“Are we going to do this? Are we going to be a family?”
“I have to get a job.” I don’t argue with her, don’t tell her that I have no problem with supporting her. I have the means and would give her and Alex the world without either of them needing to even ask, but I know her personality.
“Lots of jobs around here. The schools are great, too. Wren sent me a list. We can go over them if you like.” I shift to grab for my phone, but she stops me.
“We can do that later.” Her eyes drop to my mouth forcing my arm to wrap her tighter. “I think that’s what I want.”
“You think?”
She grins, an utterly mesmerizing sight.
“Yeah.”
“I need you to be sure. We’ve said some horrible things not just in the past but recently. I’m not trying to manipulate you or force you to let your guard down so I can hurt you. I’m in this a hundred and fifty percent.”
“Me, too,” she whispers.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I kiss her then because how could I not? Our tongues tangle, and I swallow down her soft moans, shifting her body until she’s straddling me, my cock flat against my stomach and already leaking for her.
“We can’t do this again,” she says looking down at my dick.
“No? Watch me.”
“Alex will be back soon,” she says, a sad look on her face as if she’s disappointed as much as I am.
The reminder of the warning text I got from Deacon not long ago has me gripping her hips and lifting her off my lap.
“Are we going to talk to him about us?” I ask as I hand her some clothes. I could suggest a shower, but I like the idea of her smelling like me just a little while longer.
“I think we have to.” I smile. “What’s that grin for?”
I shrug. “I thought you’d say you wanted to see where things go between us.”
“I told you I love you, Ignacio. I didn’t use those words lightly. I know exactly where we’re heading.”
“Yeah? And where is that?”
“This is our forever.”
She squeals when I spin around, t-shirt over my head but my arms not through the holes and tackle her back down to the bed.
“Forever, huh? Sounds like a long time.”
She can’t respond because my mouth is on hers once again.
***
“You’re making me nervous,” Alex says, his eyes darting between mine and Tinley’s as he settles on the sofa.
“We just want to talk to you,” Tinley cajoles, but it doesn’t seem to calm him any.
“Your mother and I—”
“Are you breaking up because I’m such a bad kid? I promise I won’t do anything else to—”
“Breaking up?” Tinley looks at me before looking back at our son.
He looks directly at me. “I thought you were going to stick around. I thought you wanted us here.”
I reach for him, but he pulls his hands away.
“We’re not breaking up,” Tinley says as I try to swallow down the emotion clogging my throat from his reaction and assumptions.
I still have such a long way to go with both of them.
“Technically, we weren’t dating.”
“That’s supposed to make this better?” he snaps, his eyes finding a spot on the wall because he’s refusing to look at either of us.
“We’re together,” Tinley spits. “We weren’t together until today. I mean not technically.”
Alex looks between the two of us. “You weren’t?”
“You thought we were?” I ask, loving that my son is shocked.
“I mean, yeah. I knew you guys were fighting, but I thought you were together.”
I smile, my lips pulling back until it’s spread across my entire face.
I won’t go into detail with my nearly thirteen-year-old son about the things Tinley and I suffered through to get to this point, but I can calm his fears.
“We wanted to talk to you about moving to St. Louis. You don’t have to decide today, but—”
“Yes,” he cries. “I do. Yes. Let’s move here.”
His eyes move to his mother, begging her to agree.
“I want to be here, too.” She grabs my hand, and I look down at her trembling hand. Her weak smile says she has a lot more to say to me, but she’ll wait until an appropriate time.
“Are you getting married?”
Like a kid on Christmas, Alex’s eyes light up with his question.
“We, umm,” I look to Tinley for a little help, and all she does is smile and shrug. “We haven’t talked about that yet.”
I’d marry this girl today if given the chance.
Tinley bites the inside of her cheek, refusing to meet my gaze.
“But you love each other.”
“Always have,” Tin says, her face softening.
“Always will,” I add.
“Then we need a puppy!” Alex jumps up too full of excitement to stay calm.
“I don’t know about that. I think we need—”
“Are you thinking a big dog or lap dog?” I interrupt her. If the boy wants a damn dog, he’s getting a damn dog.
“So, I was thinking a dalmatian or one of those furry ones. Are they huskies?” He looks to his mom, and all she can do is shake her head.
We spend the rest of the day talking and making plans for our future, as a family.
Chapter 38
Tinley
Most days are amazing.
Some days are hard.
Some days I can’t believe my good fortune.
Some days I wonder when the other shoe is going to drop because there’s no way this is my life.
How do I have a great job, three floors below Ignacio’s office in the same building?
How do I have a man that holds me in his arms every single night?
How is my son doing so well in his new school, making friends and enjoying the new baseball team he’s on?
How did I get so lucky after all of my lies?
When is it all going to crash and burn?
Today is one of those days.
Yesterday, Ignacio mentioned a vacation, some time away from it all, lazy days spent on a beach as we watch Alex and Rufus, our adopted shelter dog play in the surf.
Last night, I went to sleep with a smile on my face and plans in my head.
This morning, I woke up alone.
It’s not uncommon. Some days Ignacio has to head into work early, and I miss the brush of his lips across my forehead because he knows I’m a grump when my eyes open before the sun is shining outside.
I’ve done it dozens of times since we moved in with him.
Today was different.
Today I climbed out of bed wondering if he was coming back, if it was all a dream.
Today has been hard, even with the text updates I got from Ignacio letting me know how Alex’s Saturday practice was going, even with the phone call and hearing his voice when he wanted to know if I’d eaten because he was grabbing food.
Everything says we’re okay, that we’re happy and making amazing plans for our future, but that doubt was still able to crawl inside of me, turning my entire day sour.
“I told him not to,” Ignacio says as he finds me in the kitchen, my hands buried in soapy dish water. “But he ate half of your spring roll.”