Page 73 of DadBod
ROME
This is fucking torture.
She’s here. In my home. Sleeping. Not where I want her to sleep. No. I want her in my bed.
Fuck.
I nearly kissed her tonight. I wanted to. More than I’ve ever wanted to kiss another person. The way she was looking at me with her beautiful hazel eyes. Damn. I was going for her lips, but at the last second, I kissed her forehead.
If the look on her face was any indication, I think she wanted me to kiss her. I swear to you, her lips pursed.
“Fuck.”
Imagining her in that bed is making me crazy. My dick is as hard as a goddamn stone, and the only remedy is my hand. Because I sure as fuck won’t try anything. Not tonight. Not without a plan. I’m going to need one soon. I can’t take this much longer.
Elizabeth needs to know that I want her. All of her––and not for just one night.
* * *
I wake up early,probably due to frustration. Sexual and other reasons, since all I did was toss and turn all night. The remedy? A run. A long, hard run. Throwing on my sweats, running shoes, and a tee, I write Elizabeth a quick note telling her where I’m going and leave it on the kitchen counter.
It’s the right decision. By the time I ran my usual path, twice, I’m ready to face her. Because it’s still early, I quietly open the front door, slip off my shoes, and step sock-footed onto the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. My plan is to wake up Cal first. We could wake Elizabeth up together, except when I reached that level of the house, I notice several things. One, Calvin’s door is open, and two, Elizabeth’s door is too. The third thing is Ryann pressed up against the wall outside of Elizabeth’s room like she was eavesdropping.
She is.
She notices me first and places a finger over her lips, giving me the sign to be quiet. She scowls at me as I shake my head. From my spot on the top step, I can hear voices: Calvin’s first, Elizabeth’s second.
“Ryann thinks you’re trying to be our mom.”
Fuck. I should stop this, except I guess I’m curious what her response will be.
“I know she does.”
Holding my breath, I wait for what she’s going to say next.
“And I understand how she feels.”
“Cuz your mom died too?”
“Yes.”
Taking a step up, I’m now able to see them thanks to the mirror that hangs above the dresser in the spare bedroom. They’re sitting on the side of Elizabeth’s bed. She’s running her fingers through the top of his hair.
“But I could never replace your mom.”
“Why not?”
“I only met her a few times when she’d bring you and Ryann into the restaurant.”
That’s right. Even after the divorce, Tina would bring the kids in and eat sometimes.
“What I saw was a mom looking at her kids like they hung the moon.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, it was obvious how much she loved you guys. She was always leaning in whenever you each spoke, like she wanted to hear every single word from your lips.”
Oh, shit.