Page 107 of Because of Blake
I nod. “But you have to be here for dinner, too.”
“Absolutely.” He rolls over to look at the clock. “The kids will be home soon. I’m going to go home and get Oscar, and I’ll be back at six, okay?”
“Bring pizza.”
He laughs this time, and kisses the top of my head. “Of course.”
After the pizza is gone, Sydney and I sit on the front porch to watch Blake teach Dylan how to skateboard. Really, it’s Blake showing Dylan all the things not to do. Dylan has been practicing every chance he gets, and he’s able to stay on the board most of the time. He also has all the pads and the helmet, but poor Blake has nothing and his butt is hitting the pavement left and right.
My fingertips tingle with the anticipation of giving him a massage later.
When the sun has dipped all the way below the horizon, the four of us head inside, where Dylan promptly drags Blake into the basement for some “guy time” and video games. Sydney and I settle in to watch a movie. Even though we aren’t in the same room, I feel Blake with me every second. Knowing he’s treating my son like his own, gives me an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, and sitting here with my daughter, enjoying a movie together, makes my heart so full it’s bursting at the seams.
When the movie ends, it’s nearly ten o’clock. I hear the light click off in the basement and Blake’s heavy footsteps on the stairs. He comes through the doorway with a sleeping Dylan in his arms. Blake juts his chin toward the kitchen and disappears through it and up the stairs.
I sigh, letting out a huge breath. Maybe Syd was right. Maybe Blake does want to be their dad. Am I okay with that? They seem to be, and he’s doing a wonderful job of it. I wonder what he thinks about the idea.
“Blake is pretty cool, Mom.” Sydney’s voice startles me out of my adoration.
“He really is, isn’t he?”
“Keep him around, okay?”
I turn to Sydney, my eyebrows furrowed. “You think I have intentions of letting him go?”
“You never know, Mom.” And with that, Sydney gets up and heads upstairs to her own room. I hear her and Blake exchange goodnights on the stairs before he rounds the corner and crosses the room to sit next to me.
He scoots closer and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “How was the movie?”
“Good. And I really enjoyed sharing it with Sydney. It’s been a while since she and I had some time together, just us. How was video games?”
Blake laughs. “So much fun. But I spent too long on my turn, because when I finished, Dylan was asleep. I must have bored him, I guess.”
We both share a laugh, but mine turns into a yawn.
“And now I’m boring you?” Blake asks with a smirk.
I nudge him with my shoulder. “You’re never boring.”
“Bedtime?”
I nod, and he scoops me into his arms. Once inside my room, he lays me in my bed, but I get up to wash my face and brush my teeth. He follows suit, as he has kept a toothbrush at my house for months now, though it hasn’t been used in a while. We exchange glances in the mirror as our toothpaste foams in our mouths, each making faces until the other can’t take it anymore. I win, and he practically spits toothpaste all over the mirror.
Wiping the white foam from his beard, he pinches my waist as he leaves the bathroom. “Cheater.”
I try to scoff, but with a mouthful of toothpaste, it sounds like I’m choking. Once I’m finished, I meet him at the bed. He’s already stripped down to his boxers, and I’m breathless. Even after all these months, and after the wild afternoon we had, he still drives me crazy with desire.
I swallow it down, though, as my children are right down the hall. Crossing the room to my closet, I undress with my back to Blake. As my shirt comes over my head, I hear him groan. Nice to know I still affect him as much. I throw on a sleep shirt that hits above my knee and come back to the bed.
Blake looks me up and down, his eyes darkening. “You are so incredibly sexy.”
I giggle. “Even in this?” I grab the hem of my pink, oversized sleep-shirt covered in numbered sheep jumping over fences.
“You’re sexy in everything,” he says, and lifts the blanket up for me to crawl in.
He pulls me against him, my back hitting his chest and his chin resting on the top of my head. My favorite position. For sleeping, anyway. His fingers lightly brush up and down my arm, graduating onto my hip and running across my ribs. As they make their way back down, they slip under the hem of my shirt and travel back up my body.
He pauses at the bottom of my ribs, his fingertips tickling my skin, before continuing up to cup my breast. His thumb runs over my hardened nipple, and I tip my head back against his throat to feel his Adam’s apple bob up and down.