I woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon frying. I took a moment, thinking that maybe I was just making it up. But, no—that was definitely bacon.

Cayden and I had taken an easy night, ordering in some food and hanging out. We talked, we watched a movie, we kissed and cuddled. It was...perfect. Almost shockingly and strangely perfect. I felt like I was in a dream with her and I hoped it would never end.

I hadn't asked Cayden yet when her parents would be back because I was worried it might stress her out. I also wasn't sure she knew since she hadn't mentioned a date. I had a feeling she would've warned me if she had any clue. Based on her reaction, this seemed about standard for her parents to just up and disappear and then return whenever.

I slowly opened my eyes, Florida sunlight streaming through the cracks in Cayden's curtains. It was a little strange being in a new house and sleeping in a new bed—everything felt...different from my home and Cayden's condo—but I didn't mind it that much. With Cayden, everything felt like home. It felt easy and peaceful and familiar somehow, like I'd been there before even if I hadn't been.

I reached out, trying to find Cayden, but my fingers only met the empty mattress. Cayden was definitely the one behind the smell of bacon.

I got up and threw on some clothes, something more appropriate just in case it wasn't only Cayden and me who were here, and then wandered downstairs. I was starting to develop some understanding of where things were in the house. It was huge and a little bit of a maze, so I wasn't completely acclimated, but I was just enough to be able to find the kitchen.

It definitely helped that it felt like a major centerpiece of the home. There were two different tall and wide doorframes leading into the open-floor kitchen and living room. It was nearly impossible to miss. And even if I was about go miss it, the windows in the kitchen would pull me immediately in that direction.

I padded my way into the large bright kitchen, where there was more counter space than I could possibly imagine and a wide kitchen island with tasteful bar stools lined up underneath. Cayden was at the stove, cooking up a storm.

"What's all this?" I asked, smiling a little bit.

"I thought I'd make us breakfast," she said.

"Where'd you get the food?" I asked. I'd anticipated that we would just be eating our leftover pizza from the night before—this was something else entirely. Eggs, bacon, waffles made from the high-end waffle maker. I walked over and opened and closed it, admiring the quality.

"I ran out to the grocery store this morning," Cayden explained.

"What? When? I had no idea you left."

"Yeah, you were really out."

"I'm sorry, I would've gone out with you if I'd known."

Cayden waved her hand—basically saying it wasn't a big deal—and then transferred the bacon to a plated paper towel to soak up the grease. "It's okay. I couldn't really sleep last night, so by the time it hit like, eight A.M, I was ready to get moving. I'm glad I didn't end up waking you up."

"You couldn't sleep?" I asked, frowning a little bit. Cayden was not someone I considered easily thrown. She was fairly consistent—she liked going to the gym, she liked getting a full eight hours of sleep, she reliably drank the amount of water that was recommended per day and always kept up with her meals. I liked how standard her schedule was. I could always count on her. Sebastian would have me every which way, his days completely different than the last. I liked the stability of being with Cayden.

"It's okay," she said. Her tone didn't make me feel any better—if anything, it made me more concerned.

I walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her, and pulling her into a hug. "Are you worried about being home?"

"I...I don't know," she said and sighed a little bit. "I guess I am. I'm just going to blame flying for screwing up my schedule."

I laced our fingers together. "You can talk to me. You know that right?" I moved my head to meet her eyes. "We're in this together."

Cayden nodded and I wished I was in her head in that moment. I had no idea what she was thinking about or feeling. It was one of the hardest things about our relationship. Sometimes, everything felt so open and easy. Other times, it was like I was trying to communicate with a brick wall. I knew part of that was due to our relationship being so new, but I had to hope that it would all become a little easier soon. Especially since this was such a big change. I needed her to be open with me.

"Breakfast smells good," I said, knowing it was time to change the subject. Cayden knew that I was there for her. Pushing her on it and forcing her to talk when she wasn't ready would just make things worse for both of us. She would probably just distance herself completely.

"Thanks," Cayden said and I kissed her cheek. She started piling food onto a plate and handed it off to me. "Breakfast is served."

"Where do you usually eat?"

"Growing up, I ate in my room a lot," Cayden said, and I looked at her with so much concern that she actually laughed a little. "I didn't mean for that to come out as depressing as that was. It's just part of being an only child. I did a lot of things kind of on my own. And my video games were always hooked up in my room."

I laughed a little. "Okay, fair," I said.

"But I won't make you do that. We can eat at the dining room table," Cayden said.

"Oh, the dining room?" I said. "A room I haven't seen yet."

"I'll have to give you the full tour after we eat," Cayden said and I smiled a little.

"Okay, yeah," I agreed.

We took our food down the hall, with me following a few steps behind. The dining room was only a room over from the kitchen, so it was easy to find. It was beautiful and huge, but also looked mostly untouched. That was how most of Cayden's house felt—beautiful and big and like the kind of place people aspired to be living, but it didn't feel lived in.

We settled into our seats at the table, deciding on chairs next to each other because the table was so large that it would've put us unreasonably far if we'd sat across the table from each other.

Neither of us hesitated—as soon as we were comfortable, we started eating.

"Your cooking is always so good," I said.

Cayden smiled a little bit. "Lots of practice."

We ate in silence, looking out over the pool in the background and the hint of clear, blue water beyond that. It was crazy to me that she had so much space. A beachfront property, a beautiful pool. I couldn't imagine growing up in this house.

"A pool," I said and turned to look at Cayden, wondering if she would understand what I was saying.

Cayden turned to look at me, studying my face. When she seemed to pick up on what I was saying, a smirk grew on her lips. "A pool."

I eyed her up and down, physically unable to keep my hands off of her. I didn't know what it was about being in Florida that was making me act out. Maybe it was the freedom of being away from New York and away from the people we were trying to hide from. Or maybe it was just being at a new place altogether, a place that felt like vacation. It could've also been the thrill of knowing that Cayden took our relationship so seriously that she brought me home for a couple of weeks rather than leaving me in New York.

"What's the plan for tonight?" I asked casually, but kind of hoping it would include sex at some point. I wasn't feeling particularly subtle about it. I was horny and I didn't mind if she knew. In fact, it was probably better if she knew, so we could do something about it.

Cayden turned to look at me and smiled a little bit. She took a sip of her orange juice, taking her sweet time. "We can definitely plan some time to fool around," she said. "And I was also thinking that maybe we could go out and get drinks with some of my friends from here."

Wow. wow. wow—I can't believe this book made it to seventy chapters... I'm so thankful for the support and love this book has received, it means so much to me. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Let me know your opinions so far and how you feel about Florida, Cayden's parents, Vina meeting Cayden's friends, etc.

Love you all,

Weekendlustt