United

by A. Aubry

  “Thank you, baby,” Julianna grinned.

  Lifting Leo back up, I slung him over my shoulder and gently swatted his butt as I carried him into the kitchen. I set him in his booster seat and strapped him in, putting some toys in front of him before going over to the cabinet and pulling out a box of mac and cheese, one of Leo’s favorites.

  “So, Leo, how was your day with mommy?” I looked over at him as he held up his favorite toy car and babbled loudly.

  “Oh, really. That’s good to know. But you have to stop stealing Lily’s pacifier…big boys don’t need those.”

  He said something I didn’t understand as the water started to boil on the stove and I dumped in the noodles. As soon as they were fully cooked, I drained them and made the cheese sauce before putting some in a little bowl for Leo.

  I walked over and put it in front of him, his baby spork waiting to be used. Leo went to town on his dinner as I gave him some fresh milk and put the left-over noodles in a container before putting it in the refrigerator. Bo and Angie were going to be bringing over dinner for a double date night tonight, otherwise I would have helped myself to Leo’s dinner.

  Once Leo was done eating, I cleaned him up and hoisted him up onto my hip and went back to Julianna who had Lily lying on her lap as she cooed to her.

  “You wanna take Leo for his routine and I can take my little princess?” I asked Julianna who looked up at me and Leo.

  Being as it was the peak time of my soccer season, I didn’t get much time with Leo or Lily. Julianna and I had worked out a schedule where I would help out with dinner and Leo but I always got to put my little girl to sleep.

  Julianna lifted Lily up from her legs and stood up, bringing her over to me, “Sure, just be careful bouncing her up and down. She’s got a full belly.”

  Swapping babies had become a new skill that Julianna and I had acquired. It took some practice, but we finally got it down. Leo smiled at his mother as I adjusted Lily in my arms.

  “Ready for bath time my sweet, handsome boy?” Julianna grinned at him.

  “Bath!” He said excitedly.

  “Did you show daddy what you can do now?” She asked Leo.

  He was a year and a half, he couldn’t exactly say ‘hey dad look at this’. But I loved how she treated him like a grown boy.

  “What did you learn, buddy?” I smiled.

  Leo watched his mom as he waited for her, “Where’s your tummy?”

  He excitedly pointed his little fingers at his stomach.

  “And where’s your head?” Julianna questioned.

  Leo touched his head. Damn, my boy was a fucking genius.

  “Wow! You’re so smart!” I cooed and kissed his head gently.

  Julianna laughed and nodded in agreement, “Smartest boy in the world right here.”

  Lily yawned in my arms and I smirked at Julianna, “Meet here after the kids are asleep?”

  Her cheeks flushed, “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

  Giving Julianna a quick kiss, we both went upstairs to the separate nurseries that we had. I took Liliana into hers, the powder pink walls greeting me. I walked into her bathroom and filled up her baby bathtub with warm water. Undressing her, I put her into the water and she smiled up at me. A quick wash of her body with a washcloth and a light wash of her head of hair, I gently lifted her up and wrapped her in a towel. I took her into her nursery and laid her on the changing table as I dried her off and put lotion on her as Julianna had instructed me time and time again.

  Lily was all dressed in her pink princess onesie and I rocked her in her glider for a little bit. When she could barely keep her eyes open, I laid her in her crib, giving her a soft kiss on her head before heading back downstairs. Julianna was waiting for me on the couch, grinning when I took my place next to her.

  “How was your day, sweetheart?” She asked softly as she moved closer to me.

  Since we had an actively mobile one-and-a-half-year-old, this type of conversation was hard to have unless we were eating dinner as a family. That was why I had told Julianna it was okay if she didn’t ask me about my day until after the kids were in bed. This time around, our relationship was stronger than ever. There was no way I could feel like Julianna didn’t want me or love me, whenever we weren’t both wrapped up in our children, we were wrapped up in each other…if you catch my drift.

  “It was good, better now that I’m home. It sucks that I have to leave tomorrow,” I sighed as I put my arm around her.

  I didn’t want to leave, it was hard enough going back to work after only getting a few days with Julianna and the kids. It would be different if I was only gone for a day, maybe even two. But this was a three-day trip away and it killed me.

  “I know, I don’t want you to leave. Whose gonna snuggle with me on the couch at night?”

  Nobody, that’s who.

  “You better be snuggling by yourself,” I narrowed my eyes.

  “I don’t know, I do get rather lonely,” she smirked.

  “And why is that?” I questioned, moving closer to her.

  She brought her mouth closer to mine, “Because my husband has been spoiling me with snuggles nearly every night for the last twelve months.”

  I smiled slyly and moved my lips closer to hers, “Must be absolutely horrible to be spoiled like that.”

  “Oh, it’s terrible,” Julianna softly stated and crashed her lips into mine.

  I laid Julianna back as her legs and arms took their places around me, cradling me in her grasp. My tongue slipped into her mouth and danced with hers, if I was leaving tomorrow then I really needed to make this the best that I could.

  I could feel my cock trying to break free from my jeans as I began to grind against Julianna, the same thing we’d been doing since we made up a year ago. Julianna’s hand fisted in my hair as she gently tugged on it and it only pushed me to go harder with every grind. We kissed as though our lives depended on it, like every kiss was the only way we could live.

  “Fuck, Finn,” Julianna groaned as her hips lifted to meet me at every mock thrust.

  “Bo and Angie will be here any minute with dinner,” I admitted quietly.

  I wasn’t sure why I thought that would stop her, but Julianna wanted to go all the way.

  “Then we better make this quick,” she said quickly as her hands reached between us and popped open my jeans.

  She slipped her hand into my jeans and grabbed my cock. I nearly came on the spot from her touch. We just had sex this morning, it shouldn’t have been acting like I hadn’t come in days.

  I lifted my lips away from hers, “You want it?”

  “So fucking bad,” Julianna moaned.

  Her words fueled me as I practically ripped the button from her jeans. I grabbed the fabric and pulled them down her body, her panties included, and dropped them to the floor. Julianna hungrily shoved my jeans and boxers down to my knees and my cock jumped out to greet her.

  “You got the condom?” I asked, leaning over her.

  “In my pants pocket,” her hand wrapped around my cock and she began to pump slowly.

  I groaned as I reached for her pants and took out the condom. This time around, we tried to be good about using them as much as possible. We loved Liliana with all our hearts, we just weren’t exactly ready for another member of the family just yet. I ripped open the wrapper and rolled it over my cock, Julianna’s mouth hung open as she watched me. Getting back into position, I pushed my cock into her and it easily slid in, her wet heat meeting me from the start.

  “Oh, yes,” Julianna moaned.

  “Fuck,” I groaned as I set the pace that always worked for us.

  She tilted her pelvis, already meeting me thrust for thrust. I gazed down at Julianna only to notice that she was watching me as well. Every time I pushed myself into her, I couldn’t help but grunt, she felt so fucking amazing that I couldn’t get enough of her.

  “Shit, Jules. You feel so good,” I moaned as I picked up my thrusts.

 
Julianna laid her head back and my mouth instantly went to her neck. I could feel her pussy tightening around me, she was so damn close. All I needed was for her to come first, and with that, mine would follow. I nibbled on her neck, in the exact way that she loved, and her nails dug into my back.

  “Finn!” She screamed as her orgasm began to tear through her.

  “Baby!” I yelled as I pounded into her one more time, finally letting her body milk my cock.

  As Julianna’s soft aftershocks subsided, I realized I had fallen on top of her. I could barely catch my breath and I knew Julianna felt the same by the way she panted. A soft ding came from the foyer, I’d nearly forgotten that we had guests coming after that.

  I eased out of Julianna and stood up as she groaned, “Shit.”

  Picking up her clothes off the ground, I gave them to her and took off my condom. I pulled up my pants and boxers before going to the kitchen to dispose of the evidence. Angie’s voice carried as she teased Julianna and I started getting drinks out for dinner. Bo showed up carrying the bag of take-out and I figured the girls were having a bit of girl talk.

  “So, I’ve got some news,” Bo smiled as he leaned against the kitchen island.

  “Oh, yeah? You finally knock up that wife of yours?” I teased.

  All he did was nod with a large grin on his face.

  “No way,” I laughed.

  “Yeah, she took a test and it says she is almost a month pregnant.”

  “Ha, I got mine pregnant a week after we got married,” I playfully shoved his arm and he shook his head.

  I hugged him and patted him on the back, “I’m happy for you, bro. Having a child is amazing.”

  “Aw, look at these two love birds,” Angie laughed as her and Julianna walked into the room.

  The table was soon set and we sat down to eat. Julianna held my hand as we ate, our fingers laced tightly.

  “So, any advice to give us?” Angie looked between the two of us.

  Julianna nodded quickly, “Always make time for each other after the baby comes. You guys need to communicate. It might be difficult, especially with a new baby, but it’s the only thing that will keep you guys together.”

  I brought Julianna’s hand to my lips, “I was a fucking idiot and didn’t talk to her about how I was feeling, and we all know what happened after that. Now, Julianna and I talk about everything and every night we spend it with just the two of us.”

  “That mean you two are going to be expecting again soon?” Bo laughed.

  Julianna threw her napkin at him, “We are being very good about protection right now. I’m actually going to start birth control again at the end of the week. We decided to wait until Lily turns one to start trying again.”

  Angie gave a thumbs up, “Good choice, my friend.”

  We laughed and cleaned up the containers from dinner before going into the living room. Julianna and Angie were talking about something about pregnancy, and when I turned around, Bo stood there with the empty condom wrapper between his fingers.

  “You two have a little too much fun before we got here?” He chuckled, throwing the wrapper at me.

  “What can I say? My wife can’t get enough of me,” I laughed and put the wrapper in my pocket to throw away later.

  “Your wife just wanted to get laid before you take off tomorrow,” Angie chimed in.

  Julianna folded her arms across her chest and pouted out her bottom lip, “Can we stop talking about his wife as though she isn’t standing right here?”

  I shook my head and walked over to Julianna, taking her into my arms and giving her a quick kiss, “They’re just jealous of the amazing sex we have.”

  Bo laughed from the couches, “Yeah, because it’s not like I didn’t put a baby in my wife or anything.”

  “Atta boy!” I chuckled as Julianna giggled in my arms.

  Angie went to join Bo on one couch while Julianna and I took the other. Wrapping my arms around her once more, Julianna picked a movie and hit play. I kissed her temple and smiled. The woman in my arms changed my life. If you would have asked me two years ago if this was the spot I thought I would be in, I would have told you no.

  There was nothing better in my life than Julianna McAllister and our two children. They showed me that even though relationships take a lot of hard work and dedication, they are all worth it in the end. Where once I thought I was damaged goods thanks to my father abandoning me, Julianna showed me that it didn’t define who I was. I was the best god damn father that I could be, and I was trying to be an even better husband. At least I had forever to keep working on that.

  Epilogue

  Three Years Later

  “I’m gonna get you, Lily!” I playfully roared as I chased after her on the grass.

  Bo was going after Leo and soon I swept up Lily in my arms and kissed her face all over.

  “Daddy! Stop!” She giggled as she tried to squirm free.

  “What? I’m just giving birthday kisses,” I chuckled as I set her down and she took off towards her brother.

  “Finn? Bo? Do you guys want to start the burgers?” Julianna’s voice rang out into the backyard.

  I turned around to face the house, “Sure, baby! We’ll be right up to get them!”

  Before I could take another step, I was tackled from behind by Esme. I swung around and lifted her up into the air as she squealed. When I tickled her until her face turned red, I put her back down and signaled for Bo to follow me. As I walked past Cooper, who held my third child, Marnie, on his lap, she called out for her mom. I laughed and shook my head, bringing her into my arms and onto my hip.

  “Let’s go get mommy,” I said softly to her and kissed her forehead. She had gotten some color after being in the sun a little too long.

  Bo and I came into the house through the patio door and into the kitchen. Angie stood at the island, helping Julianna set up side dishes with her and Bo’s son, Luke, on her hip. Bo went over to his little family and gave them a kiss as I walked over to mine. It was still hard to believe that Julianna and Angie had gotten pregnant at the same time this time around. When Bo and Angie told us when we told them, we were pretty floored.

  “Mommy, someone wants you,” I gave Marnie over to Julianna after she held out her hands for her mother.

  “You look warm, angel. Let me get you some water,” Julianna cooed and went to fetch her sippy cup from the refrigerator.

  When she wasn’t looking, I went in for the kill. The birthday cake was just sitting there, the icing begging to be tasted. Right before my hand made it to the icing, Julianna hit it away.

  “Finn Walker McAllister, you haven’t even washed your hands after playing outside. That is disgusting.”

  I tried to feign innocence but when that failed, I winked instead, “You know you love it.”

  Her eyes narrowed at me, “I love when you are naughty in the bedroom, not when you are trying to taste the frosting off your daughter’s cake with dirty fingers.”

  I frowned and put my hands on her belly, “Speaking of naughty in the bedroom, how’s my son?”

  Her hand covered mine, “We’ve got a mover on our hands. He’s already quite active.”

  Yes! Another soccer player for our family team!

  “We’ve got another soccer player on our hands then,” I teased.

  Julianna kissed my lips to get me to stop dreaming about a family soccer team, “Go make the burgers, your pregnant wife is hungry.”

  She always played the pregnant card when she wanted me to hurry up and do something.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I smiled slyly and picked up the burger packages off the counter.

  “Come on, Bo. Time to grill like the men we are,” I laughed as he followed me outside to the grill.

  As much as I loved my family and my in-laws, when the party finally ended, I was happy to see them leave. I’d spent the entire day sharing my children and my wife, and it was about time that I got them to myself. Julianna and I did our usual bedtime routines w
ith the kids and soon they were all fast asleep. The only thing that put a damper on husband and wife time was the fact that we had to clean up the mess from the party.

  When the final garbage bag was in the trash can, I was ecstatic because that meant we were finally done. The second I stepped back into the house, Julianna was in front of me, her arms hooking around my neck as her fingers played with the back of my hair.

  “Happy now?” Her innocent smile caught me off guard.

  “That we’re done cleaning up? Hell yes,” I laughed as I took her into my arms.

  “Not just with that. You have a three-year-old little girl now…does that make you happy?”

  Shit. I have a three-year-old. Hell, my kids were growing up much faster than I wanted them to.

  “Of course it does, she’s growing up so fast. We also have a four-year-old boy and an almost one and a half-year-old. They are the best things to ever be given to me. Well, besides you.”

  Her soft giggle made me smile, “Nice save.”

  I thought it was a given that she was one of the best things to ever be given to me. Oh well, I’d have to spend the night proving it to her then.

  “You all mean so much to me, Jules. I never thought that I’d get this. I never thought that I’d have a beautiful wife who loved and cared about me as much as you do. I never thought I would have three kids, a fourth one on the way, who looked up to me so much and who think that I’m some sort of super hero.”

  “You are a super hero to them,” she said softly.

  That was kind of true…

  “I guess you’re right. I do scare away the monsters for them every night.”

  “We all love you so much, Finn. This little family of ours, it’s the most wonderful thing in the world. And to think, it’s all because you saved me from falling that night at the bar.”

  “Maybe we should thank your poor sense of balance,” I laughed.

  Her mouth fell open before her eyes narrowed, “I was pushed!”

  “I know you were, baby. We sure have been through a lot since then.”

  Her lips pursed as she nodded in agreement, “Many ups and downs. Many close calls with losing one another both literally and figuratively.”