ONE MORE TIME

by Reynolds, Aurora Rose

  “That’s good that she’s dating. I hope it gets serious,” she mumbles, and I chuckle my agreement before I plant a kiss on her lips and get out of bed. Once I’m standing, I haul her across the mattress, then lift her up to stand, and she blinks up at me and looks back at the bed.

  “We don’t have time to lounge in bed today, baby. We got pumpkins to carve and junk food to eat.” I usher her toward the bathroom with a smack on her bottom, then go check on Olivia to make sure she’s on task and head back down the hall to get dressed before we all head downstairs.

  In the kitchen with the girls settled at the table a few feet away, I get the stuff out to make pancakes while listening to them talk. Olivia has always been a pretty good kid, but she’s blossomed under Aria’s adoration and easygoing personality this week. Seeing the bond they are building has only reinforced that Aria is it for me.

  “Now that we have our design, we need to draw it on the pumpkin,” Aria says as my cell rings, and I grab it off the counter, seeing Anna calling. I glance over at Aria, who’s helping Olivia tape a cutout of a cat wearing a witch’s hat to their pumpkin as I answer the call.

  “Anna.”

  “Hey, is Olivia there?”

  “Yep, hold on.” I set the phone on the counter and look at the table. “Angel, your mom wants to talk to you.”

  “Okay, Dad.” She hops off the chair she’s sitting on and grabs my phone as I flip on the burner and half listen to her talk to her mom. Dealing with Anna these last few weeks has been a roller coaster of fucked up. One minute, she’s overly sweet, asking me to do shit around her house or to help her out, then when she realizes I’m not stupid enough to fall for her games, her attitude starts right back up and she goes back to threatening to take Olivia from me if I don’t fall in line. The thing she doesn’t know is I’ve already spoken to my lawyer, and he’s assured me that she can’t decide to change things just because I’m dating and she doesn’t like that. “Dad, Mom wants to talk to you.”

  “Thanks, angel.” I take the phone from her, then wait until she goes back to Aria to put my cell to my ear. “What’s up?”

  “My date canceled tonight, so I’ll be at your parents’ at six.”

  “Anna, you know we’re going to be out trick-or-treating then, so that’s not going to work.”

  “Well, I’ll join you guys then.” She huffs and my gut gets tight.

  Right.

  I flip off the burner and step out of kitchen, not wanting Olivia to hear me if I lose my mind.

  “You’re going to join Olivia, Aria, and me?” I try to keep my tone even, when I want to ask what the actual fuck she’s thinking now.

  “I didn’t know your girlfriend was going to be with you.”

  “You did.” I know she did, because Olivia told her when I was at her place, and she got a sour look on her face, which caused Olivia to lose her excitement about it and close down.

  “Can’t you just be an adult for once? This doesn’t have to be a big deal, Tide. And your girlfriend should learn to deal with the fact that you have an ex you share custody with.”

  “Aria doesn’t need to deal with you even though we share a kid. My relationship with her has nothing to do with you.”

  “We have a child together, so it kinda does,” she snaps, and I jerk my fingers through my hair. “So like I said, I’ll see you at your parents’ at six.”

  “No, you won’t.”

  “All right, then I’ll pick Olivia up at the scheduled time.”

  “Right.”

  “At three, which is the time we agreed we’d trade off when our weeks are up.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “Or you could just agree with me spending the evening with you guys.”

  Feeling stuck and pissed the fuck off, I bite out, “All right, we’ll see you at my parents’, but I’m not dealing with any bullshit. If you even think about starting drama, I’m calling it a night and dealing with you in front of the judge.”

  “Sounds good.” She hangs up, and I tighten my hand around my phone, tempted to either crush it or throw it against the wall. Since I might need the money it would cost to replace it for my lawyer, I shove it in my pocket, then spend a good five minutes trying to calm down before I go back to the kitchen to finish breakfast. After we eat and Olivia heads to her room to play and pack up her stuff, I break the news to Aria about tonight. Like she always is she’s more concerned about me and Olivia than Anna showing up and because of her easy acceptance of the situation I relax. That doesn’t mean I’m not still annoyed

  ________________

  “About ready?” Aria asks, and I turn to face her, pretty sure I shouldn’t be turned on by her dressed like Elsa from Frozen. But fuck, she looks beautiful with her hair braided back away from her face, her makeup making her eyes brighter, and the satin baby blue dress showing off her curves, with high heel beige boots on her feet.

  “You look beautiful, baby.” I straighten the thick red belt around my waist, and her eyes roam over the hat on my head with the large pompom, the fur-lined tunic stretched across my chest, down to my pants that are tucked into my boots covered with the overlay that came with the costume.

  “Well, I’m oddly turned on right now,” she says, and I laugh while I close the distance between us and nip her bottom lip. When she gasps, I tip my head to the side and take the kiss deeper, sliding my tongue between her lips and listening to her whimper.

  “I don’t think it would be good if my sister caught us making out.” She drags her mouth from mine, panting, and I laugh again.

  “You’re probably right,” I agree as she releases my shirt that is fisted between her fingers, smoothing out the wrinkles she created.

  “Is everyone about ready to head out?” I ask, shutting the door as she walks to the mirror to lean over the sink and check her reflection.

  “Just about. Gia was getting Gino dressed when your mom took Olivia downstairs to wait for Anna, and I came in here to check on you.”

  “You worried about Anna coming with us?” I wrap my arms around her from behind, unable to keep my hands to myself, especially with the way the dress she’s wearing is molding to her ass.

  “A little.” Her gaze meets mine in the mirror. “I just don’t want Olivia’s night ruined.”

  “Olivia will hopefully be too distracted by all the candy she’s getting to even notice Anna is with us.” I slide my hand up the outside of her thigh, then grab her ass, and she spins around to face me, placing her palms against my chest.

  “Tide.” The warning in her tone makes me grin, and I pull her dress up and cup her over her panties before sliding the silky material to the side.

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “Olivia… your parents…” she whispers as her eyes go over my shoulder to the closed door before locking with mine once more.

  “You better be quiet,” I whisper back, cover her mouth with mine, and drink down her whimpers as she comes around my fingers. It takes a few minutes for her to get herself together after her orgasm, and me to talk my hard on down, but it’s worth the pain seeing her more relaxed. By the time we get downstairs Gia, who has dressed up like Olaf, is putting Gino in his stroller she’s fastened antlers to that go with his Sven costume. And Olivia, dressed like Anna, is high off sugar and bouncing off the walls, ready to go out and get as much candy as she can, even though she’s eaten more today than she does in a month.

  When the doorbell rings, Mom goes to answer it, taking her bowl of candy bars with her, but it’s not trick-or-treaters. It’s Anna, dressed in a costume similar to the one Aria is wearing, only hers ends at midthigh and is showing off most of her chest. “Anna,” my mom says, then her eyes widen when Anna steps inside to give her a hug, something she’s never done in the past.

  “The house looks great, Jolene.”

  “Thanks.” Mom sends me a look, and all I can do is shake my head at the ridiculousness.

  “Well, this should be fun,” Gia mumbles to Aria as Olivia c
omes around the corner with my dad and stops in her tracks.

  “Why are you dressed like Elsa?” She asks her mom then looks at Aria. “Aria is supposed to be Elsa.”

  “This was the only costume they had at the store,” Anna says, smoothing her hands down her dress.

  “That must be why it’s a kid’s size,” my dad mutters under his breath, and Gia laughs while I reach for Aria’s hand.

  “You should have dressed as one of the trolls. Now our costumes don’t even make sense.” Olivia looks at me and Aria. “Now we don’t make sense.”

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. I think it’s awesome there are now two Elsa’s,” Aria says quietly, then asks, “Are you ready to go get all the candy?”

  “I guess.” She drops her eyes to the ground before wandering over to her orange bucket and picking it up.

  “Aren’t you going to give me a hug? I haven’t seen you in a week,” Anna says when Olivia walks toward the door, and she veers in her direction and wraps her arms around her quickly before looking at me and Aria over her shoulder.

  “Ready?”

  “Yeah, angel,” I say as Aria grabs a blue cloak that matches her dress and wraps it around her shoulders, putting the hood on over her head.

  “Before you guys take off, I want to get a few pictures.” My mom opens the door for us, and I help Gia outside with Gino’s stroller while Aria puts Olivia’s cloak on her. Thankfully, the weather tonight is warm for the end of October, so the kids should be good while we’re out, unlike last year, when we had to end the night early because the temp had dropped into the forties by six. Once we are on the porch, Mom snaps a few photos, which I’m sure will never end up in one of her photo albums. Not with Anna attempting to push herself between Aria and me, and Olivia becoming more and more frustrated with her mom’s behavior.

  Like, Aria tends to do, she takes the whole situation in stride, her focus on Olivia, whose mood has drastically deteriorated since her mom showed up. And although Anna has noticed, she hasn’t done anything about it—or doesn’t know what to do. I’m sure she assumed she would come over, and Olivia would see her parents in the same space and want them together, but my girl is smart. She knows Anna and I are not a couple; plus, she likes Aria. And with Halloween being our day, she wanted tonight to be just like she pictured it, so now that it’s not, she’s acting out, and I don’t blame her.

  Honestly, I wish we had the kind of relationship with Anna where we could do things together with Olivia and it not be a big deal. But that is not where we are, and her crashing tonight wasn’t to try to change that. She’s here to prove a point. That point being she still has me by the balls.

  With photos done, we head down the sidewalk, Olivia and Aria leading the way holding hands, with Anna trailing behind them, and Gia and me pulling up the rear.

  “I kind of feel bad for her,” Gia says quietly, her eyes on Anna, who is standing awkwardly off to the side while Aria and Olivia head up to the front porch of the house next door to my parents’ place.

  “I don’t.” I tip my head down to meet her gaze. “I just hope she takes a moment to reflect on the situation and realizes she did this. Olivia would have been excited to see her tonight and to share today with her when she came to pick her up, but she wanted to show up early because she could… only it’s backfiring.”

  “I guess you’re right. I just think it’s hard for her to see you are really moving on.”

  “She’s going to have to come to terms with it, because I plan on asking Aria to be my wife. Which means she’s going to be a permanent part of Olivia’s and my life.”

  “You’re going to ask Aria to marry you?” she breathes, looking all wide-eyed and adorable, reminding me why Colton fell in love with her almost as quickly as I’ve fallen for Aria.

  “I kinda already did, but I’m going to do it right.”

  “Oh my God.” She launches her body at mine and gives me a hug. “I’m so happy for you! This is awesome. I love Aria, and she is perfect for you.”

  “Thanks, Gia.” I give her a squeeze, and she lets me go, stepping back.

  “Does Colton know?’

  “About?”

  “You asking her to marry you?”

  “No.” I shake my head, and she smirks.

  “I feel like a badass that I know this news before—”

  “You’re going to marry her?” Anna cuts off what Gia was going to say, and I turn her way seeing a sour expression on her face. “Seriously, Tide?”

  “Anna.”

  “I can’t believe you’re going to marry her. You don’t even know her.”

  “I know everything I need to know about her.”

  “Oh please, it’s been like… what? A day?” she yells, and a few families stop to turn our direction.

  “Cool it,” I growl, glancing around to find where Aria and Olivia are. Spotting them another house down completely out of ear shot, I take a breath.

  “Don’t tell me to cool it. Is she pregnant?”

  “No, but if she was, that would be none of your business.”

  “I’m the mother of your child,” she hisses, leaning toward me.

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t give you a say in what I do with my life.”

  “It does when I tell the judge and get full custody.” She hisses and Gia stiffens.

  “Try it. No judge in their right mind is going to take my kid from me just because you can’t handle that I’m with someone else. And you should also take a minute to think about what you’re saying. Olivia isn’t a baby anymore. You think she’s going to be okay with you trying to cut me out of her life? She won’t, and I will make it clear to her that I don’t want that either, that it’s all you.”

  “It would be best for her, if you can’t put her first.”

  “I’ve always put her first, so don’t even try that bullshit. This has nothing to do with Olivia, it’s all because you can’t handle that I’m happy.” I take a step toward her and drop my voice. “You need to wake the fuck up. Olivia isn’t gonna be little forever, and if you keep going like you are, her relationship with you is gonna be like yours is with your parents, non-existent. Don’t do that to yourself, I know that’s not what you want. Find a way to get over your shit and be happy yourself, Anna, because I’m done with the games.” I leave her standing in the middle of the sidewalk, and Gia falls into step with me, sticking close probably worried.

  “Tide,” Anna calls out behind us, and I glance over my shoulder, the tears in her eyes surprising me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cry.

  “What?”

  “Will you…” She rests her hand against her chest. “Will you and Aria drop Olivia off to me when you guys are done?” I watch a tear slide down her cheek and feel like a dick for not wanting to comfort her, but that’s not where we are. “Just tell her that I went home and I’ll see her later.”

  I lift my chin, and she stares at me for a minute, then turns to walk to her car that is parked on the street. Once she’s behind the wheel, I turn to head back down the block.

  “Umm… I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think you might have gotten through to her,” Gia says quietly, and I drag in a deep breath, thinking, I fucking hope so.

  Chapter 20

  Aria

  LYING AGAINST TIDE’S chest with empty Chinese food containers, beer bottles, and cupcake wrappers on the coffee table, my eyes drift closed as he plays with my hair while he watches the football game on TV. It’s been two weeks since Halloween, two weeks since he told me about what happened with Anna and her reaction to him laying everything out for her.

  Like him, I was uncertain that she had a change of heart, but as it stands, she’s been surprisingly nice. Earlier today when she picked Olivia up, she came in to see Olivia’s room and stayed for a few minutes to chat, and a few days ago, she called Tide to ask if I would mind her showing up to Olivia’s first ballet class that happened to fall during his week. Although it’s too early to assume things have actually c
hanged for the better, I’m hopeful, because Olivia deserves to see her parents getting along. And I want Tide to have that too. I want him to have a relationship with Anna that is healthy.

  “Baby, my cell is ringing.” Tide cups my cheek, and I sleepily lift my head from his chest and look at the coffee table where his phone is. Since I’m sprawled out on top of him, I reach over to grab it and place it in his hand before laying my head back down where it was before he interrupted my snooze. “What’s up?” His chest rumbles against my ear, then his body under mine moves as his muscles bunch. “You’re kidding me.”

  I lift my head to look at him, and the moment his eyes meet mine, I know it’s bad, whatever it is.

  “We’ll be there.” He hangs up and drops his phone to the floor next to the couch before resting his big palm against the side of my face.

  “What is it? What happened?”

  “Your dad’s at the Rusty Rose, and he’s pretty out of it. Colton said we need to come get him, or he’s going to have to call the cops,” he says, and my eyes slide closed. “I can go get him on my own and take him home, baby. You don’t need to see him like that.”

  “No.” I shake my head, pushing back until I’m kneeling on the couch. “I’ll go alone.”

  “You really think I’m gonna let you go on by yourself?” He grabs my wrist when I get off the couch, and I meet his gaze. “No fucking way, baby.” He stands and cups my cheeks, placing his face close to mine. “Go get dressed. I’ll meet you at the truck.”

  With a nod, I rush upstairs and strip out of the lounge pants I put on when we got home, then put on jeans, and a sweatshirt over my tank top, before grabbing my sneakers. I sit on the steps to put on my shoes then go downstairs and grab my purse before I head outside. Tide is waiting for me next to the open passenger door of his truck, and once I’m seated, he helps me buckle myself in, then kisses me softly, closing me inside.

  We don’t talk when he gets in behind the wheel, and the only sound on the way to the bar is the soft music playing through the speakers. I know my dad gets drunk a lot, but I can’t remember a time he’s been so out of it that he’s been at risk of having the cops called.