by Nella Tyler
“You look beautiful no matter what you wear,” I told her. The rest of the staff at the clinic had looked at us over and over again during the session, grinning in a truly happy way.
“Give me maybe fifteen minutes, and I’ll be right out,” Mack told me.
“Remember to take the flowers with you!” Someone told her.
“I will,” Mack said, rolling her eyes. “Hurry up and make your escape before someone finds the mistletoe from the holiday party.” I laughed and made my retreat, leading Landon through the waiting room and out to the car outside.
“What are you going to get at the restaurant, buddy?” I asked my son while we settled in to wait for Mackenzie to be able to leave the office.
“Mozzarella sticks!” I laughed at his choice.
“You’re going to need more than that,” I pointed out. We discussed the different things that he could make a dinner out of, and fifteen minutes later—maybe a little less—I saw Mackenzie come out of the building and head for the parking structure. She looked around and I honked the horn to get her attention, rolling down my window. Mack started slightly at the loudness of the car horn and then hurried over to my SUV, smiling and carrying the flowers I’d gotten for her in the vase she’d put them in.
“They told me I could leave my car here if I had to,” Mackenzie told me. “I have tomorrow off, I can take the bus up here from my apartment.”
“Hurry up and get in before you freeze,” I told her, unlocking the car door. Mackenzie handed me the flowers and then hurried around to the passenger side, and I realized that she had taken the time to change into a pair of jeans and a sweater under her big coat.
In minutes we were out in the Chicago traffic. Mackenzie turned around, peering over the back of her seat to talk to Landon. “Do you know where we’re going for dinner?”
“Ed Debevic’s!” Landon exclaimed, looking pleased with himself that he had managed to get the name out clearly.
“Oh? Awesome!” Mack glanced at me and grinned. “That sounds like the perfect place for everyone to find something.”
“There’s another reason for it,” I told her, licking my lips and stopping as smoothly as I could at a light. I looked at Mack, wondering if I was overplaying my hand a little bit. “It’s the first restaurant that Joanne and I took Landon to, a couple of months after he was born.”
“Really?” Mack looked at me sharply for a moment and then her expression softened. “I’m flattered.”
“Obviously Landon wasn’t eating actual food then, and we went during their quiet hours instead of during the dinner rush, but Joanne had been craving their chili fries ever since she’d delivered.” I smiled, remembering that we’d put off going in the hope that we’d be able to use it as our celebration of successful treatment of Joanne’s cancer; instead, when it became clear that the treatment wasn’t going to work, we’d stopped the chemo and gone that same night to the restaurant, bringing in a sleeping infant and going to town on all of our favorite foods until we were uncomfortably full.
“She seems to have been a woman with very good taste,” Mack said.
“Dad says she had horrible taste—she married him.”
I snorted, shaking my head at what Landon felt the need to contribute to the conversation.
“That was a joke Bud,” I told my son.
“Well I think she must have been a beautiful, wonderful woman,” Mack said, looking from me to Landon. “Your dad has worked hard to make sure you’re growing up to be a good kid, but I think your mom must have been great for him to be so successful.”
We arrived at the restaurant; it was just starting to get busy, with people coming in as much for the warmth as to eat dinner, and I was glad that we were able to get a table—and that Mack hadn’t needed another fifteen minutes, though I would have given them to her if she’d asked.
I ordered the mozzarella sticks that Landon wanted, but under Mack’s influence, my son ordered pot roast instead of his usual chicken strips, and when I asked him whether he’d eat the vegetables if I got it for him, he just gave me a look that told me I was embarrassing him. Mack ordered the meatloaf, and I got a burger.
I had worried more than a little that Landon wouldn’t be up to behaving himself through dinner, with Mack there and with the noisy atmosphere of a restaurant after being so hyped up from his PT session; but he was polite, letting Mack and me talk, sticking with his coloring or playing with one of the toys I’d let him bring with him into the restaurant. Mack made a point of asking him about school, about soccer, all the things that Landon loved.
By the time we ordered a dessert to share, I had relaxed completely. Landon was perfectly fine with Mack outside of the session, and Mack was able to handle my son just as well in a restaurant as she did while she was putting him through physical therapy. Everyone was happy—most of all me. “I just have to drop him off at my sister’s,” I told Mack.
“Can’t I stay with you guys?” Landon asked from the back seat of the car.
“Not tonight bud,” I told him. “Mack and I need a little time alone.” I looked over at the woman I loved and grinned.
“Maybe next time we all do dinner together we can go home and you and I can work on that kite,” Mack suggested. Immediately Landon was on board, and the whole way to my sister’s house that was all he wanted to talk about. I couldn’t wait to get him to Jess’ place so that I could be alone with Mack—it had been far, far too long since we’d been alone together.
Chapter Three
Mackenzie
“Are you sure you want to go home with me? I mean—if you do, I’m totally thrilled, but I can drop you off at your car if you want to wait a little bit.”
I grinned at Patrick as I fastened my seatbelt. I was a little uneasy at the fact that I had started to become turned on while Landon was still with us, but now that Patrick and I were alone together, I wouldn’t have let him drop me off at my car if he paid me.
“I am absolutely sure that if you try to avoid sex with me, I’m going to be disappointed no matter how great the rest of the night has gone,” I told him. Patrick chuckled and turned the key in the ignition, starting up the car. He pulled out of the driveway and turned onto the street, and as soon as he straightened the car out, he reached over and took my hand in his.
“I’m not even sure if the apartment is worth seeing,” Patrick told me, shaking his head and smiling. “It’s pretty much a constant disaster area, no matter how often I make Landon clean up after himself.”
I shrugged, rubbing my thumb against his palm. “You live with a five-year-old boy,” I pointed out. “I would be more weirded out if your place was absolutely spotless.”
“As long as you know what you’re getting into,” Patrick said, raising an eyebrow. I giggled and nodded.
“I can deal with some mess,” I told him again. “I’m just glad to be alone with you again.”
“You have no idea,” Patrick told me, his hand tightening on mine. “I kept wishing I could spend the day with you all alone ever since the last date.”
“Even with how weird things were?”
I looked at Patrick sharply. It was hard to believe that even when things had been strained between us—and I still didn’t quite know why—he had been thinking about me, wanting to be alone with me.
“That was my fault,” Patrick said, shifting uncomfortably.
“How’s that?” I kept playing my thumb against his warm, dry palm, tracing the lines as Patrick drove us out of Jessica’s neighborhood and towards his place.
“I got all in my own head,” Patrick explained. “I had been…well, I guess you probably realize that with Landon I have to be pretty serious about anyone that I date. I can’t just have a lot of casual flings.”
“I can get that,” I said, nodding.
“And things had been going so well between us that I wanted to kind of—sound you out, I guess. See if you were looking for something more than what we’d been up to.”
�
�Not looking for it exactly,” I said, thinking about what he said. “But I’m not against the idea of things getting serious.”
“I was trying to find out without being direct,” Patrick said. He sighed. “That was why I asked you all those questions about getting married and having kids. I wanted to know whether you’d be okay becoming part of a family.”
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot,” I told him. “I’m…” I took a deep breath and tried to think of how to say what I wanted to say. “I was worried that you wouldn’t think I’d be a good part of Landon’s life. And I don’t know if I’m exactly ready, but I’m not—I’m not against the idea of becoming a more stable part of you and Landon’s life.”
“One of the things Jessica beat me up over was the fact that I didn’t just ask you outright what you wanted—and what you were comfortable with—in the relationship,” Patrick said. He shook his head briefly. “I can see I was just being an idiot.”
“Well I wasn’t exactly at my best on that either,” I said; I didn’t want him to feel completely horrible about how things had almost gone wrong between us. It was only fair to take my own part of the responsibility. “I didn’t really know what to say when you asked about family and marriage…it’s been so long since I’ve really thought about it as something I could have.”
“I’m glad that we had a chance to talk alone,” Patrick said. “I’m not about to tell Landon that you’re going to be his new mom, but I wanted to make sure everything was clear between us, and that we both knew where we stood.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said. My heart beat faster in my chest; I’d never been to Patrick’s place but from the way he was driving I could tell we were getting closer by the moment. He turned into a driveway outside of a nice-looking clump of row houses, and let go of my hand long enough to park the car before turning to me once more.
“I want you to know,” Patrick said slowly. “I love you.”
I stared at him, stunned by his confession.
“I know it’s really soon to say it, and I’m not telling you to try and make you say it back, but I love you.”
“You do?” My voice came out in a squeak.
“I haven’t felt this way about anyone since my wife passed away,” Patrick told me. “Joanne was a wonderful woman, and if she had lived she would have been a great mom to Landon; but I’ve come to terms with the fact that she’s gone and never coming back.” He licked his lips and held my gaze for a long moment of silence. “I don’t want you to ever think that I’m comparing you to her, or that you come in second, or anything like that. I care about you. I want to see where this goes.”
“Thank you,” I said, smiling through the tears that had started to form in my eyes at his beautiful words. “I—I don’t know if I can say ‘I love you, too’ just yet—I’m still kind of jumbled up inside. But I care about you a lot. I like you a lot; and I like Landon too. You’re the best guy I’ve ever met.” I swallowed against the tight feeling in my throat and suddenly my whole body began to relax.
Patrick leaned in close and brushed his lips against mine. I kissed him back slowly at first, almost hesitating from how strangely nervous I felt. Then as Patrick deepened the kiss, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer to me, pressing my body against his in the little bit of space we had in the front of the SUV. For what felt like almost an hour we did nothing more than kiss, holding each other, touching each other all over, exploring each other’s bodies through our clothes as our tongues slid against each other.
I felt the heat building up inside of me, my muscles tightening, and every moment I became more and more turned on as Patrick broke away from my lips to kiss along the column of my throat, down to the collar of my sweater and then back up to my mouth once more. I felt like I was on fire, tingling all over, and when I broke away from his lips to catch my breath, I could see the condensation fogging the windows. “Maybe we should go inside,” I suggested breathlessly. Patrick looked around, dazed, and then nodded, chuckling lowly.
He opened the door on the driver’s side. “Stay right there,” he told me quickly, and I nodded, even though I was too turned on to be able to make sense of what he wanted from me. I watched as he climbed out and then walked around to the passenger side, opening my door for me. I unbuckled my seat belt and then somehow tumbled into his arms, bringing my mouth up to his for another kiss. We stayed like that for a few moments before the cold was too much for us both. I pressed my body against his, exploring his broad back, tasting his lips over and over again.
Then Patrick broke away from my lips and closed the door behind me, taking my hand in his and leading me quickly to the entrance to his house. He dropped the keys trying to get the door unlocked and cursed, bending over to pick them up off of the welcome mat. His second try was more successful, and in the span of a few heartbeats, he had the door open and propelled me through it. Patrick pushed me up against the door and kissed me hungrily, his hands moving all over my body, touching and teasing me everywhere. I moaned against his lips, my nerves tingling, getting hotter and wetter every moment as I kissed him back and let my hands explored his body all over.
Somehow, I realized, my clothes were starting to fall away; my coat was off, dropped to the floor, and I felt Patrick’s fingers moving up along the buttons on my sweater. He pulled me away from the door and broke away from my lips panting, his eyes dark with obvious desire as he met my gaze. “We can stop any time you want,” he told me, looking almost uncertain.
“If you stop right now I’m going to be really upset,” I said, taking a moment to catch my breath. Patrick led me through the living room and I glanced around quickly, remembering his remark about the mess; I could barely qualify the few toys I saw scattered around the room to even be messy at all. I dismissed the idea, pushing it aside as Patrick stopped at a door. He turned the knob and pulled me through it in his wake, bringing my hand up to his lips to kiss it lightly. He didn’t close the door behind us, but just pulled me close to him in the darkness, wrapping his arms around my waist. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt myself heating up all over; I could feel my inner muscles flexing with the thought of the sex to come, the memory of how good it had been before.
I gasped when I felt the cool air against my skin and realized that more and more of my clothes were falling away from my body, hitting the floor or flying across the room as Patrick stripped them off of me. I started to work on his clothes, tugging his sweater over his head, throwing it aside without even looking to see where it ended up in the darkness. I pulled the shirt underneath free of his pants, letting my fingertips graze his skin as I undressed him. I wanted to tease him every bit as much as he was teasing me.
Patrick stepped back from me, turning a light on in the bedroom, and I blushed as he took in every inch of my body. “I was such an idiot,” Patrick said, shaking his head slowly. “Such an idiot for almost letting you slip away.” He stepped closer to me again and then started guiding me towards the bed, his hands trailing over my body slowly, caressing me everywhere. My pussy was already soaking wet, my skin tingling, and I stood up on the balls of my feet to kiss Patrick as he pressed me down onto the bed on my back.
He reached down between my legs and I shivered as his fingers brushed up against me, stroking up and down slowly, pressing deeper as he teased me. My hips began to move in reaction, my whole body twisting and writhing as he found my clit by touch. I’d somehow managed to forget just how good it felt to have him touch me, play with me. He shifted on top of me and I felt the hardness of his cock digging into my thigh, the heat of his skin almost burning, the slickness of the precum already beginning to flow.
I moaned out as Patrick started to rub and stroke my clit more firmly, one of his fingers drifting down to slide up and down my inner labia, not quite pushing inside of me, teasing me for what felt like ages. I squirmed underneath him, getting more and more turned on, my breath catching in my throat. Patrick kissed me everywhere, over and over
again, capturing my lips with his and then trailing his mouth down to my breasts to worship them with his lips and tongue. He slid one finger inside of me slowly, pushing past the resistance of my body, the flexing of my muscles, and I cried out, arching up, twisting my hips down into his touch. I reached down and groped at Patrick’s body until my fingers found his cock, hard and heavy; I wrapped my hand around him and began to stroke him just like he was teasing me. Patrick groaned, shuddering against me, his fingers working me faster.
We both squirmed and writhed and twisted against each other in Patrick’s bed, bringing each other to the edge of climax and then slowing down until I thought I might go crazy or maybe even die if I didn’t get off. I pulled back, panting and gasping for breath, and looked Patrick in the eyes. “I’m so close,” I told him, almost whimpering from how needy I was, how much I wanted him.
“Me too,” he told me, his voice ragged and hoarse. He slipped his fingers away from me; the next moment I felt the heat of his hard cock pressing against my entrance as he guided himself along my folds. He shifted on top of me and my whole body tensed up, waiting for the next movement. Patrick thrust into me slowly, filling me up inch by inch, and I moaned out, wrapping my legs around his waist, pushing my hips down to take him deeper. His hands wandered all over me as he rocked against me, his hard, thick cock rubbing against my inner walls, and I kissed him everywhere my lips could reach. I fell into his rhythm, twisting my hips down and arching up as he thrust deeper and deeper inside of me.
I lost all track of time, wrapped up in the sensations, how good it felt to have Patrick’s body pressed against mine, to feel his cock inside of me. He started to move faster and harder and I met his thrusts, moaning out again and again as I came closer and closer to orgasm. I felt the tension mounting inside of me with every movement of Patrick’s hips, and all at once something snapped, and the last of my self-control dissolved as wave after wave of pleasure washed through me, driving every thought out of my head. I barely even noticed Patrick hitting his own orgasm; but when I felt the sticky-slick heat of his come gush into me, my climax intensified and I clung to him, moving until neither of us could possibly move anymore. We both sagged against the bed, panting and gasping, and I fell into a happy, satisfied doze, my cheek pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as it slowed down.
