[Alabama Summer 01.0] Where I Belong

by J. Daniels

  I think there are two types of guys. Guys that pretend they’re into eating pussy just to please the girl they’re with, and guys that crave it like it’s their favorite food on the menu. Ben is definitely the latter.

  He slips out of the bedroom with a cocky grin and returns moments later in his swimsuit.

  I dress as fast as I can, hearing Nolan’s feet and animated voice coming down the hallway. I have just secured my bikini top, batting away Ben’s naughty fingers, when he comes in, carrying two bright green frosted cupcakes.

  “Pwincess Mia! I can jump into da pool without my fwotties!” He practically throws our cupcakes at us, his excitement uncontainable. “I’m gonna go get my bavin suit!”

  “Wait a minute, buddy. It’s hanging up in the bathroom,” Ben yells after him. He turns to me and leans in, kissing my icing covered lips. “I should eat my cupcake off you.” He licks his lips, only pulling back an inch. “My girl would look good covered in icing.”

  “I want to be covered in your icing,” I tease.

  His jaw twitches, along with another body part I’m sure. He growls into my hair, smacking me on my ass before he goes off after Nolan.

  I pick my phone up off the floor, laughing softly at the image of it getting flung off the bed in the heat of passion last night. I want to check in on my mom before I spend the day in the pool with my two favorite boys. She answers after the second ring.

  “Hello?” She coughs before clearing her throat, the muffled sound coming through the phone.

  I sit down on the edge of the bed, my entire body tensing up. “Mom, are you okay?” She can’t be sick, not now. Not when things are just starting to fall into place for me.

  God, that sounds awful. How selfish is my thinking right now?

  She sniffs a few times, clearing her throat once again before replying. “Oh, I’m fine, sweetheart. It’s just a little cold.” Cough. Cough.

  A little cold to my mom in her condition isn’t something to take lightly. I am suddenly feeling panicky.

  “How long have you had it? Do you have a fever? How’s your appetite?”

  “Sweetheart, please relax. I’m fine, really. My nose started running yesterday and now I have this little tickle in my throat. That’s all. No fever. No nausea.”

  “So you’re eating?”

  It’s very important for my mom to be able to keep her food down. She had lost so much weight when she started her treatments and we had finally gotten it back up to a healthy number a few months ago. I never want to see my mom that thin again.

  “Yes, yes I’m eating. Soup mainly, but that’s good for a cold, which is what this is, Mia. I don’t want you worrying yourself to death over this. Your aunt has everything under control.”

  “I can’t help it that I worry, Mom. You know that.”

  She sighs, clearing her throat again. “Yes, I know. But I’m still the parent here, and if I say that I don’t want you to worry, then you need to listen to me. Now tell me, is the weather as miserable there as it is here? It’s so hot outside right now that you can’t even breathe. And don’t get me started on the damn sand fleas.”

  Sand fleas. I don’t miss those. They are everywhere in Georgia when the weather gets hot. These tiny little nats that will bite you and make your life miserable.

  “It is really hot, but you know I’ve always loved Alabama summers. The air is just better here or something, I don’t know. I’m getting ready to get in the pool now.”

  She sniffs again. “Oh, well, why are you wasting your time talking to me? Go have fun, sweetheart.”

  “I’m not wasting my time. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

  “I’m doing great besides this tiny little cold. So please go swim some laps for me. Maybe by next summer, we’ll be able to go to the pool on base together like we used to.”

  I stand up and smile. “Absolutely. You’ll be so strong by then, Mom. I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  She will be stronger by next summer. I can’t wait to see my mom doing everything she used to do.

  But with that joy comes the heart wrenching sadness of realizing that I’ll be with her in Georgia and not here with Ben.

  Life can be a total bitch sometimes.

  No, fuck that. I’m not going to let anything ruin my day or the rest of my time here. After brushing my teeth and pulling my hair up into a bun, I walk outside to the pool.

  “Pwincess Mia! Watch dis!”

  Nolan is standing on the edge at the deep end while Ben stands a few feet in front of him in the water. I walk around and watch him with excitement. He squats down ever so slightly before jumping off the side and splashing into the water. He goes under and pops back up after a few seconds, prompting Ben to grab him.

  I clap for him and sit down on the edge. “That was awesome. You’re such a big boy doing that without floaties. I don’t even know if I’m brave enough to do that.”

  Ben moves closer to me in the water, holding Nolan out in front of him so he can splash around. He turns his body, putting himself between me and Nolan. His eyes do that shift from sweet to mischievous, that he seems to do better than anyone, as he rakes over my body.

  “You better hurry up and put that body of yours under the water before I do very inappropriate things to you in front of my son.”

  I give him a disapproving smirk. He wouldn’t dare.

  He leans in and nips at my bottom lip, sending a chill up my back in the sweltering heat. “I’m completely serious,” he warns with a smolder that I feel in places only he is familiar with.

  “Well, I’d hate to see you put those handcuffs to use if I choose to disobey orders, Officer Kelly.” I shoot him a teasing look as I slide into the water. It’s warm but still cools my body off instantly.

  He brushes his lips against my ear. “You’ll be in my handcuffs soon enough. Disobeying me has nothing to do with that.”

  Good God. I was completely kidding, but by the look Ben’s currently giving me, he definitely isn’t. And I am down with whatever ways he wants to use them on me.

  He backs away from me and holds Nolan out in front of him. “Show Princess Mia how you can swim, buddy.”

  I hold out my hands to him, backing up to the wall. His little legs kick as hard as they can, splashing Ben in the process as he slaps his arms against the water. It takes him a little while, but he finally makes it to me with the biggest dimpled grin on his face.

  “You’re like a little fish.” I wrap him up in my arms and he immediately draws me closer into a hug. He buries his face into my neck, holding on to me with all of his strength. “You give good hugs, Sir Nolan.”

  “I wove you,” his husky little voice declares.

  I lock eyes with Ben who is watching us intently. “I love you, too,” I vow, never drifting from Ben’s eyes. His lips part slightly as he moves closer to us. Strong arms find my waist under the water and he pulls the two of us against his chest. And we stay like that for as long as Nolan allows, Ben and I stealing kisses above Nolan’s head. It’s the best time I’ve ever had in that pool.

  A perfect day with my two favorite Kelly boys.

  I’VE NEVER HEARD my son say I love you to anyone besides me.

  Not even to my family, and I know he loves them. He is crazy about my parents and my sister. And I’m sure he loves his mom because all three-year-olds love their parents no matter how shitty they are to them. But he’s never said those words to her in front of me. Like the nose thing, those three words were something that he and I shared. Something that he kept between the two of us.

  Until he met Mia.

  And I can’t blame him for loving her. She is incredibly easy to love. Hearing him say it to her hit me right in my soul. It was the same way I felt when he said it to me. Like I’d just been given this amazing gift. And he meant it. My son is brutally honest with his feelings. He’ll tell you exactly how he feels and he won’t sugar coat it. He didn’t hesitate in the slightest either.

&n
bsp; His words were strong and steady, just like I knew mine would be when she eventually heard them.

  When she said it back to him, she looked right at me with those eyes that were impossible to look away from. No woman has ever looked at me the way Mia does. It was new, yet familiar at the same time. Like she’s been looking at me like that our entire lives. Like she knew me better than anyone. I was use to women staring at me because they wanted me. I was familiar with that look. That desire that was completely superficial and void of any real emotion. I could easily break away from those women. I wasn’t completely pulled in by a single fucking glance. Ready to hand over my entire life because of just one look. But that’s how it was with Mia.

  When she looked at me, she saw me. My hopes, my fears, my future, that for all intents and purposes, belonged to her. She fucking owned me with that stare and I never wanted to look away.

  I wanted Mia to come with me to take Nolan to Angie’s apartment. She seemed uneasy about it at first, but Nolan turned on that Kelly charm that she’d become completely helpless against. I wasn’t sure how Angie was going to take it, but honestly, I didn’t give a shit. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, Angie was very aware of my feelings toward her. I’ve always been straight forward and honest, even when I allowed the occasional blow job. And looking back, I hate that I was weak in those moments of loneliness.

  But she knew we didn’t have a future, and I wanted to show off mine.

  “Oh, um, I figured I would just wait in the truck.” Mia looks at me with an anxious expression as I stand outside her side of the truck.

  I hadn’t mentioned that she would be walking inside with me, but she is well aware of that intention now. She hesitantly puts her hand in mine and allows me to help her down.

  “Ben, really, I don’t have to go inside.”

  I close the passenger door, pulling her against me and inhaling her hair. “Baby, relax. There’s no reason to be nervous. You’re the first woman I’ve ever introduced to my son’s mother.”

  “That’s supposed to make me relax?” she asks with tenseness in her voice. “If anything, that makes me even more nervous.”

  I gaze down at her, cocking my head to the side. “I’ve also never introduced any woman I’ve been with to Nolan before.” She seems to ease in my arms, her bottom lip finally releasing from her mouth. “That’s how much you mean to me. I want you to be a part of Nolan’s life as much as you’re a part of mine. He loves you, and Angie’s bound to find out about you eventually. We might as well get this over with now.”

  She shifts on her feet slightly while she stays in my arms, keeping her eyes on mine. “Is her son the only Kelly boy that feels that way?”

  Wow. Leave it to Mia to put a guy on the spot. I’m certain there isn’t any question that is off limits to her. But that’s how she is. She isn’t afraid to call you out on anything. And I’d never want her to be any different.

  “No.” I brush my lips against hers, teasing her with my tongue. “I’m sure my father loves you like a daughter.”

  She smiles against me before planting quick kisses to my lips. “Oh, is that how you’re going to play this? What if I said it first, would you give it up then?” I arch my brow at her, daring her to make the first move. “I . . .” she kisses my jaw, “love . . .” her lips move to my ear, “sunflowers.” She chuckles against me.

  I bit back my smile, narrowing my eyes at her when she leans back.

  She wipes the grin off her face and shoots me a flirtatious stare.

  “You know, I carry a spare set of handcuffs in my glove compartment that I won’t hesitate to use on you.” I grab her wrists and pin them behind her back, bringing our chests together. Her breath hitches and she purrs against me. “Mmm, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Not being able to touch me while I have my way with you. Giving yourself up to me completely.”

  She nods and licks her lips.

  Damn parental duties. My dirty girl wants me to take her right here, and the only thing stopping me is currently sitting in the backseat of my truck, swinging his sword around his head like a maniac.

  I release her wrists and kiss her once, then once more. “Later, pretty girl.”

  We walk up to Angie’s apartment, Nolan running ahead of us. He knocks lightly on the door and then bangs on it several times with his sword. As Mia and I walk up behind him, the door swings open.

  Angie’s eyes are immediately drawn to Mia, who is struggling to pull her hand out of mine.

  But I’m not having that. I hold on tighter.

  Angie crosses her arms over her chest in annoyance. “Let me guess. Princess Mia?” Her eyes shift to mine. “Really, Ben? Did you have to bring your latest hook up to my apartment?”

  Nolan runs past her into the living room, which I’m grateful for. If we are going to have it out right now, I don’t want him hearing it.

  “Don’t be a bitch, Angie. I’m doing you a courtesy here. Our son is going to be spending a lot of time with Mia, so I figured you two should meet.”

  Mia steps forward, as much as my grip on her allows, and holds her free hand out. “Hi, Angie. It’s so nice to meet you. You have the sweetest little boy. I’m crazy about him.”

  Angie glances down at Mia’s hand, refusing to take it. She turns her attention back to me instead. “Do you really think it’s wise to confuse our son by introducing him to your flavor of the month? And I thought we were trying to work things out between us, Ben.” She drops her hands then and wipes the irritation from her face, replacing it with a false hurt. “It really is what’s best for Nolan.”

  “Maybe I should just go wait in the truck,” Mia says softly, dropping her hand.

  I shake my head at her. “No. You belong where I am.”

  “Oh, give me a fucking break,” Angie barks out in irritation.

  I look past her and see Nolan at the kitchen table with a box of crayons. Dropping Mia’s hand, I step closer to Angie and she tenses up. “You’re lucky he didn’t hear that. And don’t ever take your bitterness out on Mia. She never did anything to you, and she’s amazing with Nolan.”

  “I’m his mother. And you should be more concerned with fixing our family than who your dick wants to play with.”

  “Ben, can I please have the keys to the truck?” Mia asks, holding her hand out to me, palm up.

  Even though she states it as a question, she isn’t asking me. But I don’t want her to leave. Fuck Angie. Mia has every right to be where I am.

  Unfortunately, I know now that Angie will never calm down as long as Mia is in front of her.

  I reluctantly pull my keys out of my pocket and hand them to her. “Thank you.” She turns her head toward Angie and offers her a smile. “I hope you realize how lucky you are to have Nolan.”

  Angie grimaces at her comment. I wait until Mia is out of earshot before I tear into the woman who makes my life a living hell. “Don’t ever talk to Mia like that again. She doesn’t deserve to be disrespected by you.”

  “What the hell do I care if I hurt your fling’s feelings?”

  I step closer to her. “She is not a fling. That woman is it for me. Do you get that? She’s not going anywhere, so it would be in your best interest to accept her. Our son sure as hell has.”

  She inhales sharply. “What does that mean?”

  “He told her he loved her today. Does he tell you that?”

  Her bottom lip begins to tremble, prompting her to pull at it with her fingers. “I just don’t understand why you can’t at least try to make this work.”

  I am over this conversation. If she doesn’t understand that the two of us will never work by now, she’ll never understand it.

  I push past her and walk over to Nolan, kissing the top of his head. “I love you, buddy. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  “Wove you, Daddy. Look what I dwawed for you.” He holds up the paper he’s been working on.

  It’s three people, all looking like circles with stick limbs coming out of them. Two
of them are larger than the third. He’s even labeled us in his chicken scratch handwriting.

  “Dats you, dats Pwincess Mia, and dats me.” He hands it to me with a smile before he runs his finger down my nose.

  I repeat the gesture and hold the picture against my chest. “Thanks, buddy.” I rustle his hair before I walk toward the doorway.

  Angie avoids my eyes, looking down at her feet instead. I don’t have anything else to say to her so I walk out of her apartment and close the door behind me.

  I had a feeling she wouldn’t take meeting Mia very well. Angie still held on to the idea that we were going to wind up together. And considering that I’ve never introduced her to anyone before, I’m sure that only added to her delusion. But pining after me didn’t excuse her behavior toward Mia. And I’ll never let her treat my girl like that again.

  I climb into my truck after folding up Nolan’s drawing and slipping it into my back pocket. “I’m sorry about that. She won’t talk to you like that again. I promise.” I reach for Mia’s hand and she places it in mine with a smile. She seems completely unaffected by the hate she just had directed at her.

  “It’s okay, I get it.” She links her fingers through mine as I pull out of the apartment complex. “She loves you, and she’s hurt that the two of you aren’t together. I’m sure it isn’t easy for her.”

  Jesus. She doesn’t even have a negative thing to say about Angie after that bitchy encounter. She actually feels sorry for her.

  “I don’t think Angie loves me. I think she’s just desperate for attention. We had one night together and neither one of us remembers any of it.”

  She shakes her head in disagreement. “She definitely loves you. I can tell.” Her head rests back on the seat and she turns it toward me. Our eyes meet briefly before I have to put them back on the road. “Did you ever try to make it work with her?”

  “Yeah, after Nolan was born. I knew Angie wanted us to be a family and I owed it to Nolan to at least try. They moved in with me after the two of them were released from the hospital. But it only lasted two weeks.” Her hand tightens in mine. “We fought constantly about everything and I was fucking miserable all the time. Having a baby at twenty-three was stressful enough, and then throw in the fact that I couldn’t stand my son’s mother. It wasn’t good. When I told her it wasn’t going to work, she freaked out, threatening to keep Nolan away from me. I took her to court to make sure I’d at least get my time with him and that only pissed her off even more.”