Uncomplicated Choices

by Cara Dee

She flipped open her day planner. "I was thinking Staples. After work on Tuesday?"

  This part was easy for me. Adeline didn’t throw money around the way her husband sometimes did, and since the girls wanted the same things most of the time, I took the back seat while Ade handled most of the shopping. Then when it was time to pay for everything, I could relax knowing she hadn't thrown too much crap into the cart.

  Between her and me, we covered the planning in twenty minutes, and we'd do the same thing we did last year. Even though the girls arrived separately at school, we'd split the lunches on a weekly basis. One week, I'd do the lunches and drop them off with Haley. Then Adeline would do them the next week. That way, we could eliminate the "But she got the better yogurt!" fights that ensued often enough.

  I scratched my eyebrow, jotting down a note on adding some boundaries on that subject. A two-year difference between Haley and Lyn didn’t seem like much now, though that would change soon. And it was often Haley who ended up cranky because she didn’t get the same thing Lyn did.

  "Is Ellis still in the bathroom?" Ade checked her watch as I looked up from my phone. "I hope he's okay. He's got so much going on."

  "I'll go check." I was out of my seat before I knew it, and then I left the kitchen. As I headed toward the hallway where the guest bath was, I passed the stairs and happened to glance up. "Ellis?" He wasn’t hard to find. I took the steps two at a time until I reached the first landing on the way to the second floor. He was studying photos on the wall.

  "I take it it's normal to be nervous?"

  I assumed he was talking about becoming a dad.

  "Very." I gave his pinkie a gentle squeeze. The photo he was looking at was of Lincoln and Lyn Eskimoing and making funny faces. It was a great shot. "It won't go away, either."

  "That’s reassuring." His mouth twisted up, and he side-eyed me ruefully. "I'm terrified I'm going to screw up."

  I nodded. "That's what will make you a great dad."

  Releasing a breath, he went back to the photos, this time one of Jesse, Abel, and Lyn together on a couch. It was from last Christmas.

  "I ran into Haley on the stairs earlier. She invited me to a Play-Doh dinner next week. Then we chatted a bit about the economy."

  I laughed. "Oh, really?"

  "Indeed. She mentioned wanting to break her piggy bank to buy a doll, but apparently, Daddy thinks the doll is too expensive."

  "Daddy's a mean bastard." I shook my head. "That poor little girl will just have to play with some of her fourteen other dolls."

  Ellis turned to me, pensive. "You're a wonderful dad. If I can be half as good as you…"

  That packed a punch—of heat and self-consciousness. "You'll be great, Ellis. And you won't be alone."

  He linked our fingers together and leaned in for a soft, way too chaste kiss. "I accepted the dinner invitation, so you know. I want to get to know her better, too."

  Fuck, that little kiss wasn’t enough. "Come on. Mom and Dad won't notice." I took the lead and ushered him up the second set of stairs.

  He laughed huskily. "Dirty boy."

  Passing Lyn's room, Abel's room, Jesse's room… There was a bathroom between his room and my old one, and I opened the door—a door that could be locked.

  As soon as it was, I was pressed up against the wall, and we were all over each other. Simultaneously, my brain was in the mood to kick-start a new possible future. Only, this time it didn’t feel as outlandish.

  If we kept the peace between Marilyn and us, maybe the home I would share with Ellis one day—hopefully—wouldn’t feel very divided. Maybe Haley would become a big sister. Maybe she would find another parent in Ellis. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe his son or daughter would like me, too.

  "Fuck," I breathed out. Ellis pressed openmouthed kisses to my neck and rubbed my cock, causing my eyes to roll. "Let me suck you off." I fumbled with his zipper.

  "Is—hell—is this really wise? Oh God." He groaned as I sank to my knees and fisted his cock. "How the fuck do you make me need you so damn much?"

  No clue, but he had the same effect on me. I couldn’t describe it.

  Two seconds later, his thick cock filled my throat.

  *

  Time flies when you have good sex.

  The following week had two headliners, in two highly different ways. Ellis and Haley. Thanks to my girl, everything during the day was about school or getting ready for it. Then I had my nights, where Ellis and I either managed to get sneaky and we got to christen my bed—and the entire house—or we talked on the phone when he stayed on the boat.

  I dedicated a whole blog post to First Day of School for Cheeky Preschoolers, in which I listed my dos and don’ts that I'd learned the hard way the previous year. It included not making your kid's lunch the same day because emotions were running high. I also couldn’t stress the sleeping schedule enough. Summer break needed to end before it actually did; otherwise, you would end up with one cranky spectacle on D-Day who was used to sleeping in and being all chill.

  One not-so-anonymous reader left a message that gave me a chuckle.

  I'm taking notes. :.

  He didn’t leave a message on my blog post about the importance of testing for STDs, funnily enough. Poor man was uncomfortable and hilariously formal when we went to a clinic together. In a hushed voice as we met up outside, he said, "My employees think I'm off on an important business lunch."

  I laughed so hard.

  On Thursday, Ellis and Marilyn went in for their first ultrasound together and found out they were having a boy. They also took the paternity test, and since it would be the weekend soon, the results wouldn’t arrive 'til Monday.

  He was a bit difficult that weekend. Mainly because he was officially excited about becoming a dad, and on the off chance he wasn’t the father… Shit, it would break him. I could admit it made me anxious too, though I kept that to myself. Instead, I distracted him with parenting memes and links to baby socks. It was just one of those things I'd bought too many of when Haley was a baby. Socks for infants were fucking adorable. They were so tiny.

  "I used to put them on my fingers and make them dance," I admitted.

  Ellis found that amusing.

  "Uncle Ellis!" Haley hollered from upstairs. "Come to dinner now!"

  "We ask politely!" I reminded her. Next, I shot Ellis a scornful look. "Have fun without me."

  "You're only jealous I have a Play-Doh date and you don’t." He leaned in for a quick kiss, then ducked out of the kitchen before I could throw the oven mitt at him. "I'm on my way, Miss Haley."

  It was shaping up to be a great Saturday, despite Monday's results looming over us. And since I wasn’t invited to the dinner in Haley's room—I was only a little peeved about that—I sat down in the living room with a couple blueprints from work.

  We were ordering pizza for the actual dinner, and I'd given Haley one hour for her playdate, 'cause I was already starving. But for now, I could immerse myself in my plans for the park in Camas.

  The north side of the park bothered me because it was one industrial spill away from being a fucking brownfield. Cedar Valley, the district in the south, had once been the home of mostly factories, and Camas—being the working-class neighborhood of our town—had been the dumping site. It was the ripple effect in action. One park-sized Dumpster had lowered the property value, and everything went to shit from there. The district was a big expense and a thorn in the city council's side. That much was clear from seeing the park budget.

  Chewing on the end of my pen, I dug out my digital sketchpad from my messenger bag on the floor. Then I retrieved my phone, because if there was one person who knew Camas, it was Adrian. He lived and worked there.

  He answered on the third ring. "Hey, Casey."

  "Hi, do you have time?" My sketchpad lit up, and I zoomed in on the north side of the park. Then, looking around me, I searched for my notes while I scratched my forehead. Where did I put the… There. The results of the soil tests.

  "Ye
ah, sure. What's up?" A buzzer went off in the background, and I could bet Adrian was cooking dinner. He wasn’t the takeout type of guy.

  "You've told me you have a strong community, right?" I asked.

  "Very much so." It was something he took pride in, not to mention played an active role in. "Are you working on the park?"

  I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. He'd been stoked to find out I was the one chosen to design it because he knew how passionate I was about sustainable design. "Yeah, and here's the thing. What are my chances on involving the community for maintenance? Because the old dumping site isn't good enough to use for urban agriculture yet, but it is the perfect location for the compost. Which…" I swiped sideways on my pad for the site where I wanted an orchard. "Which would be about a five-minute walk from the garden."

  The north plot would thrive with natural fertilizers. Bioremediation was the best sustainable option, where we helped nature take its course with certain fungi and plants, and so…if I could present a solution where the community helped out with park service, the cheap bastards on the council might just expand my budget. Because in the end, it would increase the value of the district as a whole. Plus bring in more money and lower costs of energy.

  "Goddamn, you're really going all in," Adrian chuckled after my rant. "This is incredible, Casey. I can talk to the guys down at the Quad." That was the community center he volunteered at. "The kids are always looking for something to do…" He went on, talking about work practice for the teenagers; meanwhile, I spotted Ellis and Haley coming down the stairs.

  Had it already been an hour?

  Covering my phone, I addressed Ellis in a hushed voice. "Sorry, I didn’t know it'd been so long—"

  He shook his head and smiled. "I'll order pizza. You take your time. What do you say, Haley? Should we order pizza?"

  "Yeah, the Play-Doh isn't yummy," she said frankly.

  I grinned and watched them disappear into the kitchen.

  This is all I want.

  A family working together. A family life with Ellis. It had to be him.

  I sighed contentedly and refocused on Adrian, who, at some point, had changed the topic. He wondered why I hadn't called Toby again, and it took me a minute to even remember the guy. Then I cringed, feeling bad. It wasn’t Toby's fault. Crappy timing. And then I kind of went and fell in love with someone else.

  I didn’t tell Adrian that last part.

  *

  "Tonight was lovely," Ellis murmured.

  "Tonight was perfect." I threw a handful of popcorn into my mouth and stretched out my legs on the couch, crossing them at the ankles on the armrest. Ellis was my pillow, his fingers were doing magical things to my hair, and Vin Diesel was eye candy on the flat screen. "Can we keep you?" I glanced up at Ellis.

  The corners of his eyes crinkled, and he lowered his head to kiss me. "Be careful what you ask for. It's already difficult to pace myself."

  "Do you really think so?" I had to make sure.

  "I do." He stroked my cheek. Vin Diesel didn’t stand a chance. "All day at work yesterday…I kept thinking it was the first time in years I looked forward to going home—even if it's yours."

  Was it okay to be blunt about it? It was implied already—our goal—but we hadn't said it outright.

  "It will be ours, though, right? One day." I forced back the nervousness.

  He nodded and kissed me again, lingering. "I want nothing more, sunshine."

  "Christ, you—" I snickered into the kiss and bit his bottom lip as revenge for that stupid nickname. At least I was funny when I called him princess. "You know, you could practice. Calling this your home, I mean. Nothing wrong with practice."

  "Hmm, you make an excellent point." Unfortunately, he stopped kissing me and then peered toward the stairs. "What're the odds of Haley waking up?"

  "The odds are in favor of couch sex."

  "Perfect."

  While the lust and hunger spiked immediately, everything around me slowed down. We only broke the kiss to get rid of our clothes, and as I crawled over him and watched his unbelievably sexy body, another need made itself known. Possessiveness built up inside me.

  "Turn around. I wanna touch you," I said quietly.

  He searched my eyes, maybe noticing I was stealing the control. It couldn’t be helped. I wouldn’t rush him on the matter of bottoming, but I would be in charge on occasion. And he clearly didn’t mind. With an easy sigh, he turned onto his stomach once I gave him room.

  Fetching everything I needed took me about twenty seconds.

  "Fuck, you're perfect." I pressed one knee between his thighs, my other foot firmly planted on the floor, and grabbed the bottle of lotion. "It's been too long since I got up close and personal with your back and thighs." And ass, definitely ass.

  "Use the oil instead," he murmured.

  I wasn’t sure… Whatever I massaged him with was eventually gonna rub off on me with the way we touched one another. "If I get oil up my ass and you fuck me, it could break the condom."

  He raised himself up enough so his elbows hit the cushions, and he glanced back at me quickly. "We're clean."

  God, I'd forgotten. We wouldn’t have to use rubbers anymore. "Are you sure?" I was sure he could tell by the sound of my voice what I wanted.

  "Screw the condoms, Casey."

  I'd rather screw you, my lovely man.

  I went for the oil instead, increasingly excited. Nothing beat skin on skin, no barriers between, something I'd experienced way too little of in my life. A high school girlfriend, Haley's mother, and an ex-boyfriend.

  This was a dream come true, and I took my time. Leaning over Ellis, I rubbed the oil into his skin in long, firm strokes. In return, I was rewarded with muffled groans and low growls of pleasure. He had some soreness in his lower back, so I went for the deep tissue and slowed down my movements.

  The TV was on mute and provided the only light in the living room, each flicker from the screen showing Ellis's glistening skin. Needing more space, I removed a couple cushions so he could spread his legs a bit and I could get my second knee between his thighs, too.

  My thumbs dug in on either side of his spine, drawing up and down, up and down, in unhurried strokes. Each downward pass inched closer to his ass, until I cupped both cheeks firmly and pushed them apart.

  He hissed and ground his cock against the couch.

  I didn’t even ask. One second I was massaging him, and the next I was lowering my face to lick him. In my defense, I had to take the opportunity. I hadn't messed him up with oil here yet, and I'd rather use spit.

  Ellis cursed as my tongue circled his constricted opening, and I tried not to grin. When I caught him off guard and introduced him to something new, he would curse, inhale sharply, and then do a full-body shudder. It was sexy as hell.

  "Oh hell, Casey," he groaned into the pillow. "Goddamn—oh, that’s so…so fucking…"

  Amazing, I knew. With two fistfuls of his ass, I got greedy and fucked him with my tongue. I got comfortable against the cushions too, because I had a lot of payback to give. For every time he'd teased me…

  I hummed, noticing the second he relaxed for me. He exhaled a long moan and rolled his hips slightly to meet me, and I failed to be evil. The whole idea of payback failed. Instead, I twisted my tongue to give him more pleasure. I licked, fucked, rubbed, and sucked until we were both struggling to control ourselves. His breathing turned heavy, his rocking constant, and my cock needed some goddamn friction.

  "Give me more," he demanded in a shallow grunt.

  In a minute. He'd get to fuck me soon. First, I wanted to get off right between his cheeks. So I dropped a last kiss to his ass, then reached for the oil again.

  He mistook my intentions. "Finally," he sighed.

  I quirked a brow, even though he wasn’t facing me, and coated my cock with oil. Did he think I was gonna finger-fuck him? I wasn’t. This was about me.

  I worked my cock in between his cheeks and pressed them together
, groaning at the feel. He was warm and wet and impossibly beautiful. Wedged in as tightly as I could be, I fucked the crease in measured movements and lowered myself so my chest touched his back.

  "Are you purposely trying to make me suffer, Casey?"

  "No," I breathed out, speeding up. "I'm trying to get off." I moaned as the head of my cock pressed against his tight hole, and I buried my face in his neck. "I wanna fuck you so goddamn much, Ellis." I was too turned on to feel guilty about my admission. "Please don’t feel pressured. I just had to say it."

  "I don't know what the hell you're waiting for." There was a generous dose of sexual frustration in his voice, enough to pierce through my lust-filled fog and for me to go, what? Did this mean he wanted…?

  "I've been waiting for you to say you're ready, of course!" I eased off of him and sat back on my heels. "Are you?"

  "Christ, yes." He rolled over, displaying his large, thick cock pointing toward his face. My mouth pooled with saliva at the sight. "How could you not know? I've had four fingers up there—"

  "Three, actually," I said absently. Fuck, his cock was a work of art.

  He sighed. "Casey. I should have been clearer. I admit that. I suppose asking to get fucked for the first time isn't very easy, but—Casey?"

  My gaze snapped up, and I looked him in the eye. Narrowing my own eyes, I replayed what he'd said and then shivered. So he was ready. Excitement and affection washed over me, and I crawled over him again, preferring him on his back. Now, I could kiss him easier, and I didn’t stop until my lungs were burning and he was relaxed once more.

  "Four," he whispered against my lips. Four? Oh… "The nights on the boat got lonely. I had an affair with my hand."

  I chuckled through a groan and loved his silliness. "I'll see if I can forgive you…for not letting me be there to watch." Stealing another kiss, I blindly sought the oil to slick him up extra.

  Desire and amusement sparked up in his eyes, and before he could return with a witty comeback, I pushed two fingers inside him. It set his gaze on fire, and he clenched his jaw.

  "What was that?" I spoke in a hushed voice and kissed him lightly. "I couldn’t quite hear you."