by Tia Siren
“Double date with whom?”
“Ryan, it’s been a long time. She’s still seeing him and I miss her. Let’s give it a chance,” Brea said as she brought lasagna to the table and I stood up. “I want to get out of the house and have some fun, and I think Elle’s finally big enough. I can leave her here for a couple hours with Mike and then we can all come back. It will be fun.”
I walked in to get plates and silverware as she returned for the salad, giving me a pleading look. I knew she had been cooped up at home for weeks now and sighed. “Okay. We’ll do it, but if he pulls any shit with you, I am kicking his ass to the curb.”
“Fair enough.” She smiled as she set the salad down on the table and kissed me softly. “Thank you.”
We talked about the center while we ate, and I caught her up on the progress. She seemed excited as she asked questions. Her support made me think more about my feelings for her. The conversation lasted a long time since we had nothing to do other than this, and I felt myself relaxing after a long few weeks.
We cleaned up together and toasted with our cider since we’d forgotten to at dinner.
“To playing family. It’s really nice,” Brea said. Ice ran through my veins. I was quiet while we washed dishes and Elle slept. I tried to form the right words in my head. When we were done, I checked to see that Elle was out and offered Brea my hand.
We went out onto the balcony and I left the screen open so we could hear the baby cry. Brea loved living near the ocean. The wind blew her loose skirt around her knees as I watched her pale skin. I knew Brea felt like she needed to lose more weight since giving birth, but I thought she was beautiful. She sipped the cider again, seemingly lost in thought as I watched her.
I realized how little I’d been here lately as I did. All the memories of seeing her and Elle were just flashes of them sleeping or Brea struggling to stay awake to feed her. I felt bad and tried to find a compromise with the center. I was a control freak when it came to things like that. I needed to be in charge, but I could shave off a few hours for my family.
My family.
“I don’t consider this playing the part of a family,” I said abruptly. Brea slowly turned to look at me.
“What?” she asked as she leaned her back against the railing.
“You toasted to that in the kitchen.” I stepped forward, taking a sip of the cider before I placed the glass on the table beside me. I moved beside her and looked out at the dark beach for a moment. “This isn’t my house that I share with you; it’s our house. It always was. I wanted you to live with me before I asked you, Brea. I just didn’t know how to do it.”
“Really?” Brea asked. I looked at her and nodded. “Me, too.”
“I brought you here to get away, and when we talked about living here, I could see it so clearly in my mind. It was like a movie, and I started looking at places immediately, knowing it was going to be a rush job even without Elle arriving early. I didn’t have time to go see a lot of houses, but I knew what I wanted and my friend pulled through for me. This seemed perfect, being right on the water and big enough to add to our family. This is real to me.” Her eyes darkened in the light from the living room as I glanced at Elle. “This house is perfect for our lives.”
“I think so as well.” She seemed to be waiting for something else, and I felt my mouth go dry as I reached for the glass again.
We both heard Elle crying, and I licked my lips before I kissed Brea softly. I walked into the house and lifted Elle into my arms, a wave of emotion washing over me. She was so little and dependent on us. I secured her with my arms as I walked back outside to Brea.
“I know this started as an idea to get some money and some freedom.” I handed Elle to Brea as she moved to sit down while staring intently at me. She pulled the buttons loose on her dress and released her breasts, and I felt a stirring in my pants. I hadn’t touched her in so long.
I watched as she lifted our daughter to her and leaned back as Elle started to nurse.
“You’re such an amazing mom to her. You’re so sexy and beautiful, Brea. I can’t breathe sometimes when I look at you with her, but everything is moving so fast. Everything is happening in flashes of moments with us and I don’t know how to slow it down.”
I dropped to the chair in front of her as she looked at me. I leaned forward and covered her lips with mine as heat flowed between us.
“This became so much more than just an arrangement to me, so fast. I wanted to hold you in my arms after you were already pregnant and feel your body wrapped around me as more than a duty. I enjoyed making love to you from the very first time.”
I watched her shiver as she heard my words, and I placed my hand over Elle in her hands.
“I wanted you the first moment I saw you. I haven’t stopped thinking back to that fucking party when you walked in, all beautiful and breathtaking. I couldn’t stop looking at you, and then we talked and danced. I asked you out and I don’t know what happened; we decided to move forward with Elle. I don’t know what changed, but I didn’t want anything to change at all. I wanted you more than anything, but money changed things for us.”
“I know it did. I knew that it meant a lot to you to get the inheritance and work on the center, and God knows that the loans were making it hard for me to sleep at night. I had no idea what I was going to do before you, Ryan. I agreed to it too. Maybe I pulled away,” Brea whispered as she stared at me sadly.
“I don’t know. I think that her coming early scared us both and then I brought you to the house. It was a lot of new for you to take in,” I said, and she smiled.
“I was so happy that day, so in shock. I was also scared and unsure if I could handle being a mom, but you were here for me. You were so attentive.” She smiled at me again as I stared at her. “Then I was so proud of you for getting the center going and it made me cry for my dad so many times. It made me miss you while you were doing such a good thing with the money we had earned together. I felt selfish for wanting you home when you gave me so much. How many women would trade places with me? I just tried to focus on Elle.” Brea shrugged as she switched breasts, and we both supported Elle, wrapped in a blanket.
“This life means everything to me, Brea. I have never been happier with anything than I am with Elle, and you are the only person I want to share that with.” I paused, knowing what I could say to her next as I looked at her. Her eyes were bright as she stared at me, letting Elle slide down as she licked her lips.
“Let’s get her to bed,” Brea suggested throatily, and I felt my cock respond. We both stood, and she led the way upstairs as I locked up and started to unbutton my shirt on the way upstairs.
CHAPTER 24
Brea
I walked into the bedroom burping Elle, feeling my heart racing. I knew where the conversation had been heading before we’d been interrupted, and I took a deep breath. I burped the baby and changed her diaper before getting her into some fresh pajamas and singing her to sleep in the bassinet. She was getting a little better about it, and I watched as her eyes close.
I felt Ryan enter before I heard him. He had a presence to him that never faded for me, and I licked my lips as I turned toward him, letting the dress fall down my shoulders before I pushed it off the rest of the way. Ryan watched as he stepped forward, his eyes tracing my body before he pulled me against him. I felt the way I had the first time I’d seen him as he kissed me hungrily, his hands gently moving over my skin. I trembled against him as our tongues danced together, tugging at the button on his black slacks while he gripped my ass with one hand. We kept kissing as I undressed him. Then I reached my hand down to hold him as he pulled my face closer to his.
Before I knew it, he was moving me. I was suddenly on my back and staring up at him. Ryan kicked off his jeans and threw his shirt to the ground before crawling over me and spreading my legs. I gasped, ready to come within seconds, as he stroked me. He moved his face down to suck my clit into his mouth. I forgot about any insecurities as
I arched my back and started to cry out his name.
“Elle,” he reminded me, and I groaned and fell silent. He was right; I didn’t want to wake her. He kept at it as I writhed and moved before him, coming hard and fast as I sucked in my breath.
“I’ve missed this so much,” he said against me as he kept licking me. Ryan cleaned me as my pussy burned, and I tugged at his hair, needing his mouth on mine.
He moved over me, dropping between my legs as he claimed my lips. I loved that he tasted like me and ate away at his lips before he kissed down my neck to my chest.
I murmured in pleasure as he kissed my full breasts and licked my nipples. I knew a little milk wouldn’t bother him, and he sucked as I groaned and felt his cock against my thigh, desire flooding through me. He stroked the other nipple with his hand, and I moaned his name as I wiggled around him to get his cock inside me.
“I’m on the pill, but it’s just been a day now. We should use something else for about a month,” I whispered as he pressed soft kisses to my skin before looking up at me.
“No. I need to feel you bare,” he told me, and I widened my eyes. “Just tonight at least, Brea. It’s been so long.”
I knew the risks, but he kept kissing me, sucking at my skin like a dying man. I didn’t care. He kissed back up to my throat before shifting to my entrance. I gasped. He slid inside and I bit my lip as he filled my tight core with his hard thrusts, whispering my name as he slid a hand into my hair.
He stilled for a moment, looking into my eyes before he moved back.
“Take me, Ryan,” I urged him, and he moved hard, taking me with deep thrusts. I started to rock with him, knowing we were both close already.
“You feel so good, Brea.” He kept moving as I pressed into him, finding a rhythm after weeks apart. I breathed him in, clawing his back as I wrapped my legs around him. We came together, and a tear slid down my cheek as he exploded into my warmth. “Baby, this is everything to me.”
We moved apart, resting against the pillows as he stroked my skin gently. “I feel alive again but still really tired. Does that make sense?” I asked. He laughed and nodded.
We spent a few minutes recovering, but I still wanted him before I passed out. I moved down his body to take him into my mouth as I had a few times since having Elle. He allowed it for a few minutes this time before I moved over him and lined his cock up with my pussy. Ryan reached for my breasts, stroking my nipples as I impaled myself on him, tossing back my long hair and moaning his name. He was so fucking perfect for me, and I cried out softly as I kept rocking over him. I pressed against his hard chest as he continued to touch me. I felt connected to him in every way as I moved, trying different ways before we both started to move together.
I felt myself breaking again as I came, dropping over him one more time before he started fucking me hard and fast. He drove himself inside me and came after me. I toppled over him, feeling the heat between our bodies. I had been worried that it was gone, but tonight proved that we still had it. I relaxed my body over his as we rested together, naked and raw.
I fell asleep easier than I had in weeks. I had Ryan and my baby with me and that was all I needed. I pressed against him and memorized the way he felt, so lost in sleep that I didn’t know what the crying was in the room. I was having a great dream.
Ryan pulled me to him for a kiss as I tried to go back to sleep.
“The baby,” he whispered. I tried to remember if he knew that she drank from a bottle now. My body was even more tired tonight from making love to him, and I started to cry as he looked down at me. “Get some sleep, baby. I’ll give her a bottle.”
I touched him and murmured something, wanting to continue my dream. I drifted right back to sleep and was vaguely aware of Ryan taking Elle out of the room and coming back in a little while later. At some point, I moved beside him to wrap a leg over him as I reached down to hold his cock in my hand.
He turned me to my back and made sweet love to me as I held on tight. This was what I wanted, and I murmured for him to be home at night with us more often as he took me slowly. There was something different about him as he tucked me against him to go back to sleep, and I couldn’t make sense of it.
In the morning, I woke up to Elle and picked her up to take her out of the room. Ryan had been great for taking care of her last night, and I walked downstairs with her to nurse in my favorite chair. I loosened my robe and latched her on as I played back last night.
I was so in love with Ryan. I probably had been for longer than I thought, and I smiled as I thought about our conversation outside. We both wanted this, all of this. We wanted the house, the baby, and the family. I looked down at Elle as I stroked her hair and smiled, watching as the sky brightened outside.
I was living my dream and I had the man now. I knew that from last night, even though we hadn’t said the words yet. We would, in time.
“I love you, too.” Ryan’s voice behind me made me jump, and I slowly turned to look back at him.
“What?” I asked with a frown.
“You told me that you loved me when I let you sleep last night. I didn’t think you’d remember, but they were the best words I have ever heard.” He kept walking, and I blushed as he kissed my head. “I love you, too. I love our daughter, and it was great to have that time with her. Now I am going to make you breakfast before we take a walk on the beach…as a family.”
Had I said that? I’d certainly been thinking it for a long time, but in my tired state, I just might have let it slip out. I was relieved it was out now. Elle finished eating and pulled back to look up at me. She was so pretty, and I laughed as I brought her to my shoulder to burp her.
Ryan made bacon and eggs for us, pouring coffee and orange juice as I helped set the table. Elle enjoyed her swing as we sat down to eat, looking at each other as I blushed again.
“I loved last night,” I said, and he grinned wickedly.
“It was nice to catch up, wasn’t it?” he mused as I sipped my coffee. I drank very little of it, but a sip here and there was necessary as a new mother. “I know it won’t be easy with life and a baby, but we need to do that more often.”
“We do,” I agreed as I picked up a piece of bacon. I took a bite and smiled as I looked at his perfect form beside me. We ate slowly and chatted about the center and what would happen once it was built.
“What do you want to do?” Ryan asked as I chewed my eggs.
“For now, I want to raise Elle. I want to see every step I’m supposed to and then I’ll decide. Maybe I’ll consider making films. Who knows? I think I’m pretty happy being a girlfriend and a mother.”
“That’s the first time you’ve ever considered yourself my girlfriend, isn’t it?” he asked, and I shrugged.
“Out loud,” I admitted, and he chuckled. We finished breakfast and cleaned up together, washing dishes and drying them before I looked over at Elle. “Didn’t we get something that carries her on my chest or something?”
“Yes. Lucy put it in the closet in the nursery. I’ll run up and get it.” Ryan jogged up the stairs and I picked up Elle as she stretched and yawned.
“Want to go for a walk? I have this nifty little carrier that I get to put you in for your first trip to the beach.” I watched as she moved in my arms and saw Ryan coming down the stairs.
“It’s a wrap. Let’s get this over your shoulder and I’ll secure her inside.” Ryan pulled it out of the box, and we laughed as he figured out what to do. Once it was around my body, he put Elle inside it and we checked to make sure she wasn’t going to fall out. Ryan grabbed a bottle of water and we left through the back door. I had only been down here once by myself, but I was so excited to be down here with the two of them.
We walked down the steps and onto the sand as I wrapped my hands over Elle and she gurgled in front of me. As we headed down to the water, Ryan supported me with a hand on my lower back, and I smiled. The wind blew my hair around, and I laughed as I looked around the nearly empty beach.
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We walked for a couple hours, stopping once so I could feed Elle as I sat on a rock. It was easy enough to just unbutton my shirt and latch her on as Ryan wrapped his arms around us. I knew everything was different between us now, and it felt great. I knew he was still going to be busy working, but we’d deal with that. Maybe I’d ask him to cut his hours back if it got to be too much. I loved him and Ryan loved me, and we’d work through this.
We made our way back to the house and put Elle down for her nap before we went in to take our own. “They always say to sleep when the baby sleeps, you know,” Ryan told me as we snuggled together, naked and sweaty.
“They do,” I agreed as I moved forward to kiss his chest. “I love you.” I liked saying it and seeing his face. He smiled so big and his eyes twinkled as he looked at me.
“I love you. Since we’ve said this to each other, do we still have to go through with this double date?” Ryan asked me with a frown.
“Probably. We need to see Lucy, and it’s a package deal for now,” I told him. He nodded slowly. “Let’s get through it and see what happens.”
CHAPTER 25
Ryan
I looked at my dad sitting with Elle on our couch as I went over the instructions. I was worried about leaving her alone with him, or anybody for that matter. She was only a couple months old and so tiny. What if something happened?