by Sammi Franks
I wasn’t sure how to take her words. Better because of me. “The job, right? I’m glad you’re here for me…and Thea. You’re wonderful,” I admitted quietly. In my heart, something stirred.
10
Beatrice
I couldn’t believe I actually said that. Sometimes, things just came out and I wasn’t able to stop them even if I tried.
The car ride was a lot longer than I expected. It was minutes after two o’clock in the morning when we pulled into a small motel off the 5 in Oregon. Thea had fallen asleep hours ago and Will and I enjoyed a comfortable silence. It was nice to not feel pressure to be on all the time. I talked so much when I was with Stan, trying to fill the silence that had consumed us so quickly. With Will, I could relax. I didn’t have to say anything. I didn’t have to worry about filling the silence.
Will checked in while I stayed in the car with Thea. Our only goal was to sleep. We didn’t grab any luggage except a bag filled with clothes to change into. I didn’t even plan on taking a shower until we reached the hotel we were supposed to stay at for the wedding.
When Will came back with a room key, he carried Thea inside while I grabbed the bag, locked the car, and followed him to the blue door with the black 109 on it. The paint was peeling and the zero looked like it could fall off at any moment.
Will immediately laid Thea on the bed and turned to me. That girl could sleep through anything.
“Why don’t you sleep on the bed with her,” he suggested. “I’ll take the floor.”
I shook my head. “Absolutely not,” I told him. “You’re driving. You need to be at your best. You take the bed with Thea and I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“My mother would roll over in her grave if I let a woman sleep on the floor, no matter the circumstances,” he argued.
“Well,” I said, my voice tentative. “We could all sleep on the bed. It looks like a king. We’d all fit.”
Will opened his mouth and I could tell immediately he was going to reject my idea.
“I don’t want to push you,” I jumped in. I felt my cheeks burn, but couldn’t figure out why. I could not look Will in the face and my hand cupped the back of my neck, feeling how far my blush had spread. “I don’t want to force you into an uncomfortable situation. But I appreciate the fact that you’ll be driving a long distance and since I’m not comfortable driving yet, there’s really no other way for me to offer my assistance. As such, if you refuse to allow me the honor of sleeping on the floor as my way of showing my appreciation, at the very least, please accept my suggestion of sharing a bed.” I took a breath, realizing I drew that out much longer than I needed to. “For sleeping purposes only.”
“If you insist,” he huffed though his pale green eyes sparkled good-naturedly.
I rushed into the restroom first and changed into pajamas. I wore a bra to bed tonight - something I hated - but thought it was the safest thing. Who knew if my body would give me away?
When I came out, he was already in pajama pants. He kept the same shirt on, which bugged me because pajamas were supposed to be fresh. You were not supposed to carry the dirt and the drama of the day to bed with you. At least, that was my opinion.
I had to make sure I didn’t stare too long at him. He was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt with fitted blue and white striped pajama pants. His arms were straining against the sleeves of his shirt. I had a weakness for arms. Stan had big arms as well, probably from tugging and pulling ropes while sailing ships and lugging around fish.
I had no idea what fishermen did.
I just knew he had nice arms.
Will’s were much better. But I was biased.
My eyes narrowed on Thea who was on one side of the bed.
“Is she going to roll off?” I asked. I had imagined Thea would be between us, being the wall of safety keeping us from accidental touches, but clearly, that was wrong. Instead, Thea was all the way on one side of the bed, one leg tossed over the side. I looked up at Will almost helplessly. “Is she going to be okay?”
Will shrugged. “Thea has always favored the edges,” he said. “She takes risks, jumps without looking. She’s always slept on the edge, even when she was a kid. She’d sneak in my bed and try to hide so Megyn and I wouldn’t spot her. We always let her stay.” He smiled but blinking. “Well, that’s different.”
I raised my brows. “What?” I asked.
“No, it’s nothing.” He shook his head as he crawled into bed. He would be the one in the middle. Not Thea. “I always say ‘we’ when I refer to things that relate to both me and Megyn. Our bed. But I said ‘my’ this time.”
I nodded my head. I didn’t know how to respond to that. I didn’t know if he needed space or affection or... normalcy.
I didn’t want to make assumptions. So, I settled for normalcy.
“Are you going to have enough room?” he asked. “I take up a lot of space.”
“That’s what happens when you have broad shoulders,” I said before I could stop myself.
When I got to my very narrow side of the bed, I made sure I wasn’t accidentally touching Will. I also had my back facing him in order to prevent him from seeing the redness on my face.
“Broad shoulders, eh?” Will asked. Though I couldn’t see him, I knew he was smirking. “Thank you for noticing.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.
That was the thing. The problem. The risk.
I noticed a lot more than those broad shoulders. And I couldn’t help but feel things about what I noticed.
And that was a very, very bad thing.
11
Will
How’d I end up in the middle? How the hell was I supposed to sleep like this? Suddenly, the floor seemed like a much smarter solution. If I lay on my back, I took up too much room. If I lay on a side, then I was spooning either my daughter, which was wrong; or Beatrice, which was…uncomfortable, but the lesser of the evils.
So, I rolled toward Beatrice and prayed I didn’t get too close so my body didn’t give me away. The past week had been particularly challenging. I’d been noticing little things, like the way her eyes lit up while we spoke, or the way her gentle laughter awakened feelings inside me I’d thought dormant. I could watch her caring for Thea all day long. The way they interacted reminded me of Megyn somehow. This seemed so natural, liking a beautiful young woman who seemed to love my daughter.
I spent some time remembering every minute of my life since Mo left and Beatrice moved in. Somehow, after what seemed like forever, I managed to fall asleep. I only knew this because hours later, I woke up to find I had my arms around Beatrice and my erection wedged against her buttocks. Make that her perfectly formed bottom. I groaned in shame and a good bit of need. If Thea wasn’t behind me, if she wasn’t my nanny, if I didn’t feel like I was betraying Megyn, things might have gone differently. Instead, I released her and slid out of bed, careful not to wake either of them. Holding my head in my hands and hoping my erection would go down, I struggled with the realization I had four more nights of this. How was I going to survive four more nights of this? And how much was I going to miss it when we returned home?
Taking a few long strides, I managed to reach the bathroom. Once inside with the door closed and locked, I turned on the shower, stripped down and stepped in. The water was brisk, just as I intended. This was my punishment…for everything. I forced myself into the stream and struggled not to cry out when the cool water hit me in the chest and ran down the length of me. By the time I finished washing up, my balls had sucked themselves into my body. My cock had become flaccid. And I was painfully wide awake after all of five hours asleep. This was going to be a long day.
I dried off the best I could with the tiny white scratchy towel. Naturally, I’d forgotten my clothes, so I listened for nearly a minute. When I heard nothing but silence from the bedroom, I tightened the towel around my waist, wishing it was at least six inches wider and longer, before I snuck out of the bedroom. I made it as far as the dre
sser, where Beatrice had set our bag of clothes, when I heard a gasp. Whipping around, I saw her sitting up in bed, eyes bulging, a hand clapped over her mouth. I’d felt the breeze. I knew my ass was half exposed when I bent over.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered loudly, hoping at least Thea would sleep through this. The last thing I wanted to do was scar her for life. Then I grabbed the clothes and straightened abruptly, which made the towel loosen around my waist. I felt it give, but I was so distracted, I didn’t catch it in time. For a few seconds, I stood before Beatrice bare-assed, blushing, and blathering both apologies and explanations while covering myself with my handful of clothes. “I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I grumbled. My face burned as I added, “I took a cold shower. It’s shrinkage, dammit.” Beatrice giggled and nodded while I bolted to the bathroom.
An hour later, we were in the car, traveling down the highway on the way to California. I hadn’t spoken since, hoping I could pull off that I had suddenly become the strong, silent type when in reality, I’d never felt so weak.
Beatrice leaned over the console and spoke in a low hushed tone after checking to see that Thea was distracted. “It’s no big deal.”
“Is that a pun? I told you about the shower,” I murmured as my eyes darted back and forth while examining her face for a hint at her true feelings. Beatrice wasn’t the type to hide them. I’d picked up on that trait immediately.
She sighed. “No. This has nothing to do with size. That doesn’t matter. I mean…”
I chuckled. “Did you just try to appease me with the whole ‘size doesn’t matter’ bit?” I rolled my eyes before looking away and trying to focus on the drive.
Beatrice groaned. “No. I was trying to let you know that I know the whole towel drop wasn’t intentional. Obviously, it was an accident. If you were going to do it, you’d exhibit far more finesse, I’m sure.” She grinned. “I imagine you’d be swinging the towel over your head and wiggling your hips.” Her cheeks grew pink and it was my turn to smile and enjoy her discomfort. She cleared her throat nervously. “Not that I picture you naked…dancing with a towel.” She covered her face and sank down in her seat more, then recovered enough to turn the tables once again. “Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is…why would you drop your towel in front of me given the circumstances?” She gestured toward my crotch.
“Because of the shrinkage part? You think I’m really that...small?” I could barely hide the incredulity in my voice.
“Of course not.” She reached out and patted my arm.
I could feel the tips of my ears burning. Part of me wanted to pull over to the side of the road and whip it out right here. After all, I had a reputation to protect. When I was younger, I’d been quite the stud. Rumors had circulated about my size. I could’ve gotten laid every night of the week, if I wanted. Only, I’d found Megyn and refused to jeopardize the possibility of our future for random hook-ups. Never once did I regret it. Although, at the moment, it might’ve been nice to have at least one person who could attest to my…endowment.
The other part of me knew this was ridiculously improper and could cost me my nanny. Nannies were rather hard to come by. And after the wedding, I was officially out of sisters-in-law. So, I swallowed my pride. I ran my tongue over my teeth while carefully choosing my words. “Thank you for your understanding. Tonight, I’ll take the floor.”
12
Beatrice
We arrived in California the next day. From the minute we arrived, we were exhausted and ready to go home. We had a few hours before the rehearsal dinner so I plopped on the couch and gave myself permission to take a nap.
After my interesting conversation with Will yesterday about size, I couldn’t get him out of my head. I saw everything. Everything. A part of me wanted to see more than what I had seen. A part of me wanted to feel his bare skin on my own.
Being in the car with him was overwhelming. I had to restrain myself from clawing at the window, trying to get out. Even though we had the console dividing us, he was entirely too close. I was afraid to even reach for the radio station - even though he asked me multiple times to change it if I wanted to - because I didn’t want to risk him touching me. Or me touching him.
The whole thing was a mess.
Thank goodness Thea had no idea about our internal struggle. And I used the word ‘our’ because it was clear he felt the same way.
Will mumbled something about taking Thea to the pool and left the minute my head hit the pillow. I was out for an hour and forty-five minutes. I hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep the past two nights. How could I? Even during the second night, when Will volunteered to take the floor - insisted was probably a better word to describe it - I could hear it. I could hear the small part of me I thought I lost after my fallout with Stan. And her voice started getting louder and louder and louder.
Go sleep next to him.
God, he had such a nice ass.
I would love to see him strip off the towel and dance around with it on purpose.
Shit.
Even his breathing turned me on, which either meant I was dangerously attracted to what I thought were masculine attributes like deep but smooth breathing, or I needed to get laid. Probably the latter.
Maybe this wedding was a blessing in disguise.
When I woke up, I spotted Will, walking from the bathroom in slacks and no T-shirt. Lord Almighty, the torso on that man. Broad shoulders, arms with valleys and peaks, a toned, rippling chest, a six-pack despite the fact that at his age, it wouldn’t surprise me if he had gone soft in the middle. I couldn’t even guess how to handle him. And spending more and more time around him was not the easiest thing for me to do, though it was easy on the eyes.
The only thing I wished he would change was the fact that he didn’t spend nearly as much time with his daughter as he should have. I thought part of it had to do with the fact that she looked so much like Megyn. Regardless, that wasn’t Thea’s fault and it was clear to me how much she wanted to be around her father. I, of course, did not feel as though I had any right to tell Will how to parent his own child. If anything, I was making an observation. He could do with it what he wanted.
But I still had not told him yet.
“Bea, why are you staring at my dad?”
My eyes snapped over to Thea, currently standing at the foot of the couch in a beautiful dress that came to her calves, a lavender color that went beautifully with her dark hair and light eyes. I had only seen Megyn in that one photograph still lining the hallway, but I knew she was beautiful. Having parents as perfect as she did, it did not surprise me in the slightest that Thea was growing into a stunning young woman.
Another reason why it was so imperative for Will to be in his daughter’s life.
Will, hearing his daughter’s question, turned to give me a stare with a charming raised eyebrow.
“I thought I saw a stain on his slacks,” I said slowly. “I wanted to get a good look before saying anything. I know how much your father loves those slacks.”
Will gave me a look that said he knew I wasn’t telling the truth. The curve of his lips told me he was amused by my lie, and potentially curious about why I would lie in the first place. I refused to acknowledge his stare, his silent question, because if I did, I would talk more than I should, and if I talked more than I should, this entire vacation - was it a vacation, though? - would be much more awkward than it already was.
“What time is it?” I asked quickly, throwing my legs over the side of the couch and standing up. “You’re both getting dressed? Why did no one wake me?”
“Daddy said you looked so peaceful, he didn’t want to ruin it for you,” Thea said, a mysterious smile lighting her face before she disappeared in a book, finding a comfortable place on the chair next to the couch.
I glanced over at Will, who continued to stare at me, an indecipherable look on his face. He almost seemed lost in thought. When he realized Thea had said something about him, he blinked, snapping out of
his daze.
“Yes,” he said before clearing his throat. “It’s time to start getting dressed, Beatrice. You know how Mo is if we’re even one second late.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been late to anything in my life,” I said as I walked over to the closet to retrieve my dress.
“Well, let me tell you from personal experience, it’s not pretty,” he muttered.
I couldn’t help but notice that he still hadn’t put a shirt on and it took everything in me not to let my gaze linger. I did not need Thea calling me out again in front of her father, or worse, if Will noticed my hungry stare himself.
I hid a grin as I disappeared into the restroom, dress in tow.
13
Will
We watched Thea walk down the aisle, scattering petals as she moved. As was the custom, we stood when Mo came down the aisle. When we started to sit again, I realized Beatrice’s shawl had begun to slip off her far shoulder and I reached out to lift it back into place. She offered me a grateful smile and settled in the crook of my arm. My eyes widened at first, but as I glanced around the church, I realized how natural a move it was and how comfortable it felt to me.
Post-wedding, we rode in near silence to the reception hall while watching for our little flower girl, who had ridden with the wedding party. “She did great, don’t you think?” I murmured by way of making conversation.
“She was absolutely precious. That dress was perfect. I can’t wait to tell her how proud we are.” Her cheeks turned pink and she looked away. “I mean…how proud I am.” She touched her cheek with the back of her fingers, a move I’d grown accustomed to seeing lately.
“I knew what you meant,” I teased. “Around here for three weeks and you’re already prepared to claim Thea.” I shook my head. “I get it. She does that to people. She’s so charming.”
