The Path To Us: A Single Parent Romance

by Jennifer Van Wyk

  “I thought you were excited to jump off the jumping board.”

  “Unca Beau! Wook at it. It’s for big kids.”

  I grin and hop off the ledge and grab hold of her hand. “Okay. How about that slide, then? You can sit right next to me on that one. Not too scary, right?” I point over to a big and wide family slide that’s dark green. Some kids are going down by themselves, some have parents or what looks like older siblings or babysitters going down with them.

  “Yeah!”

  I look behind me to see Addy watching us.

  “You coming, too, Mama?” I ask her, extending a hand to her. She takes my hand, grins, and stands up. She might be wearing sunglasses, but I still don’t miss the way her eyes dart down to my dick but then again, I don’t hide the fact that I’m checking her out, either. Her swimsuit is modest but so fucking sexy. A black one piece. That’s all it is. But it dips low between her breasts and has a cutout on each side. When she took off her coverup when we got here, I almost had to bite my fist to stop the moan that wanted to escape.

  It’s the best kind of torture.

  To be able to watch her all afternoon in nothing but a tiny swimsuit but not be able to touch her the way I want to. The way a man should be able to touch his woman.

  Eyes are on us as we grab hold of Zoey’s hands and make our way to the big slide. We smile at each other and let them watch. It’s not as if I have anything to hide.

  The cement is hot beneath our feet so we walk quickly to the slide. The three of us sit side by side with Zoey in the middle as we slide down the slippery surface.

  She giggles and demands we do it again and again.

  If it wasn’t for her giggles, I wouldn’t consider going down in the first place but seeing her happiness makes it worth how stupid I feel.

  We stay at the pool for about two and a half hours before it’s obvious that Zoey’s done and needing to head home when she becomes irritable and a little bit grouchy.

  As we walk to the parking lot, I carry an exhausted Zoey who was beginning to whine, which she only acts like when she’s really tired. I’m sure she’ll fall asleep on the way to Addy’s house and will likely take a short nap before we bring her to my parents’ house to spend the night. Hopefully she’s able to get rested enough that the sleepover still happens.

  Maybe it makes me a selfish dick, but I’m done being patient when it comes to Addy.

  As suspected, Zoey drifts off to sleep during the short drive to Addy’s house and luckily stays asleep as I carry her inside, laying her down gently on her bed. Addy changes Zoey out of her damp swimsuit and Macaroni jumps onto the bed, curling up to take a nap with her.

  We both take showers, unfortunately not together, while Zoey sleeps then I wake up Macaroni and take him for a walk. By the time I get back, Zoey’s awake and she and Addy are cuddling together on the couch reading a book.

  They both greet me with matching smiles while I refill Macaroni’s food and water dishes. It’s then that it hits me.

  Everything about today has planted me firmly in their routine and absolutely nothing about today makes me feel like an outsider, an uncle, or even simply Addy’s friend. It’s not that I’ve ever felt out of place before, but it hit me just now what it will be like. For me to be a part of their day-to-day lives, if they’ll have me.

  “Bring her here. That’s how you’ll make it a home.”

  From my place in the kitchen, I see the back of Addy’s head and just a little bit of Zoey’s peeking over the back of the couch. I hear Addy’s voice as she reads a familiar Dr. Seuss book that’s full of hilarity and gibberish.

  I stand back, watching mother and daughter together and want to shout at the unfairness of it all that Chris is no longer here to see it. Then I want to get down on my knees and thank God for allowing me to have this chance.

  Richard is right.

  She makes it a home.

  They’re what makes this house a home.

  Now I just need to figure out how to keep moving us to a point that I’m dreaming for us.

  They must feel my eyes on them because Zoey pops up on her knees and looks over the couch at me.

  “Unca Beau!”

  Addy looks back also and our eyes connect for a brief moment before I turn my attention to Zoey. But that moment was long enough that I was able to catch her bite the corner of her lip while her eyes danced. It’s just long enough that it gets my heart pounding. But it’s still not long enough. It never will be.

  “Hi, baby. Did you have a good nap?”

  She nods, hair wild. “Yup. And I get to sleep at Grandma and Papa’s house tonight!”

  “Wow! It’s been a busy day for you, huh? You sure you’re up to more excitement?”

  She huffs and shoots me what she probably thinks is a dirty look but in reality it just makes her that much cuter. “I can handle it.”

  I bark out a laugh and come around the couch, sitting next to her. I wrap an arm around her and pull her onto my lap. “Of course you can.”

  “Are you gonna miss me?”

  “I always miss you when you’re gone.”

  “You do?!” she asks, surprise in her voice.

  “Sure do. A lot, actually. Why do you think I keep coming around so often?”

  She shrugs and smiles. “I fink you miss my mommy, too.”

  I don’t hesitate to answer her honestly. “I do.”

  Zoey beams and then points to the book in Addy’s hands so that she will keep reading. When I look into Addy’s eyes, there’s heat there that I can’t wait to extinguish over and over again later tonight.

  Addy finishes reading to Zoey and they move to her bedroom to pack a little overnight bag just as the doorbell rings.

  I answer it, greeting my dad.

  “Word’s already out,” he says instead of hello.

  I don’t have to ask what he’s talking about to know that he means Addy and me. It’s not like we were kissing or doing anything remotely affectionate at the pool, but I knew by the way people were watching us that it was going to be the talk of the town. “Figured.”

  “Got a haircut at the barber shop, thanks for noticing, by the way, and Chip mentioned it.”

  Chip owns the barber shop and has since scissors were invented, at least it seems that way. He’s a wealth of information. They say hair salons are where all the gossip is? They’re wrong. Spend fifteen minutes in a chair at the barber shop and you’ll know everything there is to know about everything that’s happened over the past few weeks.

  I chuckle at Dad’s not-too-subtle complaint about me not immediately recognizing that he got a hair cut within the first five seconds of seeing me, and move to the side to let him in.

  “Hair looks great, Dad.”

  He pats me on the shoulder as he makes his way past me. “Thanks for noticing, son.”

  He’s ridiculous.

  “Where’s my girl?” he says loudly and Zoey squeals.

  “I’m right here, Papa! I comin’! I comin’!”

  Her little footsteps pound on the floor as she races to him, running to his legs and landing against him with an “oof.”

  “There she is,” he says, with a practiced hand at keeping her away from where she could inflict pain. “You ready to have a sleepover?”

  “Uh huh! Can we bring Macaroni, too?”

  “Of course we can!” Dad says, winking at me like he knows too much. Taking Macaroni means we don’t have that distraction either but it’s not like I want to talk to my dad about that.

  Addy clears her throat. “She had kind of a busy day here so she might fall asleep early.”

  “No, I won’t!”

  Dad grins. “Well, Grandma has the living room all set up for a movie night and we’re having your favorite so you have to promise me you’ll stay awake long enough to eat supper.”

  “Macaroni and cheese with hot dogs?”

  “You know it.”

  I pick her up to give her a big squeeze. “She named a kitte
n Cheese today, didn’t you?”

  She nods frantically then scowls. “But Unca Beau wouldn’t let me keep her.”

  “What kind of uncle are you,” Dad teases.

  “Right?”

  “All right, baby girl. Do you have everything you need?” Dad asks, taking the bag from Addy’s shoulder.

  “You should be good to go. Thank you for letting her stay tonight.”

  “Anything for the two of you to finally… I mean, you,” he says. “Anything for you, Addy.” Another wink at me which is so exaggerated it causes Addy to blush.

  We say our goodbyes and then we’re alone.

  No Zoey.

  No Macaroni.

  No Tyson or Lizzy or my parents.

  It’s just the two of us and my heart that’s beating harder than ever and our chests are rising and falling, rising and falling, with the knowledge that it’s finally… just us.

  Standing next to the closed entry door, she looks up at me from under her lashes.

  “Well, what do you want to do now?”

  I raise my eyebrows. “That’s a loaded question.”

  Her teeth slide over her bottom lip.

  She’s so effortlessly sexy and it’s taking every single ounce of self-control I have not to throw her over my shoulder and charge into her bedroom.

  “Hungry?”

  I nod. Take a step closer, lift a hand, and run the back of my fingers across her stomach, right above the waistband of her cotton shorts. “Starved.”

  Her eyes heat and her body arches toward me. “Me, too.”

  “Suppose we should do something about that?”

  She sighs as if the burden is heavy. “I suppose so. It wouldn’t be good for us to go… hungry, now would it?”

  I shake my head, slipping a finger beneath her shirt. Her skin is smooth and pebbles just slightly, her breath hitching at my simple touch. “No, it wouldn’t.”

  “Beau.”

  “Yes?”

  “Take me.”

  My mouth slams down onto hers and she returns my kiss eagerly, her mouth opening immediately allowing me inside.

  Our tongues battle for dominance.

  I slide my hands down, cupping the flesh on the underside of her ass, squeeze, almost lose my mind at the feel of her in my hands, lift, guide her legs around my waist, and slam her against the closed door.

  She cries out.

  I moan and growl and make noises I’ve never heard come from my throat.

  I want to skip every step and make her mine.

  But even more, I want to take my time with every step and go slow, making her mine in a way that she’ll know that it’s not just for tonight or tomorrow or the next day. It’s forever and once I have her, I’m never letting her go. Not that I’m ever letting her go now.

  Don’t take her against the door.

  Don’t take her against the door.

  Don’t take her against the fucking door like a maniac who can’t control himself.

  I grind my hips against her center and she moans, fingers in my hair at the base of my neck and nails scraping.

  I hold tight, not wanting to release her or touch anything but her. She squeezes her thighs around my waist, hooking her ankles together and I slam a hand against the door to keep my balance. Addy’s gasp fills the space between us and her head joins my hand on the door, neck arching to give me the perfect area for my mouth to devour her. And devour her, I do. I suck and lick and nibble.

  We should have taken our time, made dinner together or at the very least ordered a pizza. Sat down and had a beer or soda and talked.

  But I can’t stop.

  Especially with the sounds she’s making and the way she feels and tastes.

  Fuck me, but her taste. So damn good.

  I groan and suck the lobe of her ear into my mouth and grin when she squirms against me, the heat of her center pressed against my hardness.

  “Holy shit,” she whispers. “Beau,” she pants.

  “Yeah.”

  “Let’s go to my room. I need…”

  “What? What do you need?”

  “You.”

  I smile widely, loving her answer more than words can say. So I decide words aren’t needed. It’s time to act. “You already have me. In fact, I’ve been yours for a long time.”

  “Prove it.”

  Keeping her in my arms, I walk us through the living room and down the hall. The entire time she places soft, short kisses all over my face and neck and I do my best not to allow my knees to buckle and slam us into a wall or worse, drop her.

  I cross the threshold into her bedroom and set her down on the edge of the bed, kneeling in front of her.

  “I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you a long time ago,” I take a deep breath, eyes on her, “I love you.”

  “What?” she breathes, and I know that she knows I mean it in a different way than the way I’ve said it to her before.

  “I. Love. You. Do you hear me? I’m in love with you.”

  “You’re in love with me?”

  “Most definitely. Have been for a long while now. I should have told you a long time ago.”

  “Why didn’t you?” she challenges.

  I stare at her long and hard, waiting for her to say the words I need to hear. “You think I’m in love with you, too?”

  I don’t say anything, leaning up and planting a kiss on her lips. Soft at first. Barely a whisper. The slightest of touch of my lips to hers.

  “Yeah. I do.”

  “Oh, holy crap. Those three words are almost as sexy as hearing him say he loves me.”

  “What?”

  “What, what?”

  “What words are sexy?”

  “Sorry?”

  “Addy. You just said something I said was sexy.”

  “No I didn’t.”

  She did. She totally did but clearly she didn’t mean to say it out loud. I don’t want to put her in a position that makes her feel uncomfortable so instead of pushing it, I move on.

  “Let’s try this instead. I couldn’t…” I close my eyes tightly. Taking my time with her is a battle I’m losing but am determined to win.

  “Couldn’t what?”

  “As much as I wanted to take you against the door, and about a thousand other times before this right here, I couldn’t take you and make you mine until you knew how I felt. And how I feel is that I’m in love with you, and I hope to God I’ve been reading all the signs between us right and you’re in love with me, too.”

  “I do. I love you.”

  “You love me,” I confirm, voice full of awe.

  “Duh,” she teases, rolling her eyes.

  “You love me,” I repeat again because I need to hear her say the words.

  “You love me,” she counters with her chin lifted.

  “So much I can rarely think of anything else,” I admit.

  Her smile is wide and almost comical. She breathes out a sob and covers her mouth to hide her emotions. “Me, too.”

  “I love you and you love me and that means something to me, honey. Not just the kind of love that we’ve shared since I beat up that punk for taking your snack in preschool. The kind of love that a man and his woman share for eternity.”

  Addy sucks in a breath and tears flood her eyes. When she lowers her hand, she’s smiling a quivery smile. She nods and wraps her arms around me, burying her face into my neck. “I love you an eternity, too.”

  “I love you.”

  I sit back so I can see her face and relish the feel of her small hands when she cradles my face. “I love you more.”

  My nostrils flare and my pulse pounds. I need to be inside her. “Not possible.”

  She grins and whispers, “Guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree on that.”

  “Guess so.”

  She waggles her eyebrows and squeezes her legs together, letting me know she’s totally on board with what I’m thinking about, too. Of all the ways we can show each oth
er just how much we love each other. “It’ll be fun, though. The battle, I mean. I show you. You show me.”

  “Maybe I should start showing you right now. I think we’ve said all we needed to say,” I tell her, even though I know we have more to say. But the important stuff, the fact that we’re in love with each other is out in the open now and that’s all I need to know. The rest we can deal with as it comes. I stand up, lean over her, wrapping an arm around her lower back and shifting her so she’s lying down.

  “Hmm. If you must,” she says on a sigh, practically purring when I crawl over top of her and give her some of my weight.

  “Let’s start by getting rid of these pesky clothes, shall we?”

  “Definitely.”

  And then everything moves at a rapid pace. We scramble to sit up, tearing at clothes and throwing them anywhere that gets them out of the way. It doesn’t matter where they land, we won’t be needing them for quite some time.

  And then everything comes to a screeching halt. Because for the first time in the over twenty-five years that we’ve known each other, we’re completely naked together.

  My eyes don’t know what part of her to stare at first and it seems as if hers don’t either.

  I’m gathering information, all the little bits that I’ve fantasized and wondered about.

  Her hips flare out just slightly, her stomach isn’t perfectly flat and the four small stretch marks on each side only make her that much sexier. Her nipples are a dusky pink and there’s a freckle on the swell of her left breast that is so tempting, I look forward to hours of getting a closer look at it.

  The dip in her belly button makes me almost lose my mind and her legs… they were just wrapped around me minutes ago and I’m already anxious for her to do it again.

  Everything about her turns me on and even though I’ll never get enough, I need to do more than look.

  Starting with every single inch of her body that was so clearly made for me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Beau

  “Are you ready for this, Addy? What I gave you before? It was nothing compared to what I have planned for us.”

  “Yes. Please, Beau. Yes.”

  I smile before descending down, my lips touching her skin starting with her forehead and slowly moving downward.