That prompted me to kiss him.

That prompted him to roll me on to my back, whereby he plunged into me swiftly. He rocked against me slowly, keeping his mouth on mine the entire time to swallow my cries so Caroline and Ally couldn’t hear us. God, it was fantastic, the way we just undulated against each other, barely moving, yet I felt him everywhere. It took a while for us both to build up to climax, and then the coup de grâce of all perfect fucking happened. We had simultaneous orgasms that caused us to shudder and gasp in surprise.

I was so overwhelmed I murmured into his chest, “Beck…it’s never been like this. Ever.”

“I know,” was all he said in return.

We fell asleep in that position and stayed wrapped tight against each other all night.

“Okay,” Beck says as he pulls away from me. “We’re going to head over to the Ferry Building and poke around for a while. Maybe grab some lunch. If you change your mind, just call me and I’ll let you know where we are.”

I follow Beck out of our bedroom—so weird…thinking of it as “our” bedroom, but that’s what Beck calls it, so I’m going with it. I’m not sure when I’ll actually consider this my home. My lease isn’t up on my apartment until next summer, but Beck has covered those expenses so I’m not worrying about it just now.

Caroline and Ally are waiting in the living room. They look at Beck expectantly.

“Any luck?” Caroline asks as her eyes flick from Beck to me.

Beck shakes his head. “Nope. She insists we need alone time together.”

My mind is nearly changed when Ally pushes away from her mom and runs up to me. “Come with us, Sela. Mommy says she wants to see you and Uncle Beck holding hands and making out in public.”

“Oh geez,” Caroline says with a red face. “That was a secret, Ally.”

I laugh and ruffle Ally’s yellow hair. She looks nothing like Caroline and I’m assuming everything like her father. When I asked Beck about the nonexistent man, he said tersely, “He’s not in the picture at all. Ally doesn’t even know him.”

By his tone of voice, I could tell it wasn’t a good situation and thus I dropped the subject quickly.

“All right,” Beck says as he leans down and kisses me on the cheek. “Be back in a little bit. Want us to bring you anything?”

My hands go to Beck’s waist, and I love the way his lips linger against my skin. I shake my head. “I’m good. You guys have fun and I’ll see you soon.”

As soon as they get their coats and walk out the door I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial my father. I tried to call him yesterday but didn’t get any answer. I didn’t leave a message and frankly forgot to call him again as I was having so much fun just hanging out with Caroline and Beck. Long after Ally went to bed last night, we all stayed up drinking wine, and the North siblings regaled me with tales of growing up in a privileged world that they both seemed to detest. While Beck still lives the lifestyle he was born to, now it’s a product of his hard work. My understanding is that Caroline has the same trust fund as Beck, but she lives a modest existence in Healdsburg working as an assistant to an art gallery owner. It’s clear from listening to them both that they have almost no relationship with their parents.

I pull up my dad’s number and tap on it. It rings twice before Maria answers pleasantly. “Hi, Sela. Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving,” I tell her warmly. I normally might be a little irked at her answering for my dad, but having gone through a warm and fulfilling holiday with Beck and his little family, I’m feeling more magnanimous toward her. “Is Dad around?”

“Sure is,” she says, and I hear the phone being handed off.

“Hey, baby,” my dad says gruffly with emotion. While we may have drifted apart a little after Mom died, I’ll never forget the strength of that dad after my rape. He became my champion and protector after that, making me feel as secure as a young girl could after having her innocence brutalized.

“Hey, Dad,” I say softly as I walk into the kitchen. I open the fridge and pull out a bottle of water.

“How was your Thanksgiving?” he asks, and I hear the creak of his recliner and can imagine him cocking it back and throwing his feet up.

“It was great,” I tell him. “I ate dinner with Beck, and his sister and niece joined us.”

“Excellent,” he says enthusiastically. “Any chance I’ll get to meet this guy?”

I talk to my dad at least once a week on the phone. While I have not admitted that I’m living with Beck, I did tell him all about my new boyfriend. That first conversation was filled with a lot of “wows” and “that’s awesome” from my dad, a man who I think always despaired I’d be able to open myself up to a relationship.

“One day,” I say vaguely, because that all depends on where this is truly heading. While if it were only a matter of Beck and me seeking a happily ever after, that would be a no-brainer to get him over to meet my dad as soon as possible. But considering that I might be killing Beck’s partner in the near future, and that might or might not lead to my incarceration, I figure I better not make him any promises.

My dad starts to chatter on about his Thanksgiving, telling me in detail about every side dish they had. Maria’s son and daughter-in-law joined them, and I had to laugh when Dad whispered into the phone that Maria just hadn’t mastered a pumpkin pie to rival my mom’s.

I walk from the kitchen into the living room, intent on curling up on the couch, when my eyes involuntarily stray to the foyer.

To the side table sitting there.

To Beck’s keys he left on that table.

He had no reason to take them, since they were walking to the Ferry Building and I was staying here.

My dad’s voice fades away and I walk up to the table. I grab the key chain and turn it over in my palm to study.

In addition to his Audi key, I recognize the condo key. It has a blue rubber protector over the head, same as mine. There are two more door keys on the ring, and I know one of them belongs to his locked office. My head swivels and I gaze down the hallway.

“…so we’re just hanging here gorging on leftovers. What are you up to today?” my dad’s voice cuts back into my thoughts.

I shake my head and my fingers curl around the keys. “Um…we’re all going to hang out at the Ferry Building.”