Page 65 of When the Time Is Right
I wanted to make something that was my very own.
“Thank you, but really, I only need the cat condo right now.”
He was quiet, and a yawn slipped out of me.
“I’m getting tired,” I said. “Anything else you wanted to discuss?”
“Yeah, that new lock on your door. A sliding chain? Really, Lex. You do know I have bolt cutters that will get me inside in less than a minute, right?”
I grinned, already having thought of that after I’d put it up. “Yeah, I know.”
“As long as you know. Now, you’re yawning and need some sleep. I have firsthand knowledge that you haven’t been getting much.”
“That’s your fault.”
“Thank you. I’m proud of it. But you need to rest, because as soon as I find out what night Lauren is taking Jack for a few hours to meet Mark, I’m gonna come find you.”
My heart raced. Not only was I getting D on the regular again, but it was the real good D. And although he was massive in the cock department and I was still getting used to him, I loved every second of it.
“You know where I live. Good night.” Then I hung up.
But on Wednesday, my mom told me that Jack was meeting Mark over at Lauren’s parents’ for dinner, so I might have taken a Lyft over to Hudson’s place and let myself in with the key I’d had for years.
Naked on his bed, I heard him pull up, and my phone rang on his nightstand.
“You better be ready in twenty minutes because I’m on my way over.”
I swallowed the squeal in my throat. “Twenty minutes? What’s taking you so long?”
I heard him shuck his work boots off at the back door, and they thumped when they hit the walls. From down his hall, I could hear his belt jingling as he undressed on his way to where I was waiting.
“I had a dumpster fire today at work and was up to my ass in concrete. I’m taking a shower and then I’m taking you from behind.” He waddled into his room with his pants around his ankles, not even dropping the call.
I smiled. “Why not both?”
He suddenly stopped, surprise slapping him in the face. Though it didn’t take long for a devilish smirk to curl the corners of his mouth as he tossed his phone aside. Then, for the second time that week, he hauled me over his shoulder.
But I wasn’t complaining. I rode a soapy Hudson on his shower bench until the water ran cold.Thursday night, Lex met Jack and me at the ballfield. She brought a cooler full of Gatorade and orange slices and watched us play a pick-up game of flag football with Nolan and some of the other neighborhood kids until well past eight.
With nowhere to hide from Jack, she wouldn’t let me touch her or kiss her good night. And let me just tell you that shit was for the birds. It made no sense.
Jack loved her.
I loved her.
She loved us both, even if she had stopped saying it to me directly since starting our relationship 2.0.
Damn it, things were moving between us. And I wanted them to keep moving—maybe even at a slightly faster pace. This included not pretending we didn’t exist every other week when I had my son.
I understood her reasoning. Jack had a lot of changes on his horizon. But when he’d come home on Wednesday after meeting Mark, he hadn’t seemed fazed in the least. It was probably easier that he’d never had Lauren and me together under one roof or had to suffer through a nasty divorce. He’d thought Mark was cool. Old—but cool. A sentiment we all shared. I’d spent a lot of time that night letting him stay up way past his bedtime to get a feel for how he was handling it all, but his only concern was to beg me for a pug he’d seen on TV.
Clearly, Lauren’s being in a relationship wasn’t going to be the emotional upheaval we’d all feared.
I could give it some time—a short time—before dropping the Lex bomb on him. The more I thought about it, the more confident I felt. Lex wasn’t new. There was no awkward get-to-know-her stage where we’d all hold our breath, hoping he liked her. There would be no adjustment at all for him, except I’d be making pancakes for three instead of two on the weekends when I had him.
All technicalities and loopholes aside, I did owe it to Lauren, however, to talk to her about things before officially telling Jack. And hell, maybe if Lauren knew, Lex wouldn’t have a soapbox to stand on anymore.
So, on Friday afternoon, as I walked Jack up to Lauren’s front door, I had a few things we needed to discuss.
“Hey, buddy!” she cooed, squatting down to give him a hug. “Did you have a fun week with Dad?”
