by CJ Azevedo
Declan sighs and takes a large drink of his smoothie before coming over and lifting me up onto the counter. He pushes himself in between my legs and I wrap them around his waist, tracing my fingers up his hard stomach muscles, over his bare pecs and around his neck. He dips in and kisses me sweetly. “I have to go to Vegas in a few weeks.” He kisses me again and my heart sinks a little. I didn’t like him leaving to New York before we were a couple, and now, well, now I hate the idea. “And you’re coming with me, Ava. No arguments.”
I go to speak but he covers my mouth with his and his tongue starts stroking mine. I’m lost; I know I’m supposed to be arguing but right now, I can’t for the life of me remember why I can’t go. I faintly hear a chair scrape across the floor and Greyden going on about something but I can’t focus on him until Declan finally releases my mouth.
“When? When do we get to go to Vegas? Dude!” Greyden shouts excitedly. “Get off your girl and give me some damn information! I’ve been dying to get to Vegas all year!”
“It’s just for the weekend. We can get a sitter for Harper or…shit, we can take her and a sitter with us if you want. Just say you’ll come. Please,” Declan whispers against my lips, his eyes boring into mine.
“I want to go! Me! Greyden! Dude, when. Are. We. Going?” Greyden asks again, but this time he’s tapping Dec on the shoulder like a pesky child.
“Okay,” I agree quietly. “I have no idea how I’ll swing this, but I don’t want you to leave me again so soon.” I reach out just a little and kiss him on his smiling lips.
“Yeah? You’ll go?” Declan whispers, kissing me much harder when I nod my head. “C’mon, I need a shower before we start our day.” He holds me tight and pulls me off the counter.
I’m not ready to untangle my legs from him yet, so I don’t, and he just carries me up to his room like that.
“Shiiiit!” Greyden yells from the kitchen.
“On the fifth! Friday to Monday!” he shouts to Greyden as he ascends the stairs.
His skin is hot and he smells like a sweaty man, and although it’s not his typical captivating scent, it still draws me closer to him. I plant a kiss just below his ear and decide I really want a taste of him. I kiss him in the middle of his neck below his ear and drag my tongue up to his earlobe to nip at him. Declan groans just as we approach his room.
I am crazy about this guy; he is everything that’s right for me, and I would probably do just about anything for him. But that…that sweaty, salty skin that isn’t sex sweat (there is a difference) isn’t what I was hoping for.
I’m thrown down onto the bed and I’m still trying to swallow that taste out of my mouth when Declan climbs up over my hips and straddles me. “How’d that taste?” he says with a knowing smirk playing on his lips.
“Not like I thought it would,” I admit just before I scrunch up my face in embarrassment.
Declan lets out a booming laugh, leaning down to kiss me thoroughly. So thoroughly, I’m out of breath when he jumps off me and pats my hip before stalking off to the bathroom humming a tune I don’t recognize.
At this moment, when I hear the shower turn on and the sprays of water hit against the tiles, I want nothing more than to get in that shower with him. But I can’t decide if I should or not. Is that weird, just taking a shower with my boyfriend whom I have only ever kissed? Not a sexy shower, just a shower shower? Yeah, it probably is.
I let another minute pass by watching the ceiling fan spin in nonstop, dizzying circles before I decide it’s most likely okay for me to go in there with him. The door is open, so he can’t be opposed to the idea, right? Opposed to the idea of me getting naked and jumping in the shower with him? Declan? I think not!
Feeling a bit brave, I lift myself from the bed and begin to strip out of Dec’s clothes. I walk over to the cracked open bathroom door and peek through it. The sight before me makes my breath catch in my throat. Declan is turned away from me, standing under the shower head in the glass encased shower stall, his head bent down and both hands planted on the tiles, the steamy water beating down on his neck and back. He’s absolutely perfect.
Wanting to run my hands over his muscled back, I take a deep breath and silently open the door the rest of the way. The shower is big, deep enough that there is no door on it, just an opening for one, so I’m able to sneak up on him and get in before he can take a good look at my naked body.
My hands go directly to his lower back. At the contact of my hands on his wet skin, Declan startles a bit but instantly relaxes again when he realizes it’s me. I glide my hands up the contours of his spine until they reach his shoulders and my body is pressed up against him. His left hand reaches around and holds me at my lower back, but he still says nothing.
At least a minute must have passed since we’ve been standing like this in silence before I hear Declan whisper in a deep husky tone, “Can I turn around?”
I’m naked, joining him in his shower and he asks if he can turn around before he sees me naked. I shouldn’t find this funny, because he sounds serious and like he’s barely able to keep himself from turning to see me, like this is a very intimate moment between us, but I can’t hold back my laughter—it just spills out of me. I pull my hands from his back to cover my mouth, trying to block the small hysterics bubbling from my lips.
Declan whips around looking all kinds of sexy but also really confused. “What the hell is so funny, my beautiful, gorgeous, absolutely stunning ray of sunshine?”
I’m all wrapped up in his arms, pulled tightly to the front of his hard, slick body and I can feel myself just melt into him. This fits… We fit.
Declan’s hand gently grips my chin and tilts my head up towards his so our mouths meet in complete, unadulterated bliss. I reach around his neck and deepen the kiss while his hands move into my hair, his fingers massaging my scalp, getting the strands thoroughly soaked.
“Ava, you are so hot. I mean, I knew you were, everything about you is perfect, but this; baby, you’re incredible. I can’t get enough of you,” Declan says as he kisses down my neck and learns all of the curves of my body with just the tips of his roughly calloused fingers.
I’m not a virgin, I slept with Jax for years, but it was never like this. Declan and I are just kissing, albeit naked and in a shower, but still just kissing and I am feeling flutters and tightness and warmness that I’ve never experienced before.
After a few more minutes, Dec pulls back and pushes the wet hair from my face. He smiles down at me and it’s contagious, or maybe it’s just the feeling we both have from being in such close proximity to each other, but I smile my widest smile, unable to help it.
“Turn around so I can wash your hair,” he says quietly before kissing me on my nose. “So what’s your day like? Busy?”
“Actually, no. I got caught up on all of my pending assignments before I came here yesterday. Dustin offered to work tonight so I can spend the day with you.” I don’t want him to stop massaging the shampoo into my scalp; it feels so good.
“How would you feel about picking up Harper and spending the day together?” Declan is confidence and swagger, all the time, but right now he sounds a little unsure of himself. “I hear that single moms shouldn’t introduce their child to a new love prospect, but like I said last night, I don’t count us as new.” Declan reaches for the detachable showerhead and begins rinsing out my hair.
I find it completely sexy that he’s “heard” this fact. “And where, may I ask, did you hear this?” I ask quietly as my whole body begins to come down from his early explorations and submerges into complete relaxation.
“Wash the soap off your face,” he directs. “I googled it.”
“You googled it, and Google spoke?” I ask seriously as I wash the leftover shampoo from my face.
“Yes, I googled it, and yeah, it pretty much spoke to me. I think I found out everything I need to know,” he answers, lathering conditioner into my hair.
“Like? And when did you Google this?” I drag
out the word, completely unprepared for where this conversation is about to take us.
“I looked into it when you weren’t speaking to me and I had a hunch. I had some time on my hands. I found things out like I shouldn’t ask about the father. Check. I should expect you to be upfront with me on what you’re comfortable with since you don’t have the time to play games. Double check. I shouldn’t assume I’m going to get laid. That’s now a semi check.” He grabs my butt cheek and squeezes, making me laugh. Again.
I can’t help it, the guy makes me happy.
“And here’s the big one—definitely don’t assume you need a hero. Triple check, I know this. Wash.”
I need just a second to process all this information he’s researched on my behalf. On his behalf. He’s thought about this. He’s looked into this and he’s right, I know it’s not in the child’s best interest to meet random guys I date. This is different. Declan’s right, we’re not totally new. Even if this relationship doesn’t work out (which, as of this minute, I can’t imagine it not working out), I already know that Declan is now a permanent fixture in my life. If nothing else, we will forever have a friendship. I can just feel it.
“So, what do you want to do with us girls? Want to go get our nails done and shop for shoes?” I tease, testing the boundaries. “I’m up for that.”
Declan laughs as he starts running a soapy loofa over my body. “Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of lunch and the park, maybe go buy Harper a new car so she’ll like me.” He winks and makes his way up my body with the loofa, kissing me soundly when he reaches my neck.
“Yes to lunch and the park, no to the new car. She won’t appreciate it if she doesn’t work for it, ya know?”
Declan chuckles and turns off the water before grabbing my hand and walking out of the shower to wrap me up in a large bath sheet.
Chapter Eleven
Declan
Today was unlike any other. It seemed natural to suggest hanging out with Ava and Harper and it sort of shocked me when she so readily agreed to it. When we walked into her tiny, run-down apartment to pick up Harper it was like my future, for the first time ever, jumped right in front of my face. Harper, with her black ringlets and bright green eyes, was nothing like what I had expected. I was expecting a little Ava to be bouncing around, but that wasn’t the case. Harper looked like she could be more mine than hers.
I glanced around her apartment while she and Harper went to get ready, to see if I could find a picture of her sister, but found nothing. I planned on asking her about her sister but then remembered that a guy’s not supposed to ask the single mom he’s dating about her kid’s dad, so I assumed I shouldn’t ask about the kid’s biological mother either.
I stressed momentarily when Harper came straight to me wanting me to pick her up—that, I was not expecting. She wanted me to do everything for her; help her down the stairs to the car, buckle her into her seat, unbuckle her from her seat and then it just continued on from there. It had to be me who cooled off her food at lunch and me who took her potty (although Ava did jump in on that one and insist she took her, thank God), it was me she wanted to sing the ABC song with on our way to the park, me who she begged to take her to the beach and not to the swings. Of course, our plans changed and I took the little doll to the beach. I mean, seriously, how the hell did Ava expect me to tell her no when she batted those ridiculously long eyelashes at me and pouted her little lips after saying, “Pwease, Decky, pwease take me to da beach”? Pfft, wasn’t gonna happen. Ava laughed and said I was in for it if that’s all it was going to take for her to get her way with me.
After a long afternoon at the beach, we went to a little Mexican restaurant for dinner before taking the girls home. Ava and I are both listening to the music playing softly in the background and I can hear faint little snores coming from the backseat where Harper fell asleep in her carseat the second I turned the car on. My mind is reeling. I know most people date for a while before they consider the things I’m having a hard time ignoring right now. I also know that most guys wouldn’t even consider what I’m contemplating after today with a toddler in the mix, but what I’m experiencing and have been experiencing with Ava these last few months isn’t something a lot people are lucky enough to find.
“Are you having second thoughts? It’s okay if you are, I know it’s a lot,” Ava asks as she brings me out of my own musings.
Second thoughts? She must be crazy after all. I give her a sideways glance and tighten my grip on her hand with a smirk on my face. “Actually, my thoughts were going in the opposite direction of that completely.”
She exhales a relieved breath and smiles brightly. I love it when she smiles at me like that; she’s so beautiful and the fact that a future with me put that smile there makes me feel pretty damn good.
“She’s pretty perfect, Ava. I don’t have a lot of experience with kids of any age, but I know you’ve been doing a damn good job raising her.”
Ava shakes her head and looks out her window, resisting eye contact.
“Sunshine, she’s not even three years old yet and not once did she miss a please or a thank you. The kid knows her ABCs better than I do and she had to tell me what came after cinco. She’s brilliant.”
That made her laugh softly but happily. “She loves Dora; I can’t take the credit for her Spanish skills.” She takes in a big breath before facing her whole body in my direction. “We didn’t scare you off then? It’s a lot, Dec. She is a lot. You witnessed that today. She’s crazy about you, by the way. Do you think that’s because she looks more like you than me?”
“You noticed that too huh?” I’m relieved she brought this up because once the three of us get around the guys and my family I know they won’t be quiet about it.
A small burst of laughter pops out of her enticing pink lips before she quickly covers her mouth and looks back to make sure she didn’t wake her daughter. “Notice it?” Ava laughs again. “I think she may actually look more like you than my sister. Our dad is Italian and my sister takes after his side of the family; my mom is from Oklahoma which is why I look the way I do. I’ll probably never know who Harper’s father is, but I’m guessing he’s not a blond-haired, blue-eyed Dutch boy. Were you shocked when you saw her? You looked a little surprised.”
“Shocked? Uh, yeah, you could say that. I was expecting a little you running around and instead I got a little Macie,” I tell her as it dawns on me that Harper is a dead ringer for my sister.
“Oh my gosh, that’s it! She totally looks like Macie!” Ava laughs quietly and I can’t help but chuckle, too.
She looks so content, so blissed out. I love seeing her like this. We’re quiet the rest of the way to her apartment, thoughts of a future with the two of them by my side, of them moving into my house with me, circling my brain endlessly. These thoughts aren’t terrifying like I may have once thought them to be, instead, they’re nothing short of exhilarating. I know Ava is nowhere near ready for this discussion and I’m fine with that. She knows better than I do what’s best for Harper, but this is a conversation we will be having in the near future.
Once we pull up to Ava’s place, I walk around and get a sleeping Harper out of the back seat. She wraps her tiny arms around my neck and squeezes as she buries her little nose in my chest. My heart melts. I carry her up the stairs and follow Ava inside and down the hall to their room. Ava’s bed is in the far corner under a window and Harper’s little toddler bed is up against the back wall next to a chest of dressers. I know not many people are as blessed as I am and have always been, but I want so much more for these girls than them sharing a bedroom in a shitty apartment.
I keep my thoughts to myself as I rock Harper in my arms while Ava pulls out her pajamas. She takes her from me and dresses her quickly before tucking her in tightly. Ava gently kisses her head and then says a short, quiet prayer about thanking God for their blessings and asking him to protect her daughter and wake them both to another blessed day. This beautiful,
incredible woman, who has next to nothing as far as material things go, is thanking God for her blessings. I can’t help feeling completely humbled by the entire situation.
Ava sits down on my lap once we reach the living room. She cups my face and kisses me softly on the lips. “Today was amazing. Thank you.”
“Thank you for letting me meet her. I know that’s a big deal for you and I appreciate you trusting me enough.” I kiss her again before rearranging her on my lap so she’s lying down across the couch with her head on my lap. “She really is great, Ava. Coolest kid I’ve met, that’s for sure.”
“So it really doesn’t freak you out then?”
“Really doesn’t freak me out.”
Chapter Twelve
Ava
We’re on our way to Las Vegas. Declan hired a full time nanny, which was totally unnecessary, but he disagreed. He told me that he wants someone available that we can rely on consistently, because Marla isn’t available all of the time. He researched all night after meeting Harper and set up several interviews for the following day. I had class in the morning but when I got home he met me there and was prepared for the interviews with files on each candidate.
It was the last girl we met with that had an instant connection with all three of us, so he hired her and put her on a nice little salary to be at our beck and call. She was around Monday through Friday for the last four weeks getting to know Harper and us. She went everywhere with us for those 35 days and I felt much more comfortable leaving her for the weekend. I did ask Marla to be around just in case, but I may have accidentally forgotten to mention that to Declan.
“You did book me my own room, right, Dec?” Macie asks as we drive through the desert, literally the desert.
We’ve been on a long, straight road for what seems like forever. The road has dirt and tumble weeds on either side of it, the occasional billboard advertising Vegas shows and rare sightings of rest stops or a mom and pop restaurant.