I would also be the recipient of some truly awful side dishes that he could never get right.
Uncle Harry was more than happy to show me how my grandfather had taught him, and that morning, we cooked a steak for breakfast. Then, when he landed in Miami, I video called him, and he walked me through the process again step by step. I followed it to the letter.
It must have worked. Helen was blown away and I was immensely proud that I was able to cook something she liked that much. Helen’s surprise had led to some truly fantastic sex, but I was going to leave that part out of recounting the story to Uncle Harry. He knew too much about my love life already.
She was so impressed by it that she had made a comment about how I might not need that much teaching when it came to her offer to school me in cooking. I had tried to assure her that aside from eggs and bacon and then this one dish, I was essentially an idiot, but she was skeptical. It remained to be seen how much faith she had in me and if it was warranted, but I had a feeling I was going to disappoint her.
Then again, at least I knew what a wok was, so I had that one over my uncle.
After our incredible night, we passed out in each other’s arms and slept most of the night like rocks. Then around dawn, we both woke up, grinned at each other, and went at it again. The morning session was a little quicker and to the point but no less enjoyable. We drifted back off to sleep after that until the alarm went off at eight.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, kissing her shoulder. “You stay here.”
“Don’t you have to go to work?” she asked.
I grinned and stood up, walking into my bathroom to make a call. She had mentioned over dinner that she had the next day off, and I knew right then I was probably going to make this call. Even still, I wanted to wait and make sure.
“Everett, what’s up?” Carter said as he answered the phone.
“Hey, Carter. I’m not going to make it in today.”
“Oh, alright,” he said. “Are you feeling okay? Should I start an orange juice regimen in the office?”
Ever since the year before when a flu ran through the office like wildfire, Carter had been especially careful about getting people sick. The last thing he wanted was to get the little ones ill, and he would take any precaution necessary to prevent it.
“No, I’m not sick,” I said. “I just… need the day.”
There was silence on the other end for a moment, and I swore I could hear him smiling.
“Let me take a wild guess. Helen came over last night.”
“I can neither confirm, nor deny that,” I said.
“Uh huh,” he said. “So, you want me to give you the day off so you can build a pillow fort in your bed with her and not come out of it for anything other than food?”
“That is making a big assumption I won’t just bring food in, and we can stay there,” I said, more or less confirming his suspicions.
He laughed. “That’s a damn fine reason to ditch work,” he said. “Today was going to be an office day anyway. You probably would have gone home early as it was.”
“Awesome,” I said. “See you tomorrow.”
“Have fun,” he said. “Just make sure to stay hydrated.”
“No promises, boss,” I said and hung up.
Grinning, I walked back into the bedroom where Helen was fast asleep again. Even if I had decided to go to work, I didn’t think I would have woken her. She could have stayed there all day, sleeping in my bed, and I would have been happy to come home to her sitting right there.
When I got back to the bed and set the phone on the nightstand, she roused herself awake and rolled over to me. She was fighting sleepy eyes and her voice croaked. Yet, even still, she was the sexiest, most adorable creature I had ever laid eyes on.
“Should I get up?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “I called in.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, but her arms were already reaching for me, beckoning me to bed like a siren at sea.
“Yeah.” I nodded as I climbed in, helpless to resist her. “I’m sure.”
“Good,” she said, kissing my chest and nuzzling down on it. “I just want another fifteen minutes, tops.”
An hour or so later, we both woke, coming to after a wonderful dozing nap. I didn’t mind. I would spend all day in the bed with her if I could. She pressed a kiss to my lips and slid out of bed, going about a mini morning routine while I lay there and relaxed. It hit me that I hadn’t really relaxed like that in a long time, and I decided to enjoy it. Flipping on the television, I put on a silly reality show and propped myself up.