. Something about her made me always want to touch her and be in contact. Her hand brushed against mine as I pulled away. I let the girls serve themselves, and then I dished up, slathering my pancakes with butter and syrup.
I was not usually an indulgence kind of man, trying to always be logical and keep myself in shape, but I knew that this, whatever it was, might be fleeting. I had to enjoy it while I could.
Camilla was telling Cassie all about school. “And so we hardly spend any time on science! But we are talking about rocks now.” She stuck out her tongue.
“Ah, so then you know you won’t be a geologist,” Cassie said. “If you don’t like rocks.”
“What’s a geoly—geolog—”
“Geologist. It’s a scientist who studies rocks,” Cassie answered, her smile happy and peaceful. “I never liked rocks that much either.”
“Well, Miss Rachel promised that we’d study something else soon. But she didn’t tell me what it was. Wants it to be a surprise.”
“That sounds fun,” I said.
Camilla went to a super expensive private school where the teachers were the best in the country, supposedly. I wanted her to have the best education possible, and she seemed to love it, so I was happy to spend the money.
“So, what do you guys want to do today?” I asked as I popped the last bit of bacon into my mouth.
“Well, I would love to take a shower,” Cassie said. “And then, I don’t know.”
“The park, the park! Can we go to the park, Daddy?” Camilla asked, excited.
“Sure thing. But remember, we have a guest. We need to do something Cassie likes too.”
“How about…ice cream.”
Camilla clapped. “Yes! Ice cream! Ice cream!”
“Okay, what’s with the chanting?” I laughed. “Ice cream is fine, but onlyafterlunch. Now go get yourself ready. But first, put your plate up by the sink.”
Cheering, Camilla hurried with her plate and then raced out of the room, singing all the way.
Cassie helped me carry dishes to the dishwasher, and she said, “Camilla likes to sing?”
“Oh yeah, whenever she can.” I saw Cassie’s smile out of the corner of my eye. “Why?”
“Well, it’s just that my friends and I love to sing. We often do competitions at local bars, karaoke, that kind of thing. Another thing Camilla and I have in common.”
She quieted after that, looking almost as if she regretted what she’d said. “That’s cool, Cassie. I had no idea. Although the fact that I saw you at a karaoke bar that night we first kissed makes more sense to me now.”
“So, you didn’t see us perform?”
“No. Too bad. I would have liked that.” I smiled, and she looked at me, rolling her eyes.
“I would not have. The way I was feeling about you that night would not have helped my performance if I’d seen you in the crowd, watching me.”
“Hmm…and how did you feel about me that night?” I asked, pulling at her waist to bring her closer to me, and I nuzzled in her neck.
In a seductive whisper, she said, “Like you were an arrogant prick.”
I laughed, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek. “And you’d have been right. But I feel pretty arrogant right now, having you here, with me. Last night was…”
Again, no words to describe it. It had been almost otherworldly. I cupped her cheeks, brushing my thumbs across her soft skin.
“Yeah, I know,” she said, and I kissed her gently.