Sometime early the following day, I woke to someone stroking my cheek softly. My eyelids fluttered as I tried to open them, but sleep held on tight.

"Wake up, baby girl," a voice whispered.

As I woke further, I finally managed to open my eyes and turned my head, looking over my shoulder to see Gideon standing over me.

"Is it morning already?" I murmured, blinking against the harsh light filtrating in through the window; yeah, it was definitely morning.

Gideon nodded. "Join me in the kitchen," he said and promptly left. Only then did I notice the hard surface I'd been sleeping on.

Callan laid on his back beneath me. Somehow throughout the night, I'd managed to weasel my way on top of him. My feet were between his, and my entire upper body was folded on his chest. One of his arms was slung over my shoulders, hugging me against him. Another hand rested on my lower back, and when I turn around I saw it was Mateo's.

Careful not to wake them, I removed their arms and wiggled out of my position and off the bed, and fucking hell, my body hurt. It felt like I'd had a three-hour-long workout, and I kind of had, though maybe not for three hours. Sex was totally considered activity.

Wincing all the way to the closet, I found underwear, denim shorts, and a basic white t-shirt. My body was stiff and tender from yesterday's abuse, and my movements were jerky as I walked. It seriously felt like I'd gotten a bruise in my ass with how much it ached.

With the clothes in my hands, I hoped Gideon would be fine with me taking a quick shower. While my body was clean from the bath we'd had, my hair was far from it. My braid was messy and practically falling apart, but I could tell it looked oily from all the sweating.

In record time, I finished up my shower and dried my hair until it was dry enough to put it in a high ponytail. A few droplets of water dripped down my t-shirt from the ends of my hair, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

Walking out of the closet and back into the bedroom, I had to bite my lips to keep the laugh from coming out and trust me, it was hard to remain silent as I looked at the men in the bed.

In my absence, Callan and Matteo had snuggled together and held around each other as if they thought they were holding me. It was comical to watch, but also strangely cute. I couldn't help but grab my phone, which had magically appeared on the nightstand, and took a photo of the two. This was something I'd definitely want to immortalize.

Letting them sleep in their embrace, I exited the room and went to Gideon. I found him rummaging in his cupboards, picking out different ingredients, and laying them out on the kitchen counter.

I blushed as I walked into the kitchen, remembering the last time I'd been in here and what had happened.

"Good, you're here," he said as soon as he saw me, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I figured we could make breakfast together." His offer to cook together made my stomach flutter with butterflies, and I was reminded of my realization yesterday. I was falling for this man, just as I was falling for his friends too. I wasn't ready to look at it too closely just yet, but I wouldn't deny what was happening either.

"I'd like that," I answered with a smile. I'd whispered like I always did whenever I talked to Gideon. "What are we making?"

"Brussels waffles," he answered over his shoulder. Finding everything we would need, he went to grab both of our aprons. Before I could even try to tie my own apron, Gideon turned me around and did it for me. My heart danced in its cage. Small gestures like this meant so much for me, especially from him, knowing it didn't come as natural for him as it did for Callan and Mateo.

"Thank you," I whispered when he was done. I went on to wash my hands. "So, where do we start?"

"The recipe is on the counter." He pointed at a green cookbook beside the flour. "You can start with the large bowl."

Doing as he instructed, I read his handwritten notes on how to make Brussels waffles. It said that I had to whisk together egg yolks, and I might be dumb, but I didn't know how to separate the yolk from the egg white. I hadn't spent much time in a kitchen before Gideon.

"Eh...Gideon? How do I separate the yolk and egg white?"

He'd just started measuring up the milk but paused so he could help me. "Use the small bowl I've set at the counter, then you catch the yolk with your hand and let the egg white run through your fingers. Once they are separated, you put the yolk in the bigger bowl," he explained. Truth be told, I found it hard to focus on what he was saying, too intrigued by his voice, but I got the gist.

"Oh, okay. That doesn't sound difficult."

"It's not. You'll be able to do it without any problems," Gideon assured me and continued pouring milk in a measuring cup.

Cracking one egg, I hurried to catch it before it all went to one bowl, and I did as he'd instructed. The egg felt slimy and cold in my hand but also kind of pleasant. I did the same with two more eggs before rewashing my hands.

My shoulders were killing me, and I found it hard to do simple things like cracking the eggs. I'd had a hard day at work yesterday since Oliver didn't do shit, and while I hadn't used my arms that much in yesterday's session with my dominants, I knew that was partly why the muscles in my shoulders were so tight.

I felt Gideon walk up behind me just as I was about to whisk the eggs. "Here, let me help you," he whispered and put his hands on my shoulders. I stiffened for a split second, shocked by his action. He rarely initiated contact, and when he did, I was stunned.

He started massaging me with perfect pressure, not too hard and not too gently. I moaned at the feeling of his expert hands easing the knots of muscles that had begun forming. My head dropped forward, giving him more space to work with.

"You should tell us if you're hurting," he chided as his thumbs attacked the sore muscles.

"I...I find it hard to ask for help," I admitted on a groan when he massaged a particularly big knot. I didn't know if I heard him right because he was whispering too quietly, but I thought he said, "Me too."

When he was finished, I gave him a shy smile and a sincere "Thank you." I felt so much better; my muscled loosened and didn't hurt that much when I used my arms. He only gave me a nod in return.

We worked mostly in silence, and while it was nice to simply spend time with Gideon, I also wanted to get to know him better.

"Have you always loved cooking?" I wondered as I stirred the ingredients in the bowl.

"Not really. I grew up with personal chefs, so I never had a reason to cook. I was about twenty-something when I started experimenting with food, and it went from there." I'd thought he'd probably give me a yes or no answer, but he surprised me by talking in entire sentences.

"Then I'm right on track," I joked. Sometimes I actually forgot that we had a pretty decent age gap. It wasn't something I often thought about, and for me, it wasn't a big deal. All that mattered was that we got along great and had insane chemistry.

"With me as your teacher, you'll catch up in no time." It wasn't what he said that made my eyes widen, but how he said it. Had there been humor in his tone? Holy shit. Call nine-one-one because I might have a heart attack with how weird my heart was acting right now.

"So, I presume your mother didn't teach you then?" I asked without thinking. He hadn't been forthcoming about his family–he hadn't mentioned them at all–and I figured there was a reason for it. But of course, my stupid mouth couldn't be kept shut.

"No. She didn't." The humor was gone, his voice turning clipped.

Fuck, I truly messed up.

Not knowing what to say to that, I shut up, which I should've done a minute ago. We finished making the waffles, along with whipped cream and berries. The smell of sugary sweetness made my mouth water.

Just when I was about to go wake up the guys, they joined us in the kitchen, both of them wearing matching expressions of annoyance as they eyed each other.

The laugh I held in while I'd been in the bedroom came out, and when I first started, I couldn't stop. Tears welled in my eyes; I was laughing so hard. I wished I'd been there when they woke up and realizing who exactly they were snuggling. Not me, that was for sure.

"Had–" I started, but I couldn't finish my question before another laugh bubbled out. All three of the men were looking at me weird, not knowing the picture I had in my mind of Callan and Mateo.

"Had a good sleep?" I finally asked; my lips twitched with humor as I looked at them.

Callan grunted something while Mateo looked embarrassed, his flushed cheeks a clear sign.

"Fucking hell. You saw that?" Mateo murmured.

"Sure did." I nodded.

"Why didn't you wake us up?" Callan asked next.

Shrugging, I teased them, "You looked pretty cozy there."

"What's going on?" Gideon interjected, looking confused.

"Here, I'll show you." I grabbed my phone and unlocked it. Showing him the last picture I'd taken, and I kid you fucking not, it was definitely a smile tugging at his lips. It wasn't a full smile, but for it being Gideon, it counted as one.

Turning the phone, I showed the other guys as well. Mateo was the first to break out in laughter, dissolving the tension between him and Callan.

This right here were memories I'd be looking back on when I was old and grey. I'd remember the warmth I felt, how my heart was full and how happy I was.

Life was made up of moments. This would be one of them.