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“You had a good day and I had to ruin it by telling you about what happened.”
Except she hasn’t really told me anything. Regardless, I tell her the only thing I possibly can. “You haven’t ruined anything. If anyone has, it’s Lila. Tell me what happened.”
“She was waiting for me when I got home. She ranted about how I was ruining her plan to get back together with you and how I needed to leave you. I’m pretty sure she was drunk. When I threatened to call the police, she stalked off. Lila was really angry.”
Boiling rage bubbles up inside of me. Why must she come and interrupt our lives? Before I can let my thoughts loose, Idaline runs her hand up and down my arm.
“Why don’t we go out to eat and then get the fish? Let’s have a good night together. I brought a bag to sleep over, if that’s okay with you?”
It’ll make me feel better if she stays here. She’s vulnerable when she’s over there alone. And I miss her.
Sawyer bangs a toy against the floor. Here I’ve been thinking the past couple of months about putting him in daycare. Not now. Not until Lila is out of the picture. I don’t want to risk his safety. Sawyer crawls over to me with a big smile. I brush some of his hair off to the side. Pretty soon we’ll have to get his hair cut for the first time.
“FC?”
I glance back up at Idaline. “That sounds great. Don’t worry about Lila, okay?” Tomorrow, I’ll call Karen, Lila’s mom, and see if she can’t talk some sense into her daughter. Make her go home. “Keep an eye on him for me for a second.” Idaline nods. While she does that, I get Sawyer’s things together in order for us to leave.
We need to go out and do things to get our minds off the disaster waiting to happen where Lila is concerned. Focus on the happy things in life and not things like drinking, anxiety, anger, and other not so good things. Honestly, one of the great things about having Sawyer is that he can make me smile so easily. He’s a tiny little mood booster. Having a bad day? Spend five minutes with him and he’ll turn your entire day around.
Idaline and I spend the rest of our evening out with our entire focus on Sawyer. It’s as if we both need the distraction from our worries and we’re choosing to give Sawyer all of our attention and love. He’s enjoying every second of it. When we get to the pet store, Sawyer is tickled to see all of the fish again. We just get a few guppies.
Sawyer is mesmerized when we get home and eventually release the fish into the tank. We set it up next to the couch and he sits as close as he can, staring until he gets bored. Idaline helps me put him to bed, reading to him after his bath.
Idaline curls up on the couch with me afterward. She manages to stay quiet for all of five minutes, which is a feat in and of itself. “FC,” she begins softly, “Lila scares me. I don’t like that she seems to have focused on me for the time being. And my grandpa and parents were wondering if we wouldn’t mind driving back this weekend, so they can meet Sawyer.” She takes a deep breath as if saying that stole what she had.
Her fear is understandable in my opinion. “If you want, you can hang here until you get a job and I can essentially escort you home after work or whenever you’re ready to go home. That way you’re rarely alone and she has less of an opportunity to come up to you. And yes, we can do that. And try not to worry. I’m going to do my best to get her to leave so neither one of us have to deal with her.”
“Tell me a secret,” she requests, obviously not wanting to stay on this conversation train.
“I wish we could go off on a vacation together. Just the two of us, although I doubt I could leave Sawyer for that long without bugging the hell out of my mom,” I finish with a chuckle.
Idaline perks up. “Well, let’s go. I obviously have no responsibilities right now, which is perfect timing, and you can get the time off work, right? We don’t need to do anything special. Let’s just get away from here.” And silently it’s as if we both hear and get away from Lila.
I immediately feel like shit for even saying such a thing to her. “I can’t take off without decent notice, Idaline. How about we plan a trip to the beach or something in the next few months?”
Her shoulders droop, but she nods in understanding. “At least I’m here with you.”
“Exactly. Cheer up, buttercup. You could be all the way in South Carolina without Sawyer and me.” I hook a finger under her chin and lift until her eyes are on mine. “Just remember, there are only two people in this world I can’t live without and you’re one of them. And we’re both fighters. There’s no way in hell we won’t be together until the day we die.”
Idaline smiles. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
My hand slides up her thigh and rests between her legs. All it takes is a little rub and she smashes her lips to mine. Passion sizzles between us and maybe a touch of desperation. Idaline hurries to unbutton her jeans, but I slide down to the floor and help her with the undressing.
“Should we go to your room?” she asks.
After a shake of my head, I focus on making her feel as good as I know I can. We fool around on the couch for a while before moving to my bedroom to get more comfortable and take things further. Being with Idaline is like nothing I’ve ever experienced with anyone else. Everything is simply perfect, even when it isn’t. There can be laughter, awkward moments, and searing heat and passion the next and it’s all comfortable and easy. There isn’t any shyness or embarrassment.
Do we need any more proof we’re soulmates than that?
Afterward, just as I lift myself up on my elbows because my full weight is on her, she uses her arms to knock them out from under me.
“You don’t have to do that. I like feeling your weight on me. It reminds me you’re here, I’m here, and it makes me feel protected and loved, even if it is harder to breathe,” she adds with a laugh.
I kiss her jaw. “Can I confess something?”
“Always.”
