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Her breath comes out in a whoosh as Ollie begins to ask for more pizza. Her eyes close as she steadies herself.
"Great timing, kid." He says to him, handing Ollie another slice. "How many slices have you had?' He asks, bemused, as half the pizza box just disappeared. Ollie just shrugs, "I like pizza."
"Me too, Ollie."
"It’s getting late," Marisol says, hopping off the table with a wince.
"I'll send you those stretches and exercises tonight so you can start on them. I don't want you to be in pain until your next appointment. It's a slow process, but we can get you back to where you need to be." She smiles gratefully at him
She starts to pick up the table.
"Hey, don't worry about the boxes. Let me pack it up for you. Are you going to Mami’s tomorrow?” He asks hopefully.
"Yep, that's the plan. First time she will be meeting Ollie in person. She has seen pictures, of course, because of Marisol." She hesitates. "Do you think she knows? I mean, the resemblance is pretty clear." Her shoulders hunched.
"Honestly. She probably had her suspicions, considering she kept trying to keep me away from you that summer. Wanted to push Max on you because he was a more stable contender." He admits.
"What! Really? I never knew."
"Yeah, not even my own mother thought I was good enough for you," Graham says with a sad smile.
"Stop, you know that's not true. She probably didn't want me to take advantage of her little boy." She looks at him, waiting for a response. Is that how she still sees things? Back then, we were in different life stages. He can understand that now. But, they are not the same people anymore, they are also both well into the adult phase in life.
"Do you still think of me as a kid, Melody? Is that what I will always be to you?"
She takes her time, looking into his face. "When we first got together, I felt a lot of guilt. I didn't know how to disconnect the man giving me mind-blowing orgasms and the little kid I used to take to practice. But I can say with absolute certainty that right now, the man before me is no child." Her eyes heat as they take him in.
He breathes out, releasing the butterflies that had taken hold of his stomach as he waited for Melody to answer. "Ok, then that's a good place to start."
"So, are we starting over then?" She asks hopefully.
Thinking over his options. He stands up and goes over to Ollie, easily lifting him up on his shoulders.
"No, Melody, I don't want to start over.” Her face falls for a second, but he continues. “I want to start from right here." He watches as the emotions flicker across her face, finally settling on a soft smile.
Melody
___________________
Watching Graham holding Ollie on his shoulders really shouldn't be sexy, but it really, really was. He pulled him over his shoulders so easily, the muscle on his shoulders ripple and his t-shirt stretched over his chest. But, what really got her uterus going was the twin smiles gazing back at her. The same dimples and lopsided smile.
"I would like that." She answers back.
"Wait!” She calls out before they head to the car. She pulls out her phone and snaps a picture of her boys. Then, she takes another one with her in a selfie position with Oliver and Graham in the background.
Oliver holds his hands out like an airplane as Graham jogs over to the car. She has a goofy smile on her face that she can't get rid of. They are beautiful together. She doesn't really know what this means for them, but she knows that she has to try to keep it together, to keep them together.
Chapter Twenty
Melody
"Mija, look at you, so beautiful!" Cries Rosa as she rushes up to them in a flurry of brightly colored cloth and jangles.
Melody felt anything but beautiful. She was a sweaty, flustered mess, having been running around all day. Last night, she spontaneously decided to stay in town rather than go back to California this year. Graham and Oliver's relationship is at the forefront of her mind. She spent the day making appointments with different schools in the area, trying to retain employment. If all else fails, she could probably apply at the library or a bookstore until she can find a suitable position. She also enrolled Oliver at Saint Clairmont, where Marisol will be his Kindergarten teacher. Things were really falling into place. She has a few appointments tomorrow for apartment showings and is trying to get something closer to town so she can easily visit family.
"And this Chiquito must be little Oliver." Rosa comes forward to stand in front of her son, bending slightly at the waist to get a better look at him.
He sticks his little hand out in greeting. "Hello, my name is Graham Oliver Grace. Thank you for inviting us." Melody curses the day Duke went over how to 'properly' greet others. They practiced all day before a birthday party. It was cute then, but right now, it was not cute. It was downright scary.
