by Natalie Ann
“I know. You can go if you’ve got things to do. I think I’ll be fine. I just needed a little break. I haven’t sat still since he’s been here.”
“Because you started to play with him the minute he arrived and he got used to the attention.”
“You’re probably right. I know Trey and Gillian don’t do that. They can’t.”
“No. It’s a balancing act.”
“I’ll figure it out,” she said.
“There is a lot you need to figure out, but take your time. No rush. Remember that.”
“I will.” She hoped.
11
A Handle On Things
“Are you sure this was the thing to do?” his mother asked him on the phone. She’d been asking him for a solid week if it was smart to let Whitney take Ben for the day.
“We talked about this.”
“We did. But ten hours is a lot of time for Ben to be with someone he doesn’t know that well.”
At least it had more to do with Ben than him. Though he expected his relationship with Whitney would come up again like it had been.
He looked at the closed door to the office he was in. “I talked to Whitney a few minutes ago. Ben ate like a sumo wrestler and is out like a light.”
His mother laughed. “That sounds about right.”
“She has a handle on it just fine.”
He wasn’t about to add that Whitney sounded tired. He knew his son could wear a person out getting into everything and it’s not like her house was equipped to keep him all that entertained. He brought over as many toys as he could carry and told her to put the TV on to shows Ben liked as a last-ditch effort.
When she’d said she’d bought a playpen he was torn between being annoyed and then happy it was one less thing to bring.
In his eyes, they’d been dating a few weeks now. They’d done everything but that one lunch as the three of them and Ben was fine with Whitney. His son actually couldn’t reach for Whitney fast enough...just like he was dying to do.
But buying playpens to keep at her house felt like rushing on one hand, and practical on the other.
Practical was winning out in his mind for now.
“What about you?” his mother asked. “Do you have a handle on things?”
“As much as I can,” he said.
“Are you two in a relationship now? Do you think it’s wise to have Ben getting attached?”
He let out a sigh. “This is about as close to a relationship as I’ve had since Ben was born. Probably in years. As for Ben getting attached, he’s young yet. Lots of people are going in and out of his life that he won’t remember if things don’t work out again.”
“And there is the keyword,” his mother said. “Again. You ended it with her last time. What makes you think things are different now?”
“Mom. We were seventeen with our whole lives ahead of us.”
“That’s right. And Whitney was a sweet girl that was planning that life and you didn’t like it.”
“No,” he said. “I didn’t care to have someone else planning things out for me when I was more concerned about my own goals that weren’t jiving with hers.”
“You always knew what you wanted to do,” his mother said.
She was right. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was going to take after his father. He was going to be a fireman because it was a good honest job that made him feel like he could make a difference in people’s lives. Then he was going to work for his father and take over the plumbing and heating business when he retired. He’d put his twenty years into the fire department like his father, get his pension, then move onto his second career.
It was working out for his father and it would work out for him. There was nothing wrong with a hard day's work and some stability. If Whitney was scared for him being a fireman now, she didn’t say anything and he’d like to think for his son’s sake she’d be upfront about any obstacles that might be in their way.
“Nothing wrong with that,” he said.
“And you worried that you weren’t good enough for Whitney’s family. We all knew that and told you that you had to accept it or get over it. I don’t think she judged one way or another. Her parents and the rest of her family have always seemed so down to earth.”
“They are. They were. But, you know, a seventeen-year-old has things in their mind.”
“And do you have them now?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. Their family is worth millions. Her brother married someone even wealthier by the sounds of it. Kaelyn married Harris Walker. Her cousin Evan is dating someone that was on TV.”
“What? Who?”
“You wouldn’t know her. She was on Survivor. It’s not a money thing, but a status thing. Though Parker lives in Paradise Place across from Evan, so to buy a house on her own there, she has to be doing well.”
“Money means nothing if you love someone, Trey. You know that.”
He did. He wasn’t hurting for money, but he worked his ass off for what he had and would be paying off that personal loan to Kathy for years on top of it.
“I know,” he said. “And I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow unless you feel the need to lecture me some more?”
“No. You know I’ll want to know how it went.”
He hung up the phone, finished his lunch, then the alarms went off and he was out the door.
Hours later he was opening another door. Whitney’s front door. She’d texted him to come in so he was.
When he got to the back of the house, he saw Ben on the floor with toys all around him, the TV on and Whitney sitting on the couch.
“Smells good in here.”
Ben turned his head having heard his father’s voice and took off on a crawl fast enough to enter him into the baby Olympics. He stopped in front of his father, smiling wide, then got to his knees lifting his arms in the air.
It always warmed his heart to get a welcome like that.
“Wow. I thought he moved fast, but not that fast.”
Trey laughed, then kissed Ben on the forehead when he snuggled into his chest. “He missed me, what can I say.”
“He might not have been the only one,” she said, standing up and moving toward him. He leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips knowing he could get used to this too. A welcome like never before.
“Looks like you managed just fine today. You even have something cooking while watching him and didn’t have to keep him in the playpen to do it.”
“Please. This wasn’t easy, but I got through. I started a pan of sauce and meatballs while he was napping. I might have even shut my eyes for thirty minutes on the couch. I wouldn’t need a home gym if I watched him all day long.”
“He is an active one. I’ll pack everything up and get out of your way.”
“Oh. Well, I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind staying, but if you want to get home I understand. I can put some sauce and meatballs in a container for you to add to some pasta when you’re settled.”
“I don’t mind staying if you’re sure.”
“I am. Staying for dinner or longer?” she asked.
He smiled. “I can do both.”
“I understand it might be odd, but I thought if Ben could stay in the playpen and he goes to bed by seven, we could put him upstairs in the room next to mine.”
Sounded like she wanted him to stay the night and it would be easier than moving Ben after he’d fallen asleep, though he’d done it before. “That works.”
“Can he sleep in those clothes for the night?”
He put Ben down on the floor to get back to his toys, looking at the jeans and cotton shirt he had on. “He has pajamas in his bag. I can get held up at work often so his bags are always packed for anything.”
“Smart,” she said, her hands going to his chest.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a shower while you finish dinner. I’ve got a change of clothes in my truck too.”
“Planning on tonight?” she asked w
ith a grin on her face. “Not that I mind you in your uniform.”
He hadn’t been even though he wanted it. “I always have a change too. Fighting fires can be a messy business and the last thing I want to do is pick my kid up covered in smoke and soot.”
“Oh.”
Her smile dropped and he didn’t want her to think he didn’t want to stay. “But of course it’s working in my favor since I’ve been thinking of this too. Are you sure?”
“More than sure,” she said. “Why don’t you pull your truck in the garage and come in that way. You can keep it there for the night.”
He didn’t want to be bothered she might not want anyone to see he was staying, but nodded his head and turned to walk back out.
Ben took off in a crawl after him, screaming. Trey stopped and picked him up. “Hey, I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll take him,” she said.
“Just ignore the tears, he’ll be fine.”
He pulled into her garage and came back into the house to hear Ben crying, then moved in to take his son. The crying stopped immediately. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she said. “He loves his father and missed him.”
“Why don’t you fill a pot and get the water going while I hold him. Maybe I should bring him upstairs with me so he knows I’m not leaving.”
“Nonsense,” she said. “You should be able to take a shower in peace.” She turned the sink on, filled a pot and then lit the burner to get it going. “Why don’t I walk up with you so he sees you’re in the house and then I can walk back down. Maybe that will help?”
“Couldn’t hurt,” he said. “Then you can show me where everything is.” He looked at Ben and said, “Do you want to go back to Whitney?”
Ben reached his arms out, so that was something at least. They made the transfer, then went up the stairs to her room. A year ago if someone had told him he’d be in her house and sleeping in that bed later, he would have laughed them out of the state.
“Towels are in the closet. Help yourself to whatever you need. I’ve got spare toothbrushes and everything else in the closet.”
“Thanks,” he said. She walked out of the bathroom and it didn’t seem like Ben was upset over it, so he turned the shower on in the massive walk-in. Shit, it had shower heads on both sides and all he could think of was her in here with her ex.
Then he had to tell himself to cut the crap. The guy was an asshole and there was no way Whitney was harboring any lost love for the dick.
They both had other lovers in their past. This should be easy, but in his mind he was thinking it was anything but.
When he got back downstairs, Whitney was stirring the pasta and Ben was in his playpen watching TV.
“I can move that upstairs after dinner,” he said.
“That works. Do you want a beer? Help yourself to whatever you want.”
“Thanks.” He moved to the fridge and opened it up, found a beer and pulled it out, then started to look around the massive kitchen for glasses.
She must have sensed what he was doing and pointed to one for him.
“I made a small pan of elbows for Ben. I thought maybe they’d be easier for him to chew.”
“They will. He likes sauce and meatballs too.”
“Good. I’m glad. Since you said his bags were full of things, I noticed cereal in there and a few other items and put them on the counter. I hope that was okay?”
“Of course,” he said. He noticed there weren’t any bottles of milk left in the fridge, but she had whole milk so he didn’t think anything of getting one of the clean bottles that were drying on the rack and putting some milk in it for his son.
“Does he drink another bottle before bed?”
“Normally.” He looked over and Ben was bouncing in the playpen and reaching his hand out for the bottle. Funny how he could see what his father was doing from the living room. “I think he’s hungry.”
“I gave him some of his snacks this afternoon and a mashed up banana around five.”
“He loves bananas.”
“He ate it fast,” she said, smiling. “If you want to put him in his seat, this is done and I’ll get it on the table. I’m not sure how you set his food up.”
He gave Ben his bottle, put him in his seat, got his dinner on his plate, and put his bib on. Dinner was going to be messy. The three of them sat down to eat like a family he’d only experienced with his parents or sister.
This was what Whitney had always envisioned when they were kids and he started to wonder if maybe he’d made a big mistake ending things when he found this was exactly what he wanted too.
Two hours later, Ben was in his pajamas and out cold in the room next to Whitney’s and the two of them were standing in her room. It shouldn’t feel awkward, but he could tell it did to her.
“Are you sure?”
She laughed. “Of course I am. It just seems odd. I mean we used to rush to a room and couldn’t get our clothes off fast enough and here we’ve been watching the clock. Now all of a sudden I want to attack you but don’t want you to think I’m some slut.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Never. It’s different now, as we know.”
“It is. But not in a bad way,” she said, going into his arms.
“So, you wanted to attack me,” he said. “No one is stopping you.”
She let out a little giggle. The same sound she did so many years ago, while she reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. “Oh man. Wow.”
“What?” he asked, grinning.
“You’ve filled out a lot since high school.”
“Let’s see how much you might have changed,” he said, tugging her shirt over her head. “Not much.”
She was still slim as ever and her breasts were beckoning him in her pink lace bra. She always did like pretty undergarments.
She turned her back to him and he undid the hooks, then pushed them off her shoulders and trailed his knuckles down her spine. Something in him wanted to go slow, but the rest of his body knew he wouldn’t last.
When she turned back around he picked her up and laid her on the bed, then came down on top of her, his mouth going right for the perky nipple, then closing over it. She arched her hips up grinding against his. Yeah, this wasn’t going to last long, he could tell.
Shit, he realized he hadn’t been with a woman since he brought his son home.
She seemed as eager as him, her hands sliding down his back and into his jeans, then cupping his ass, just like she used to do.
“I guess some things never change,” he said.
“I feel like I’m being transported back years,” she said.
“Just go with it,” he said. He planned on it. “Though I’ve learned a thing or two in that time.”
She laughed. “I’m sure you have.”
He stood back and undid his jeans and pushed them down while she wiggled out of hers. He grabbed a condom out of the pocket that he’d put there earlier from his wallet and tossed it on the bed. He’d get to that in a minute, but for now his mouth had another target.
He spread her wide and went right toward the dew on her lower lips. His tongue was darting out, stabbing at her swollen bud, then licking the length of her. She let out a moan and then slapped her hand over her mouth.
“He won’t wake up. Don’t worry. The door is shut.”
“Okay,” she said, then moved her hand away.
He went back to work, licking, sucking, then inserting a finger in. She was tight, but she was dripping and moving against him.
Yeah, she was close and he was going to push her over so that he could plunge right into her and not worry if he finished too fast to get her there.
“Oh God,” she said all but rubbing against his face. He felt her muscles squeezing around his finger and kept it up even after she’d stopped moaning. He wanted her right there on the edge and she didn’t seem to be complaining.
“Trey,” she said. “I can’t take
much more.”
He grabbed the condom, covered himself, then slid in.
Her legs went up and around his back and he started to pound into her at a speed he’d never experienced before.
“Jesus,” he said as her hips were matching his. She had been actively participating and now was just hanging on and letting him do what he wanted. He always loved that about her.
He grabbed her hips as her nails dug into his back. When she started to screech out his name and her hips fell to the bed, his went into overdrive until he had no choice but to empty everything he had into her.
He was completely spent and collapsed on top of her. Her nails were lightly trailing up and down his back and over his shoulders, just like she’d done before.
Flashbacks weren’t things he expected, nor did he think it was possible to fall back in love when he was so uncertain of the future, but he found that like most things in his life, he had little control over this.
12
Overstepped Herself
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Whitney turned and looked at the empty spot in her bed, reached her hand over and felt it was still warm. Trey couldn’t have been gone from her bed long, but she didn’t think she’d wake up alone either.
She lifted her head and tried to listen for any noise but didn’t hear a sound, then flopped her head back down.
For the past few weeks she’d been telling herself that she had to keep a distance emotionally from Trey for now. That all those things she wanted in the past couldn’t or shouldn’t dictate their future.
Yet the minute she saw him naked, she was transported back to their teenage years and her body started to do things she’d never done with another man.
It was like all those years in between never existed.
Only they did.
They both had different lives now. Different responsibilities.
And when she heard a faint giggle, she remembered that he had one much greater than her.
She threw the covers back and made her way into the bathroom to shower and find Trey and Ben.
By the time she came downstairs, Trey was standing there with his jeans on, his hair messed up, and Ben in his arms while he filled a bottle with milk.