by Thia Finn
“God, Hayden. Why did you start this?” I whispered against his lips.
“I can’t stand it, Timbre. I want you. When you deny what we can have, it makes me want to pound into you so you’ll see how good we can be together.” He kissed and bit his way down my neck over the pulse point that raced as he lowered us down to the bed. He continued across my shirt to the stiff peak pushing against my bra seeking his attention.
“Dammit. This is in my way.” Buttons flew across the comforter as he sought skin. He pulled my breast free from the demi bra and sucked the hard nub in his warmth lavishing the rippled skin with his tongue, teeth, and lips.
The exquisite feeling he created inside me burned. He lavished my nipples as he continued to rub fire into the apex of my thighs. My skirt rode up when he lifted me so that only the silk of my thong kept his jeans from touching my skin and the swollen nub that sought relief against him.
We both heard the voices at the same time, and he immediately stopped the movement, looking at me. “Well, shit,” he whispered. Peri’s higher tone distinctly topped the two boys on the outside of the door.
“Well, I’m sure they’re still talking about something important if they’re in there with the door closed.” She said it loud enough for Ryan to hear inside their home.
“I guess we might as well go back in there.” He climbed off the bed and adjusted himself as much as he could in tight jeans. “Gonna have to wait a few minutes. I can’t go out there like this with the two knuckleheads waiting to see us.”
An actual giggle escaped my mouth. “Oops, sorry. That’s too funny. Daddy with a woody. How are you going to explain that?”
“I’m not any faster than you with no buttons, and your skirt hiked around your waist.”
I glanced down and saw myself. “Yeah, but at least I can change. You, on the other hand, better think about your mom or something.” I rolled off the bed and headed to the closet pulling out something to wear.
I heard him open the door. “We’ll be out in just a minute. We’re about finished talking.”
The hoots and hollers on the other side had me laughing so hard, I could hardly get my yoga pants on without falling. When I walked out, he was sitting on the bed staring at the closed doorway. “I thought you went out there.”
“No, just opened it a little to tell them. I can go now, though.” I looked down to his jeans that didn’t seem to be material outlining a huge boner any longer.
“Come on Dad,” I said it louder than necessary before holding out my hand.
“This isn’t over, babe. Far from over.”
The next month we fell into a fantastic routine, and as far as I could tell, Timbre was onboard with it. I’d cook on the days I didn’t go to the studio, and we’d see each other several nights a week. We ate together like a family with Crew entertaining us with stories from school or practice. We’d also had a few nights together when he stayed with Tucker, but never when Crew was in the house. I didn’t want to answer those questions with him yet.
“So, Pops.” He came in the morning of his last football game.
“Yeah, son?” I checked my email as I spoke to him.
“You think Timbre would want to come watch me play in the last game?” He’d only made it back for the last three of the season.
“I’m sure if you asked her she’d love to watch your game. I’m surprised you didn’t ask her the first week you went back.”
“I wanted to, but I didn’t know how you’d feel about it. What’s going on with y’all?”
I put my phone down. “What do you mean?”
“Are y’all like going out or whatever adults do?” He laced up his tennis shoes not looking at me.
“I guess you could say that. I don’t know. We haven’t talked about putting a label on it.”
“Don’t you think you should? I mean she’s here a lot. I’m pretty sure she stays over some nights, too.”
I guess now was the time for truth. “Why do you think that, dude?”
“Pops, we’ve already talked about this, remember? You’re old but not dead. Besides, I’ve seen some of her clothes in your room.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. And when you asked me to put away laundry, there were some little red pieces of lace in your laundry basket.” He looked up at me and wiggled his eyebrows and gave me a knowing smirk. Busted.
“She could have left them after showering here. She’s done that before, too.” I offered as an explanation that I knew would never fly.
“Yeah, she has but, Pops, just tell the truth. Remember, no lies?” He wasn’t smiling this time.
I knew I had to word this carefully. He was right, we promised no lies between us. He wasn’t exactly a kid any longer.
“You’re right, Crew. No lies. Yes, she stays here sometimes, but I need you to understand that I won’t discuss our private lives with you, now or ever. All you need to know is that we are two adults making a choice to be together.”
“That’s good, Pops. I like her. Are you guys ‘in love?’” He air quoted.
“Uh, now that’s still between us, but I’ll let you know when it’s time. Are you good with that?”
“Yep, perfectly fine with it. Like I said, I like her a lot. She’s funny and for some reason likes you.” He picked up his backpack to head out front. “Be nice to her okay, Dad? We might want to keep her around.” He walked out before I could respond. When he used dad, I knew he wanted to emphasize his words to me.
“Yeah, kid, we might want to keep her around for a long time,” I spoke the words to the closed door.
I had a lot of thinking to do. I did want to keep her. The three of us fit together. She treated my son like he was a part of her family, and we did the same with her, but it had happened so fast over this past month.
Timbre seemed to be enjoying our time together—both family time and alone. We’d not been on another date since we went for dessert. My weekends were tied up with gigs around the Austin area with bands that hired me to fill in.
I pulled out my phone.
Me: Good morning, beautiful
Timbre: Sounds like an old song I’ve heard
Me: Yeah might be, but it’s the truth
Timbre: Awe, thank you. What’s up
Me: Crew wanted to know if you’d like to come to his last game tonight
Timbre: Sure. That’d be fun. I like football
Me: I’ll pick you up from work
Timbre: K, I’ll be ready
I shot a quick text to Crew letting him know we’d both be there, and he replied with a smiley face.
“Man of many words.”
The day crawled by. I wanted to see her. Going to a public event, even a football game, was something new. Not that anyone else would care but us. The entire Powell family would be there tonight. Ryan and Peri flew home from the tour to be at this game, their last of the seventh grade.
Timbre and I needed to start doing things in public. Enough time had passed by that she should feel more secure in what we were doing. Getting her to feel comfortable became part of my plan to win her over, and it seemed to be working so far.
We pulled into the crowded parking lot. Most parents and sometimes other relatives usually showed up for the last one, and tonight was no different. As we made our way through the ticket line, several parents stopped to say hello. The boys played football for local leagues since they were old enough with a lot of the same kids, so I’d known these people for a few years. This was the first time I’d brought a woman with me, so we were getting some looks.
“Hello, Hayden.” I didn’t recognize the voice, but when I turned around, I knew the woman. She’d hit on me almost every time she saw me. I reached back and took Timbre’s hand.
“Hi, Carrie. How are you?” I pulled Timbre closer to me.
She glared down at our joined hands before she spoke. “I’m good. It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has.” I glanced at Timbre who watched our exchange
and smiled.
“So, who is this? I’ve never seen you with a date before at a game.” She fished for information, and I was more than happy to give it to her. I only hoped that Timbre liked it as much as I liked saying it.
“This is my girlfriend, Timbre. Timbre this is Carrie.” Timbre didn’t miss a beat.
“It’s nice to meet you, Carrie.” She stuck out her hand with Carrie reluctantly shaking it.
“You must be something special,” Carrie said as a snide remark.
I jumped in with both feet. “Yes, she is special… to Crew and me.”
This obviously took Carrie by surprise because she didn’t have a quick comeback.
“Hey, look, we have to go claim our seats. It was nice to see you again, Carrie. Hope Jonathan has a great game tonight.” We turned toward the stands, but Timbre stopped me.
“Nice to meet you, Carrie.”
“Uh, huh.” I could feel Carrie’s stare on my back.
As we sat down behind the Powell group, Timbre finally looked at me. “That was interesting. An old friend or old fling?”
“Friend only. I promise you that. She’s been trying since the boys played flag football, but that was a big no on my part.”
She leaned into me and whispered, “Girlfriend?” One eyebrow shot up in question.
“What do you want me to call you? We only see each other. We are together several nights a week and have an occasional weekend here and there. What are we, Timbre?” I felt like Crew now. He’d asked this same question, so I guess we did need some kind of label if we were going out in public together.
Peri and Ryan must have heard my comments in the close seating of the football stands because they both turned with an eyebrow raised as well.
“Yeah, what about that, Timbre? What are you calling it these days?” Ryan winked at her when he said it.
“Can you be any louder?” I asked.
“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I can go get on the loud speaker and make it a public announcement,” Ryan smirked.
Timbre intervened, “That won’t be necessary. I guess it’s fine.”
“And what was that, Hayden?” Ryan asked.
“I introduced her as my girlfriend.” I looked at her and smiled, and she returned it. I reached over and took her hand in mine, happy we now had a label.
The game began and with all the excitement on the field, the subject dropped. When half-time rolled around, Gemma fidgeted around needing the restroom.
Peri stood. “Let’s go, sweetie.” She took her to lead her down the steep steps. “You want to go with us?” She directed the question at Timbre.
“Yeah, sure. It might be a long second half. The team wants the win badly.” She dropped my hand as she stood, but looked at me when she did. “You want me to get you something at the concessions?”
I looked around. The crowd seemed harmless enough. It was only a middle school game, but Ryan went nowhere without a bodyguard for his family. Mason had been with them for years and was a master at blending in, but if any of us needed him, he would appear in a second.
“Are y’all taking Mason with you?” I needed to know they would be safe.
I watch Peri looked around. “He’s always with us. I don’t see him, but I know he’s there.”
“Good. You never know who’s around,” I told them both.
“I think you’re becoming paranoid, Hayden.” Peri laughed as she said it. “Even Ryan doesn’t question every time I get out of his sight.”
“That’s because he’s used to having Mason around. He never thinks about it anymore.”
Ryan spoke up. “True. So I don’t worry at all.”
The girls walked down the stands, and Ryan turned to me.
“This getting serious, Hayden?”
“I don’t know. We’ve fallen into a routine that fits all of our schedules. She gets along great with Crew. Hell, sometimes I think she likes him more than me,” I joked with him, but the two of them spent time together laughing and talking every time I saw them together. Timbre was a big fan of Nickelodeon Cartoons, and she’d introduced Crew to them. Some nights I came home to the two of them on the couch laughing it up with some strange character that was both a dog and cat. Who made up that stuff for kids to view?
Ryan watched as kids came and went from the stands since Teagan sat with his own set of friends. “I like her. I’ve been around the studios with her some, and she fits in well. She’s good at her job taking care of things around there without being told what to do according to Peri. The fact that she fits in with you and Crew is great. So Crew likes her?”
“Yeah, he likes her a lot, but that scares me.”
“I bet. What if it doesn’t work?” His voice held an even tone as though he was throwing that in as a sidebar.
“I know. That stopped me in the beginning, but I talked to him about it before we started seeing each other, and he understands that it might not work out. I explained to him I’m not settling with just any woman. I want one right for both of us. Damn kid thinks more adult like than a lot of adults I know. He told me we needed to give her a shot.”
Ryan laughed. “Good, as long as he knew it going in. What about her? She’s obviously already attached to him and damn, the way she looks at you when she thinks no one’s looking, says it all.”
“What? How?”
“Dude, the girl is head over heels already. Just watch her some time. I’m surprised she hasn’t declared her undying love, but then it’s you we’re talking about here. She might know better with a shit-for-brains guy like you.” He laughed at his own joke.
“Haha. Real funny.” I leaned down so only he could hear me. “Real fucking funny.”
This only made him laugh harder as we saw the girls coming back with Gemma holding a green limber straw in her hand.
“Oh, Gemma, baby. You brought daddy some sour straws. Thank you, sweets.”
“No, Gemma’s candy.” She pulled the straw closer to her body. “Not for daddy.”
I laughed at the innocent face telling her dad how it was going to be.
“It’s okay, Daddy,” Peri held out an unopened package. “I knew you’d want your own.”
“My woman knows me so well.” He took the pure sugar package from her hand.
“Your ‘woman’ hates to hear a grown man cry.” We all laughed at him as he tore into the package and chewed down on the snake-like candy.
I turned to Timbre. “What’d you get me?”
“Nothing. Everything down there started with sugar or salt.”
“What’s wrong with that? I like both of them.”
“They’re bad for you.”
“It’s a football game. Nothing counts as bad when you’re in the stands.”
“Uh, yeah, it does. We can eat at home.”
“You’re being mean to me.” I stuck my bottom lip out.
“No, I’m looking out for you. You’ll thank me when your old and don’t have a pot belly.”
“Is that right? You plan on sticking around long enough to see it, huh?” I said it joking around, but the look she gave me let me know she wondered if I meant it seriously. She never answered me, and I let it drop.
Ryan turned his head back as we stood for the second half kick-off. Our eyes met, and he gave me an ‘I told you so’ look. I needed to pay more attention to what she said and did.
Could she love me?
Did I love her?
Hmmm. I had some thinking to do.
The quarter started slowly as the team figured out how to move the ball down the field. Crew was having a great game. He had some great blocks, but he also had the chance to capitalize on a few passes and runs. When they turned the ball over on a fumble, the girls turned their attention back to visiting.
“Peri, did you see that black-haired woman in the restroom? The tall one with really fair skin?”
“No, I was in the stall a while with Miss Priss over there. She’s enjoying being demanding of my attention in the bathro
om and takes forever. What was she doing?”
“Nothing really, just looking at me every chance she had. She was outside when I left before you to head over to the concessions. She smiled at me like she knew me, but I know I don’t know her. I’d remember.”
“Maybe you look like someone else. Someone she knows.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
The team barely pulled out a win. We were all happy for them since it was the last game of the season. We stood along the sidelines as the boys came off the field congratulating the team as the parents always did for the last game. I saw someone I thought I recognized across the field, but I couldn’t place her. She sat alone in the opposing side’s stands.
“Pops, did you see me recover the fumble? It was the best play all season.” I looked at Crew and then back in the stands, and she was gone.
“Yeah, dude, I did. It was an awesome play and your first fumble recovery. I’m sure the coach got excited when he saw it since it kept the other team from scoring the winning touchdown. You’ll be on his radar for next year come spring training.”
“I hope so.” I high-fived him and Tucker. They turned to leave when Crew caught Tucker by the arm and said something to him before he came back to us.
“Thanks a lot for coming to my game, Timbre.”
“You couldn’t have kept me from coming, dude. You’re an awesome player.” Crew wrapped his arms around her picking her up off the ground.
“Whoa! Crew, put me down.” She laughed at him.
He lowered her back down before both boys took off to the locker room to change so we could all go home. Nanny cooked the boys their favorites for dinner to celebrate, so we all headed over there when they came out still wet headed from the showers.
“Nanny, those were the best chicken strips ever.” Tucker leaned back and rubbed his stomach.
“Yeah, they sure were,” Crew added and rubbed his full stomach as well. “Are we having dessert, too?”
“I thought you were full.” Tucker looked at Crew.
“I am, but I’d never turn down her banana pudding. You know it’s my favorite.” Crew stretched his long arms over his head. “If I stretch enough, there’ll be room for it.”