13
DeSean
Night time wasthe toughest time of the day. This may be why I didn’t mind working until I was nearly blind from exhaustion. Last night was great because I was able to touch Tegyn while she slept. Tonight, she’d be in her own room and I had no excuse to be near her. Having her around all the time was supposed to balance out the other desires I’d had to set aside.
“Time to go to bed,” I told Keyon after he’d had dinner and a bath.
“T do it.” He rushed over to climb onto her lap where she sat on the couch.
I gnawed on my lip. She’d had to do pretty much everything since she arrived. He wanted her to play with him almost non-stop, but Tegyn had handled it well and didn’t seem annoyed in the least. “Let her rest, buddy. She made you lunch, played hide and seek, entertained you all afternoon, and made you dinner.” I looked at her and mouthed ‘sorry,’ since I’d been mostly useless. Keyon didn’t want his dear old dad when he had Tegyn around.
“Let’s go read two books, then it’s time to sleep. Got it?” She wrapped her arms around him.
“Okay, T.” He grinned and I swear he gloated over getting his way.
“Wanna come read with us?” she asked as she stood with him in her arms.
“Yeah. I would.” I followed them up the stairs and tried not to stare at her perfect heart-shaped ass dancing in front of my face while she mounted each step. This felt like a special kind of torture. I wanted to hold her all night, feel her close. And I lied and told myself that would be enough, even when I knew I wanted more. I wanted everything with her.
“So, what books do you want to read?” Tegyn asked as they entered his room. She blinked a few times. “Don’t you have a bookcase with books?” Her brow furrowed.
“No.” Keyon looked ashamed.
Without missing a beat, Tegyn twirled him around. “No worries. Tonight, we’ll read some books on my phone. Then tomorrow, we’ll go to the bookstore!” She danced a bit at the idea of sharing one of her passions with my little boy.
My heart swelled, even as I proceeded to burst her bubble. “No bookstore.”
“The library!” She countered as she giggled.
“No library.” I sighed.
“Seriously, D?” She frowned at me.
“Yeah, baby. I’m serious. We can’t have you out in public right now. Emergencies only. Or stuff you can’t get out of.” I shrugged. “I’m keeping you safe. It won’t always be like this. I promise.” Seeing the disappointment in her eyes hurt.
“I get it.” She blew out a breath as she sank down on his bed. “Fine. Keyon, we shop on Amazon.” Tegyn looked at me with an arched brow. “I have to wait two days, but we’ll still get our books.”
“Dammit, Tegyn. I’m not trying to spoil your fun.” I threw my hands up in the air. “Don’t you understand I’d be destroyed if anything happened to you?” I felt like I’d said too much, but she didn’t seem to notice.
Keyon was distracted with apps on her phone that she’d downloaded for him earlier.
She set him up on the bed, then stood and studied me. “Listen, I’ve been on my own for the last three years. I’ve done just fine.”
“Right.” I gave her the side-eye. “And that’s why you need me now, right? Because you were doing so well without me.”
“Actually, I was. This is just a pothole in the road of my life.” She crossed her arms. “A really big pothole.”
“Yeah, the car-eating kind.” I shook my head. “You think I forgot all about you, that I went on with my merry little life, huh?”
“Didn’t you?” she challenged. “I never heard from you. We let each other go. We moved on.”
I frowned. “You moved on?”
“I got married. I tried…” Her voice trailed off.
“Well, I didn’t move on. I didn’t try to be with anyone else.” I struggled to explain.
“Because you’re married. I can’t believe I have to keep reminding you of this.” Tegyn huffed.