“Good point.” He tossed his phone on the mattress. “It’s been too long. I should do something about that.”
“Ah, ah, ah.” I wagged my finger from side to side before heading toward the bathroom. Glancing over my shoulder, I added, “Not until after I’ve had my soothing bath…and we get the call to my parents over with. When we fall back into bed together, I don’t want to have anything else hanging over our heads.”
“Then hurry up, baby,” he urged. “I’m hungry for you more than breakfast.”
7
Calliope
I didn’t hurry up. Instead, I spent much longer in the tub than I’d needed. In my defense, I had a few great reasons to linger in the bathroom. When I slipped into the water, the heat was more soothing than I’d expected it to be, and I wanted to take full advantage of it so my body was ready for another round or two with my hunky shifter. Plus, Tane offered to make waffles and bacon for breakfast. But mostly, it was because I was worried about how the call with my parents was going to go. After the warm welcome I’d received from Cora and Tobias, I was worried my parents would ruin everything by being rude to Tane—either because they wouldn’t approve of him or they just wouldn’t react well to the news of me having a man in my life.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t hide in the bath forever. Once breakfast was ready, I dragged myself out of the tub, got dressed, and headed downstairs. I took my sweet time eating the delicious food Tane made for me, forking the last bite off my plate while he was finishing up cleaning the dishes he’d dirtied while he was cooking.
After drying his hands off on a towel, Tane came over and grabbed my plate. Pressing a kiss to the top of my head, he murmured, “Relax, baby. I know you’re freaked out about how your parents will react, but it doesn’t really matter. You’re mine, and I’m yours. They can either get on board with that or be left behind as we move forward with our lives. Either way, you’ll be good because I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure of it.”
His promise gave me the courage I needed to grab my phone and dial my mom’s number. When it rang four times before rolling over to voicemail, I sighed in frustration. Then I tried my dad, but I didn’t have any better luck. As Tane dropped down onto the chair next to me and flung his arm around my shoulders, I pulled up the contact for my dad’s administrative assistant. Unlike my parents, she picked up on the first ring. “Good morning, Calliope. How can I help you today?”
“Hey, Stephanie. I was hoping to speak with my parents, but neither of them picked up,” I explained. “Are they in a meeting?”
“Oh, um…I’m sorry you’re having a hard time reaching your parents. I don’t see anything on your dad’s calendar, but let me pull up your mom’s to check there, too.” There was a pause before she added, “Nope, nothing there to explain it either.”
“Okay, well just let them know I’m trying to get a hold of them please,” I requested since I hadn’t left a voicemail.
“Will do,” she agreed before hurrying off without saying goodbye.
I stared down at my phone and muttered, “That was super weird.”
“Is it usually easier for you to get ahold of your parents?” Tane asked.
I shook my head as I set my cell on the table in front of me. “No, it isn’t rare for me to need to have Stephanie connect me with one or the other. She always knows what’s going on with them, but she seemed off. It was almost as though she was trying to get me off the phone or something. Usually, she’d ask me all sorts of questions about what’s going on in my life. She likes to be in the loop on everything because it helps her do her job better.”
“Everyone has a bad day now and then,” Tane suggested, giving me a comforting squeeze.
“Yeah, I guess that could be it.” I leaned into his side. “But with classes starting up again on Monday, she normally would’ve at least asked me if I needed anything for school. She’s the one who makes sure tuition is paid and my account has enough money to cover all my expenses.”
Tane’s arm tightened on me as his body tensed. “How many classes are you taking?”
“I’m registered for five, but I’m only excited about two of them—Form and Space and Connections Through Color and Design.” I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. “Allegra and Larissa decided to bail on the next semester since getting their degree isn’t important to either of them, and I was seriously considering dropping out and heading to New York to try to get a jump-start on my design career before you showed up since college won’t be as much fun without them.”