Worth It (Damie)

Part 14

A/N: I just love you guys so much. You're the sweetest, most supportive readers and friends! Thank you for making this story successful, investing your emotions into it, and asking for more. As you wish, here's more! Enjoy, and take a deep breath ;) xo

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I wake to the feeling of a hand gripping the back of my shirt. I'm momentarily disoriented by my surroundings. I have a brief passing of hope that Dakota has somehow made it from LA to the UK and snuck into my bed.

I roll over and am greeted with a snoring Dulcie, which makes me just as happy. Her limbs fall carelessly onto the mattress, so I take the opportunity to admire her adorable sleeping frame.

I brush the curls from her face, her tiny mouth is parted and her eyelashes lying long against her cheeks. Both she gets from me. I run my finger to her neck, tickling its side and she immediately pushes me away as her eyes open into mine.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," I whisper.

She groans and I laugh.

"It's only 8 here, I bet Kota is still awake in LA."

That perks her up a bit. "She's up too?"

I nod. "Different time zone, but she's a night owl. Want to call her?"

She smiles. "I call her."

I pinch her tummy. "Go wake your sister then we can together."

She yawns and stretches her limbs, proving to me how quickly she's growing. She looks much taller spread out beside me than she does just standing up. My big girl, where has the time gone? I brush my emotional thought to the side when she rolls off the mattress and runs out of my room.

I sit against the headboard and reach for my phone. This is our new routine when I'm with the girls — Dakota saying goodnight to us then waking up to say goodnight to her. With some phone sex thrown in, because I think we surprised ourselves.

Can we call? I text her. She's the first and last thought I have every day alongside my girls. I'm desperate to see her face after seeing her in my dreams, even if I can't hold her close.

Her answer is immediate. Of course!

I get a head start before the two rascals come barreling in. Dulcie will be mad she didn't get to press the button, but Dakota will distract her.

She answers after two rings and I wait for the video to connect. She's biting her lip the moment she comes into view, and I can tell she's in bed reading. My intuition is confirmed when I see her set a book on the nightstand.

"Hi, love," she says.

"Good morning, beautiful." I watch her cheeks redden, never fully used to my compliments. Which I love because I always want to surprise her.

"Technically good night, so I'll say 'good morning, beautiful' to you."

We share a laugh at her poorly executed joke. But she's too damn cute to deny her the pleasure of laughing along.

"I forgot how frustrating this time difference is," I tell her.

It was something we'd been used to before and matched our schedules constantly. However, we'd remedied that when I moved to LA, so I'm thrown off by it as though it's some foreign concept. Our lives together have fallen into place naturally that anytime it's disrupted it messes us up.

"Me too," she echoes my thoughts. "You asked if 'we' could call, but I don't see the we?"

I smirk. "Woke up with Dulcie spread out in my bed. I sent her to fetch her sister. Which may take a while."