AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Really?” Cole lit up, his whole demeanor changing. I smiled.
“Yeah, really. Let’s practice later tonight, before it gets too dark.”
“Okay!” Cole agreed eagerly, and something in my chest shifted. That fucking simple. Having this kid get excited over playing catch with me…it was like a memory I’d forgotten, just on the edges of my mind, slowly coming back one piece at a time. They fit with me.
“Is it dinner time yet?” Bella whined, slowly walking over to us.
I stood, pulling her up into my arms and swinging her around.
“Found my dinner right here.” I pretended to eat her shoulder, forcing a squeal of laughter to burst out of her.
Bexley smiled at me, practically beaming while she bent down, grabbing her shorts. I resisted the urge to lower Bella so I could maul Bexley back into the water, kissing her slowly while I felt her silky skin under the warm lake.
“Let’s get packed up and head back.” I started helping Cole get up and situated for the short trek. We moved easily, all helping each other get ready, and once we were back to the campsite, Bexley worked to get the kids cleaned up and ready for bed while I started dinner.
This felt too easy. It was like I’d been walking in a dark tunnel searching for the exit, only to finally see the sun, showing me the way out. There wasn’t anything difficult with the kids, or with Bex. I was falling so far for each of them, and I knew it wasn’t good because it could be ripped away in an instant. Bex had hurt me before; she could easily do it again, but I couldn’t seem to step away.
After dinner and the kids went to bed, Bexley came and sat in my lap. She wore loose sweats and an oversized hoodie, her hair braided back from the makeshift shower she’d taken. Her face was sun-kissed with a tiny constellation of freckles that popped up, making me think back to the summers we were together in college. I didn’t remember freckles or her hair getting this blonde, set off against her tan skin; it was just too fucking much.
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers, slowly tasting sunshine and rosebud. She let out the smallest sound of approval and wrapped her hands around my neck to deepen our connection.
Her touch was hurried and harsh, like she wanted me to take things further than where we’d gone the night before and that morning…and I thought maybe I should. Just be done with it, get inside her and force my brain to see this for what it was—just a chemical reaction.It has to be.
Yet, I slowed us until we stopped, her swollen lips glossy and perfect, her eyes wild and confused. I pulled her until she was tucked under my chin. Explaining this wouldn’t be easy, especially with the avalanche of worry ripping through me, warning me that she’d never accept a playboy like me.
“I don’t want to rush anything with you,” I finally explained as the fire crackled in front of us.
Bexley’s laugh rumbled into my chest as she peeked up at me.
“Did something change between last night and this morning? Because you seemed to…”
“I know. I’m not saying I don’t want to touch you or taste you, but as far going past that, I just…” I trailed off, unfamiliar with this sensation thrumming under my skin. “I don’t want this thing between us to just be physical.”
I was putting so much of myself out there, like I’d just chucked my heart out in front of her, the holes and lacerations in it still evident from the last time she walked away. If she did it again or laughed…I didn’t know if I could handle it.
“I thought…” she started, clearing her throat. “I thought you only did physical…I guess I assumed that’s all you would want with me.”
She sounded so small, like she was revealing a bit of her heart to me too and it wasn’t in the best condition either.
“This is new for me. I mean the last girl I felt this way about was you…so I have no idea how to quantify that, but I know I can’t just fuck you and not feel something for you. I think I’m too far gone for that,” I confessed, feeling a fire begin to surge in my middle. I was showing too much, things I’d locked down for years, and suddenly I was handing it all over to the very person who was responsible for the damage.
“I don’t want that either,” she replied softly, her hand curling around the nape of my neck.
“So then…” I tried, feeling a lump build in my throat.
“Are we…?” She narrowed her gaze, her face flushing red while she assessed me.
“Dating?” I quirked an eyebrow.
“If that’s what you…” she started, but I’d already started laughing. My god, why was this so awkward?
“Bexley Black, will you go out with me? When we get back, I’d like to take you on an official date with official flowers and end the night with an official kiss.” I smiled at her while her eyes narrowed in a mocking way. “And maybe a make-out session on your couch, during which I feel you up.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. “Yes, I will go out with you.”
I pulled her closer, kissing the underside of her jaw and moving down her neck. Not taking it any further was going to be difficult, but I forced my lips away from her skin to ensure she knew I was serious about her.
We sat in silence for a few seconds before she turned toward me and asked, “Does this mean the internet will know?” Her wide eyes betrayed how freaked out that made her.
Shit. I didn’t like that the prospect of the press finding out scared her so much. I didn’t blame her, and if I had my way about it, of course no one would know. Her kids wouldn’t be spread across the internet or on gossip sites, no one would dig into our past and find out exactly who Bexley was to me—but that wasn’t the reality of my life or the likelihood of what would happen.
“I’m not sure…but we can be discreet.” I pushed some of her golden hair off her face, committing to memory the way the firelight illuminated her features.
“Okay,” she whispered.
Pulling my hand to her mouth, she pressed a gentle kiss to each knuckle. I tilted her chin until her lips were back on mine.
The gravity of what had just happened between us was slowly making its way up my core. I was dating Bexley Black again, risking my heart…and this time with the kids involved. If it didn’t go well, it would ruin me.
